Made more Arthur pants, still working towards perfection

 So I lied about not making more Arthur pants.  Right after my first pair I got the pattern pieces out and changed where I had shortened things.  

I shortened the rise by 2" and shortened the legs by 1". I didn't change size. 

I made a pair in knit fabric.  I really can't tell the difference because it's a heavy velvet knit and there's so much fabric everywhere that they feel just as big as the first time around.  Oh well.  Better make more.  

So for the third time I also trimmed an edge of the curve, I left the pockets alone, and trimmed a max of 1 cm off the side pieces below that.  I made this pair in some luscious linen from a sample sale.  It's so beautiful.  I love it so much.  I love these so much.  I wore them on my trip to Europe where it was hot and I think the crotch is just a tiny bit droopy but otherwise they are winners and in a fabric store in Bern I even impressed the shop ladies who were inspired to take down the pattern name and research further.  BUT I think I can still take out a lot of volume from the side leg.  

 

So I did that, this time I went ahead and cut the curve down including the pocket.  I reshaped the pocket opening to be the same, but the result is that I loose some of the front waistband - maybe about 2 cm.  I had another length of linen from the sample sale and I thought I should do my experiments with fabric that shows the shape, so here we are.  

 

I think I am finally really happy with this shape.  It's still got a curve but it's not exaggerated.  The slightly smaller waist makes just a bit less volume on the front.  Maybe the back has too much volume but I can't see it so I don't care.  I wanted to immediately make a lovely loungey pair but they are still pretty big consumers of fabric, so I didn't have enough grey knit after cutting out a new singlet.  I am visiting the States...maybe I need some special trip fabric?  

Also my tops in grey and pale green are both cropped Blomma tanks.  They are my new favourite things ever for winter, because I can wear them with all my new high waisted pants and my cropped sweaters that I have been making.   

 

 

Helen's Closet Orchard dress - Free pattern review

 I've been thinking of finally making the Sadie slip dress, so naturally I resisted (I have a whole plan including double layers of silk charmeuse, will for sure involve swearing.) and started looking for other slip dress patterns. I was eyeing up the Saltwater slip, but it required actually paying money, and to a company I have really been grumpy with lately for their lackadaisical but over-advertised offerings in the form of the Ilford and Arlo.  Thus I came across this free download!  Wahoo!

The sizing chart of Helen's Closet doesn't match me perfectly. 33-26-35 is the size 4, good in the chest but a bit concerning at the hips, and I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be pooling in my back from my swayback.  I have decided in general to ignore the high bust measure, or to use the larger of the two when in doubt, since a high bust measure is useless on those with back muscles.  The waist measure is not as important, there's quite a bit of ease, but I went up to a size 6 below the waist.  I also cut the back in two pieces because I was too lazy to consider arranging my (tiny piece of) fabric with two folds.  In doing that I added 1" to the centre of the back.  There's enough bias tape extra that this didn't change how much bias tape I needed to cut.  Probably I could have done only one of these adjustments, as it has plenty of easy and is very swooshy. 

The fabric is a skimpy metre of See you at 6 viscose, nice and weighty with an interestingly kaleidoscopic fine print.  It's very opaque and the weight means it drapes perfectly for this style.  I used the shortest dress cut line and I shortened the dress at the lines by 1".    

I didn't have any problems with the bias taping, and this pattern has you put interfacing at the top of the strap bias tape, which is genius - and very good for a free pattern!  I can definitely feel the difference in how substantial the straps are.  The pattern comes with pockets too.  I stuck the straps on with pins and then put the dress on so I could adjust the straps to fit me. I recommend doing this, especially if you are like me and dress straps are always too long. 

After making it I was a bit meh, didn't look like much, to be honest. 

 

Then I got photos and I was wowed actually by how great the fit is. It's precise at the bust (that extra inch in the back was smart). The pockets are too low - maybe they weren't adjusted when I shortened the dress? Anyway they need to be higher by about 1-2".  I can still access them with straight arms.  The length is perfect.  It's very spacious, a good summer item, will see how often I turn to it.  I'd probably make a straight size 4 if I did this again rather than widening below the hips. Obvs the pockets need to come up. Otherwise I really like this shape!  Might even be fun to turn it on the bias and slim it down a bit below the bust to make a linen version.