The last Clyde pants!

 I know I keep saying I won't ever make any more Clyde pants.  Maybe I'm finally done with them?

After my experience with Pietra, I wanted to try some crotch adjustments on pants I've made a few times.  The crotch on these is not satisfactory and the rise is too high so I thought they would be good to work on. 

I shortened the rise by 1" on the front and back, but in order to not mess with the pockets, I shortened the side piece below the pockets.  

I added the Persephone butt and front crotch.  Instead of pinching out fabric, this required adding fabric, and it did feel weird to add when I thought the problem is too much...

The fabric is beautiful textured green suiting from The Fabric Store, it's part of their new stock in now.  Run and get some! It's scrumptious.  

I put these together despite a terrible viral gunge, worse than covid forreal people. 

 

The top with them is a Deer and Doe Givre, I am not planning to blog it elsewhere.  No excitement just a nice tank top.  I might make the pieced dress version soon. 

I definitely see the butt has more definition.  The front crotch really does seem to be better. Ironically, the back rise isn't enough, and I've remembered to make my elastic much looser so the butt feels a bit at risk at present, but the elastic will tighten after I've washed them, and while wearing they are pretty comfortable.  They feel much smaller than my previous ones, probably because there's an inch less fabric hanging in my crotch.  They also seem very short which is, I suppose, because the crotch isn't hanging down and making them longer. 

I guess to sum, I would optimally take that inch out of the front but taper it back in to the back so I have a higher back rise.  I do think the crotch is better.  Can I be done making Clyde pants?  I have given all my previous ones away; I don't have a huge backstash of them.  These seem like they will be nice spring pants so hopefully I'll keep them around, and hopefully I will move on and stop trying to perfect these impossible pants!  It might be worth going back to the Arenite pants, which I mucked around with a bit and then gave up on.  

Elizabeth Suzann Florence pants

As she is winding down her business Elizabeth Suzann has decided to make the patterns of her products available for free. (Fuck Capitalism!) This is with the help of @minimalistmachinist, @mombasics and @thestoryclubpdx. You can get the patterns via a link on the @minimalistmachinist instagram page.  An accompanying request is to make a donation to an indigenous rights or black rights group. 

The patterns are being made into pdfs and at present are available as 36" wide which you can print as A4 tiles by selecting the "poster" option to print.  I sent them to my printer who turned them sideways on A0 pages.  I know this is all a work in progress and may change, I think A0 will be available too.

Elizabeth Suzann's website is still up with the models wearing all the clothes, so that's how I selected my sizes for everything.

I started with the Florence pants because who can resist this amazing advertisement:

Also I had the perfect fabric: a slightly textured tencel rayon from Miss Maude.  It's available in other colourways here. 

I cut a size S short.  It fit neatly on 1.5 metre of fabric. The pattern is easy to understand without instructions. Seam allowances are the outer line for each size and the inner line is the sewing line.  My printer used colour to print, and that makes a HUGE difference as they were identifiable by colour.  It might be hard to differentiate all the lines on grey scale. 

I measured the hem: 2.5" so a 1/2" fold up then a 2" hem.

The waistband accommodates a 2" elastic.

I just finished the waistband before folding it over, sewed it down with a back gap and inserted the elastic. 

A very easy sew. 

Results:

Above my navel though I have so much crotch room I could hitch them to my ribs...

The fit is not as gathered as the model.  Thus I could have sized up to an M for more drapiness.  The crotch is excessively low. I forgot to get a picture with my legs actually in a walking stance, but there are about 3" hanging down in my crotch - fine in the summer for lounging and oddly fetching in my pictures, but a pain when trying to do anything.  I had fixed this before starting on the Free Range Slacks, and in fact the patterns feel very similar in terms of fit.  So I would probably remove about 2" from the rise if I repeat this pattern.  If I hitch the pants up to my ribs the problem is somewhat improved though I suppose I probably need a more curvy crotch curve as well, I don't really have much instinct on that yet. 

Also you know these ARE the short pattern.  But I am apparently shorter even than that.  To get the effect on the model I need to raise them another 2 inches, I think. (Might help to adjust the crotch as they would sit higher.)

These were exciting to make!  I have no idea why getting a pattern from a designer is so exciting, but it is.  Hope my notes help lots more people make swishy and awesome pants.