Silk Pants and Top - ohhhhhhhhhh, the luxury....!

Soooo... I became an American citizen today! Exciting! About 30 people (including one refugee) from 23 countries were sworn today during the ceremony. I liked that it was a small ceremony (as opposed to a couple hundred people). It was touching actually and the lady who presided the ceremony was charmingly nervous. She said something that I thought was really worth mentioning. She said that her grandparents who arrived from Europe never talked to her (when she was a child) about why they chose to move, how they did it, what they had to go throught, etc. Then she added she really wished they had shared that with her. She went on addressing the people who were to be sworn to please share their stories with their children because it is important to know where you come from. DD (who is the only born in the USA in my family) got a flag, although what she was really eyeing were the balloons...

So, there!

Back to sewing. Back when I made my wool pleated pants I wrote I wanted to use the same pattern for a pair of silk bottoms. I used the same Burds WOF pattern , but omitted the back welt pockets. Why? Well, frankly, the hassle of making welt pockets on twitchy silk was not worth it.

The fabric I used is from my local Textile-o-Philes store. I used the silk to make the pockets and the binding too. I purchased the silk for the pants and the top together, I think they compliment each other so nicely!

Perhaps some of you might wonder how it was to sew pants from silk. It was not a piece of cake (definitely advanced intermediate level sewing skills necessary) but it was not bad either. I have one advise and I cannot stress enough how much following it helped me: thread-trace and baste! Since silk is so slippery, thread tracing helped keeping seams straight and avoided all the second-guessing. Basting helped prevent undoing seams, which with silk cam be desastrous. Also, on all visible from the right side seams I used Sulky 100% rayon thread. Due to the shine of the thread it blends well with the silk and the stitching does not become an unwanted "design element."

Pleated Cuffed Pants

In the pictures the pant is worn with my favorite Raybans, a racerback tank made by me, an Alice and Olivia Vest and Max De Carlo pumps (a great deal from Marshall's).

Inspiration:
Generally, I do not like pants with pleated fronts and never thought I would make one! When the first pleated front pants started sneaking up on me from the web and the magazines, I ignored them with slight detest. That is, untill I saw this Helmut Lang's number on the left.

Later, when I was determining the details, I looked at many RTW pieces.

Pattern:
Burda WOF 2008-02-121, s. 36
This pattern was part of my “Rediscovering Burda WOF 2008” project and I am glad I found it.

Pattern Alterations for fit:
Surprisingly, none whatsoever…
If I was going for a more fitted look, then I would have taken 1.5” from the CB.

Design Driven Pattern Modifications:
Tapered the pant leg to where the hem circ. was 14.75”.
Decreased the inseam to 25.5” and added 4” for cuffs.
Decreased the waistband width to 1.75”.
Added an actual front fly.
Extended the front pocket to the CF.

Fabric:
Lightweight black wool from Textile-o-philes (a local fabric store).

Construction details:
The front pleats are sewn in 2”. This eliminates bulk right below the waistline.

Key elements are topstitched by hand.
Pockets:

Cuffs: loosely pressed for an undone chic:


Conclusion:
About the pattern: A very well drafted one!
As for everything else, I like the pants and the style. Will make it from a charcoal silk shortly, much like DVF made her Allen pant from silk charmeuse.

High Waisted Pants and Jeans Refashioning

First, I want to thank everybody for your responses on my previous post. I have not decided what my spring-summer sewing plan would be; but there definitely would be a jumpsuit/pantsuit thrown in the mix, and I might do the Proenza Schouler top. As all of you, I love the Gianbatista Valli top, but don't know if I'd be able to drape it myself. I know Marita would be able to do it, she did so wonderfully with the Rick Owens one! Interestingly, economic crisis or not, the Mike and Chris Jumpsuit I posted a picture of sold everywhere immediately upon becoming available, prices at $280-290, mind you! Glad I can sew, is all I can say!

Anyway, here is what I have been working these days:

The story behind this project:

On a day-to-day basis I wear mostly pants or jeans. I buy all my jeans and sew 90% of my pants. This project is for a pair of slim high-waisted pants.

Inspiration:
This time I did not have a specific inspiration piece to copy. I had the general idea in my head and some designer pieces, such as the ones below, helped solidify it:

Fabric:
EOS Dana Buckman viscose bottom-weight 4-way stretch fabric. I bought it in the end of September for $19/yd and it was a deal, for me at least, because it is extremely high quality. I have seen pants and leggings made of similar fabric starting at over $200. This fabric is currently sold out, however, if EOS gets it back in stock, I highly recommend it!

Pattern:
To the left is my sketch, I know it is primitive, my drawing skills aren't great!

I started off with a developed some time ago pant sloper and the facing pieces from Vogue 8425 (a high-waisted skirt I made). The pant leg was modified according to the knee and ankle circumference I was going for. Everything above the lower waist line was drafted using the Vogue pattern pieces as a guide.
Ultimately, I arrived at the final pattern, and luckily it only took me two muslins:

FYI: Burda WOF 8/2008 - 116 is a similar slim pant with corsetted waist.

Construction details:

Invisible zipper in the CB
Front crease line is edge stitched
Front dart was converged in the front crease line
Back darts are top-stitched
Waist facing is interfaced
Waist facing is boned at side seams, front crease lines, and back darts
Waist facing is anchored ( I used stitching in the respective seams) to the pant at side seams, back darts, CF and front crease line
Waist facing was sewn to the invisible zipper using Fasanella’s method.

I have not decided whether to put belt carriers or not. I am afraid that is I do, it would limit the width of belts I can use, so I'll see if belts stay put without carriers first.

I am planning on sewing another (completely different) pair of tailored pants, but before I start on them, I thought I should tackle a more immediate-satisfaction kind of project. So, inspired by the idea behind the Gwenevere Jeans by 7 For All Mankind, I refashion a pair of skinny jeans.

The refashioned jeans are Goldsign Frontier jeans (skinny jeans with 12” hem circumference), and I inserted a 7” brass jeans zipper in Navy at the bottom of the outseam. Although the zipper doesn’t serve any utilitarian function, it is completely functional. In the process I had to decrease the hem circumference from 12” to 10” and in order to do so the pant leg was tapered from about mid-calf to the hem.

Here is a side view. Apparently, my little one was in the spirit of full disclosure, and felt you should see me rear part as well.
Details of construction:

Although I had some doubts in the beginning, I really like the end-result, it has some 80’ flair and the brass zipper adds interest to an otherwise basic pair of skinnies.

Slouchy Plaid Pants

Pattern: Vogue 2981, View B

Inspiration:
For these pants I had no particular inspiration other than lusting over plaid pants and pants with a menswear slouchy flair to them for two years.

Size:
My size according to pattern envelop is between 8 and 10 for hips and 12 for waist. I cut size 10 throughout. My overall fit-size conclusion: as opposed to other Alice & Olivia pants, I did not find this one running big. I suggest you go with your true hip and waist size, leave bigger SAs at the CB, and adjust as you muslin the pattern. Due to the shape of the WB, I find that it is almost necessary to make a muslin, if only with very short legs – to check for the overall hip and waist fit.

Alterations for fit:
Took about a total of 1.5” away from the side seams at the waist and blended at the hips
Shortened the pattern with 0.5” at the shortening line just above the hipline
Straightened the hip curve to an almost straight line (I do that with all patterns)
Lowered the back at the CB with 3/8” and blended at the back waist notch
Made a 0.5” deep back dart
Took 0.5” from the WB at the sides
Moved very slightly the front pleat towards the side seam
Had to take more from the CB seam (the pant part) to match the shape of my body (this is inevitable with any pattern though).
These might seem like a lot of alterations but it was really tweaking to achieve a better fit. The front and back crotch I found to be drafted nicely.

Design Changes:
Front pockets changed to iseam pockets.

Fabric:
Subtle plaid on gray background. As far as content, there is more polyester in the fabric than I would have liked but I was not sure how I would like neither the style, nor wearing plaid for bottoms, hence, decided to go with a minimal investment.

Construction:
Pant legs are lined to just below the knee.
I changed the front pockets from slant to inseam, seemed like it went better with the plaid fabric.
I have my own way of making front fly zippers (reversely engineered from some high-end RTW pants) that I always used instead of the pattern instruction. When making these pants I took photos of each step of making the closure, so hopefully some time soon will post the tutorial, if anyone is interested.

I also changed slightly the belt loop design. I stitched each belt loop 1” from the top edge to allow for inserting a skinny belt. This is actually a very minor design change but for me it made a lot of difference.

Denim Shorts with Sailor Front

I needed a pair of shorts and came across these cute sailor shorts from Second Skin Clothes by Generra. You can see them here: http://www.bluefly.com/pages/products/detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=2065875531&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2002296781&N=933&Ne=500000&Nu=Product+ID&Ntk=all&Ntt=sailor+shorts&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial

Here are my shorts: (could have done a better job pressing at the end..., sorry!)

From the description Bluefly provides, the shorts have 4-button interior closure at front with 2-button side closures, pleats at waist with notch at back waistband and 2-button detail, curved side pockets on front with double-welt button pockets at back, cuffed hem and 4'' inseam. I tried to stay true to this description, however, my interior closure is 3-button.

Muslin:

I

used the pants block I have and adjusted it by:
a/ adding a front pleat
b/ adding width at the high hip of the back
c/ shortening to 4” inseam
d/ adding cuffs
e/ cutting out pieces for the sailor front
What I should have done but did not: Having never sewn shorts before, I did not think about adding ¾ of an inch or so to the front crotch and about that much to the back crotch length for more ease. Now I know!

Fabric: Lightweight denim. For pocketing I used a business cotton shirt that my husband would not wear anymore.
Construction-wise: The denim I used is 100% cotton, hence, prone to stretching with wear. Therefore, I taped the waistline, the outerseamof the back pieces behind the pocket, and the crotch curve with cotton tape.
Here are some shots of the inner life (as Marita calls it) of the shorts:

The Sailor Pant - DONE!

This is my entry (or at least a part of it since there will be a coordinating top) in the My Pattern Contest held by PR (http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/ContestGallery.pl?ContestID=68)



Materials:
Fabric:

• twill (EOS) and broadcloth (Joann) for pocketing
• Interfacing – Fusi-knit and Fine Weft Bias tape and buttons (Joann)
• Thread – all purpose thread + embroidery thread for topstitching and buttonholes

Some details:

• Topstitching was done with doubled embroidery thread
• Buttonholes – with embroidery thread, corded
• Lower edge of waistband – bound with bias tape Back double-welt pockets - I used my own technique that is a compilation of different techniques I have tried. I’ll be posting a tutorial some time soon.

These are some detailed photos of the finished product:

Conclusion: It was a lot of work to draft, fix muslins, and then make… But I am so happy how this pant turned out!

2nd Muslin - Getting Closer to Siling Off!

I finally made the 2nd muslin for the sailor pants… Yeah, it took a while, didn’t it! It’s made from cotton twill (in order to get a more exact idea of how the pant would drape). The front crotch problem seems to be resolved and I like the placement of the pockets/buttons/buttonholes. Here are some photos of the front and the back:

After the 2nd muslin I had a 9-point list of pattern adjustments that I needed to apply to my pattern - some minor fitting issues and some other issues related to the construction of the sailor front.
Here are my materials for the pant:

Now back to making the actual pant!

Sailor Pants Drafting and Fitting - Part I

My parents arrived from overseas for a visit and since I have not seen them in a year, I am spending most of my free time with them (read: very little sewing). They will stay here a month but when you see your family so rarely, every day is precious. A funny thing, my DH took this picture of us at the airport and sent it from his phone to my email. He mistyped, though, and the title of his email read "Airport pigs" as opposed to "Airport pics!" I thought it was hilarious!

Anyway, I managed to draft a pant sloper, made a muslin and fitted it (somewhat).

This is a photo of the draft (front and back drafted on the same piece of paper) and of my drafting tools. As you can see, I am very low-tech!

I learned how to draft a trouser in 2005 in Chicago. The place I went to has a website (http://www.ewsacademy.org/) if you want to check it out. The website used to sell drafting tutorials but I am not sure if they still do. The guy who owns the school has a place in the South side of Chicago where he teaches groups of 6-7 people. He teaches everything as far as drafting and tailoring is concerned but I got pregnant and managed to finish only the trouser and the skirt drafts. I have drafted a few pairs of pants since (for both men and women), using the method I learned there, and it has been successful. I would love to learn how to draft a more fitted (jean-type fit) pants, though.

This is a picture of the front where there is a crotch problem that I have to figure out. The back I was quite happy with, did not take a picture of it though. I tried leting out the crotch seam next to where the folds appear and it helped but did not solve the issue. I am not sure quite how to proceed because it feels like i have enough width in the front (for a fitted pant, anyway). I have noticed though that this problem gets almost self-resolved by making the pant in something more substantial (weight-wise) than muslin. What do you think?

As far as the "sailor front, " so far these are my working pattern pieces, which were drafted after slashing the front where I would like the sailor detail to appear. The slash also takes care of shortening the front rise to where I would like it be (in th muslin it is too high for me, at least in the front).

The purpose of the first muslin I made was to get the fit right in the hips and thighs. I obviusly still have to work on the front crotch. I find that For me, K. King’s “The Trouser Draft” is a good reference for fitting trousers: http://www.kennethdking.com/httpwww.kennethdking.combook3.html#trouser

K. King is an extremely detailed, non-scholarly, visual, step-by-step writer, which appeals to me. He also explains the logic behind what he does which is also something I like. The book teaches you how to draft a trouser and that part I have not tested yet, however, I find the chapter on fitting the trouser extremely helpful. I used the fish-eye alteration to eliminate fabric from the back of my thigh under the buttocks. This method essentially asks you to pin out the excess fabric and then transfer this excess between the inseam and outseam.

I will be making a second muslin to incorporate the sailor front detail. This second time around, I will use some cheap mid-weight denim, instead of muslin, to get a better idea of the drape of the pant.

Meanwhile, since trouser fitting and sewing is a quite involved process and I want to spend time with my parents while they are here, I might make an easy top to feed my sewing habit :)