I wear cropped trousers all the time in the summer. They fit my lifestyle and are very practical. So basically, they are what I
should sew rather than flirty dresses and Chanel style jackets, lol.
I've never sewn any Simplicity trousers, so I thought I'd give their "Amazing Fit" cropped pants a go. They are alright, but not spectacular. I think I've had better results with Burda magazine to be honest. Though, I must admit, I am wearing these pants as I type, so they must be ok!
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| I consider posting pictures like this "taking one for the team." |
I sewed a curvy, size 18 which was indicated by my crotch length and largest hip-width. I think the crotch in the front is a little too long.
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| And the side. |
You can see from the side that I had to take a lot of the centre back in at the waist to stop gaping.
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| Well, if we have the front and side view, may as well go whole-hog! |
Doing this made the pants hit me a little lower in the waist than was intended. Meanwhile, I think there is too much length below the break where my derriere meets my upper, inner thighs. Clear as mud?
I wonder, in my case, if I should sew a 14 and adjust the back pieces by adding a vertical wedge that would greatly increase the length of the back crotch and increase the width of of the upper thighs.
Pants. What a pain!
Here is the line drawing for those who are interested:
From the side we could be twins! :-) I think the pants actually turned out pretty cute, but I know how annoying a crotch that is too long can be. What about a 16 with some darts to take in the waist? Or, you could stick with the size you have, shorten the crotch a smidge and do the darts in the back to help fix the gapping. I say that because I think it fits through the hip really well.
ReplyDeleteNo fitting advice here as I am a total incompetent in reading wrinkles. BUT, these pants look great on you and I love the details.
ReplyDeletePants are my "waterloo" as well. However, I live in them....
ReplyDeleteI think the back derriere fits pretty good - you may want to add extra darts to spread out the "take up" to fit your waist. It seems like there is a lot of fabric down the back leg. It could be just the way you are twisting, but I don't think so. These are both issues I have with pants as well.
Good luck - they are a great first start!
I think they turned out pretty good for the first time. I do agree there is too much fabric in the front and in the length in the back. I will take a look in one of my fitting books.
ReplyDelete"Pants. What a pain!" Amen, sister!!
ReplyDeleteI've got pretty similar issues as you with the back thighs. I get those same wrinkles from inner thigh to hip. I haven't really figured out a solution. Fingers crossed that you do!
I never got a chance to write on your last post to congratulate you for your wonderful Chanel jacket - so let me do that first! Great job.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute pants pattern. It has lots of potential.I have just finished reading David Coffin Page's book on pants construction. It makes for a great read (ah a true sewing geek!). His position is that it is worth paying a pattern maker to make you up a trouser block. Then you use your pattern block to alter all pants going forward. He thinks most hobby sewists strive for a look and fit that can only really be achieved by a custom block. It's an interesting position - I ordered one from Steph at 3 hours past but I am so far behind in my sewing queue that I am yet to get to it! I'll let you know.
PS I thought a lot of you yesterday as I bought some beautiful wool to make up one of the patterns you sent me. Now fingers crossed I don't stuff it up because the fabric is so cool.
Don't feel pressured to make up any of those patterns just because I sent them! Just use them if you really want to!
DeleteThis is an interesting idea about the pants block. I feel like Burda is pretty close, but some how Simplicity wasn't. I've never tried any from the McCalls group. Though a Vogue wide legged trouser is in my stash.
I just bought this pattern but a little afraid to make it. My issue is no waist. I want them pretty fitted but I still need them to fit around the waist. We'll see. Your's look pretty darn great to me.
ReplyDeleteYou're kind! The slim fit may work out great, if you don't have much difference between waist and hips. I'll be interested to see what you think of the pattern.
Deleteah, yes........the dreaded crotch length. i wish i had the solution myself. i think those back wrinkles are the result of taking in the CB seam. tushie darts might have worked better for the gaping. the way the wrinkles 'smile' make me think that the pants need to be pulled up in the center and there isn't any room there to do it. what would happen if you shortened the front crotch and added to the back? would they be too baggy? you might be able to get rid of any bagginess by taking in the sides at the upper thigh. this is why i bought a pants block. my time was worth too much.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes! This is my thinking too. The centre back definitely needs to be pulled up. I think some sort of version of shortening the front crotch and lengthening the back crotch is the way to go. I just need to decide how to tackle it.
DeleteDid you also buy your pants block from Steph?
It has taken me three years to figure out my crotch fitting - but I'm a slow learner. Once sorted though you'll be making trousers all the time. I think they look pretty good actually and love the detail at the ankles.
ReplyDeleteI thin your trousers look great! I love the colour and the length. :) Have you tried comparing the pattern pieces to RTW jeans you already have? I've always found this a very useful and educational thing to do.
ReplyDeleteGood idea!
DeleteYup, clear as mud. I'm afraid I'm no help when it comes to pants fitting issues. They are still a mystery to me. I think our body shape is pretty similar. I'm about to make a pair of Burda shorts and I always hear how their fit is pretty good. I'm interested to see how they turn out.
ReplyDeleteThese look pretty good. Do follow Carolyn's suggestion to compare with a pair that fit you really well. It will give you something a little more solid to go on when making adjustments to the pattern.
ReplyDeleteThese look great to me and look like you have a really good fit - but I've never made adult trousers, so I'm no help :-) I wear trousers like these too, and I've just realised that mine are too short, the length of yours look much better - mine stop at the widest part of my calves!!
ReplyDeletePants are so tricky. I think a good fitting pants pattern is the holy grail of sewing patterns. I really like the colour.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, pants! I think they look pretty good, though. The back waist fit is nice, and I find that tricky to get without a lot of distortion, suffering from the same swayback curve (why can't that curve be in a more fortuitous place? lol).
ReplyDeleteWay to tackle a pants pattern! Good for you! I love the color and the length, as I too am a capri gal. For the most part, they look really good and it seems like you've gotten some good advice about how to go about adjusting the crotch curve. That is the area I always have to adjust too. Usually I have to lower the crotch curve in the back and shorten the front to get the look I want when i make my pants. I don't always get it right, but I do have a couple of patterns now that I can trust to give me good results. You'll get there too.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Karin, I think they look great! The pants seem to be comfy and for your first pair, you pretty much got the waist to fit perfectly. Cute!
ReplyDeleteGood job on the trousers, Karin! Isn't it hard to get that perfect fit that you like? Steph's blocking service sounds like the perfect solution, and I really liked her posts as she was tweaking the Colette Clover pattern: it deals with the wrinkles issues. It seems that every single pair of pants I've ever tried has some fitting issue or other that leaves me completely dissatisfied after one or two wearings. Sigh. But like you said you're wearing them, and that's a good sign!
ReplyDeleteThese look great - excellent color and length. I imagine they'll become a summer standby. With pants there's always room for improvement, right? And even if you get a good fit on a pattern, if you make it in a different fabric, the fit's different. Argh. I wonder if comparing some of your Burda trouser patterns to this one will give you some extra insight.
ReplyDeleteLate comment, but here it is. If you leave extra seam allowance on the waistline at the back, you will be able to raise the back waist and true it up after you take it in. That will correct the low back waist and allow you to move and sit with less downward pulling. You have a complicated shape to fit (no offence) :) and you may want to think about distributing some of what you may have taken at the cb into larger darts...hard to say without seeing pattern modifications. Cheers.
ReplyDelete