Hello again! Here I am! The real thing!
My RTW Fast year is close to ending and I am still filling in the gaps in my handmade wardrobe. There is still time left to sew up some pants for myself though – I would love to have a pair of black, blue and brown pants suitable for work.
So to recap… You’ve seen my pattern, Vogue V2948. It has princess seams front and back and a curved waistband. It is fantastic for alterations…
And you’ve heard about the Craftsy course, Pant Fitting Techniques with Sandra Betzina, that helped me with my fitting and sewing my muslin…
I have already cut out a few fabric choices using the altered pattern I made from my muslin…
That certainly looks like a few ambitious piles of fabric. Let’s start with the brown fabric. 67% polyester/30% rayon/3% spandex, very soft, not as stretchy as some of my polyester fabrics, but with a bit of stretch. It actually reminded me of a heavy yoga pant fabric – maybe not suitable for work pants? We shall see.
So this is the front of my pants, without any alterations. You might notice that I thought I would be clever and sew piping in the front princess seams. Well I cut the piping out right away, it pulled and did all sorts of awful things to this slightly stretchy fabric. You can really see it on the left leg here…
Back view, not any better. My pants really need some more fitting. I also need to pluck off that wad of white thread that I am carrying around on my leg!
You might notice the invisible zipper insertion? It has been a while since I have done an invisible zipper and I don’t have an invisible zipper foot to use, but this is how I did it… (If you click the photo words appear!)
Sandra Betzina suggested sewing a tab inside of your pants at the top to make a snap, button or hook closure. This is so the zipper will last longer and be easier to zip up. I thought I would give it a try.
How the tab looks from the outside, if the zip is unzipped. This brown colour photographed in so many different shades. I think this might be the most realistic colour shot.
Under stitching the top edge of my waistband, on the inside, to keep it in place. I also have seam tape sewn inside the top edge of my waistband to prevent my waistband from stretching out.
And my finished pants, with my “Jungle January” top. (No headshots today – sorry – my hair stylist and make up artist couldn’t make the shoot!)
Here’s an overexposed shot of the back of my pants. Deliberately done so I could see how my fitting went. Not too baggy, creases at the knees – that’s acceptable to me. A bit too many creases/wrinkles under the butt. Comfortable enough to sit. All you helpful readers… any further advice out there on the fit, or correcting it?
I keep looking at my RTW pants (below) and am happy I can sew my own pants now.
Well considering how much more stretchy this brown polyester fabric was than my cotton muslin, I’m happy with the result. Now on to the black pair. I’ll have to think of an alteration in the style for them so I don’t have four pairs of pants in all the same style!
Thanks for reading! And please let me know what you’re working on, I love talking about sewing!
Until next time, Happy Sewing!
Great Job …love the pics of the cutouts …i really need to attempt some trousers…
It took some practice but I am happy to be learning something new!
You did well!! 🙂
Thank you!
I love “trousers” (the word and the item of clothing). I have a very proper friend who wears “trousers” not “pants” and carries a “handbag” not a “purse”. If I didn’t know better I’d say she was channelling Queen Elizabeth. OK, all kidding aside, the trousers look terrific and there’s nothing wrong with having four pairs that look the same if they fit well. 🙂
Thank you! I realize different countries say different words – I’m always trying to keep up!
i have this pattern and the course too. I really need to give this a go. Sorry no fit suggestions… pants are a big mystery to me.
Well good luck when you get to your’s. I’m learning something new with every pair I make!
Nice summary of the invisible zipper process – thank you! I really like those pants (trousers?), so much so, I’m wondering why I haven’t made the pair i have cut out on my own sewing table. I have absolutely no idea about how to deal with any fit issues, especially since I’m learning from you! Perhaps, I’ll purchase that course….
Thank you! When you do make the pants, make them with 1 inch seam allowances. Try them on before you are finished, inside out, and pinch the excess out of the seams, and sew it in right there. Or let them out if you have to – you will have the 1 inch to play with. Then turn them the right side out and see if it fits better. Let it in or out a couple of times. You’ll find the right fit. You’ll feel it. It sure helped me! Who knows, perhaps you won’t have fitting problems. Everyone’s shape is different. When it comes to Craftsy courses, I signed up for their emails and they send me notices of sale items. I wait until what I want is on sale. Sooner or later it will be!
Great idea to turn them inside out! Yea, I’ll wait for the craftsy sale and use the money I save to buy fabric!
I do always hope that my two hips and two legs are kind of similar so that the turning inside out process works! 😃
I keep making tops, but i am getting quite desperate to have some things for my bottom half to wear!
I know, I spent most of last year making tops. My RTW pants were fine. Then I went on to skirts. Now it’s time for the pants to be sewn!
Well done for taking the time to deal with pants, its a forbidden garment for me at the moment!, it’s incredIble how much better your first pair fits comparing to the RTW!,,,
Thank you! Pants were forbidden for me for literally decades. I am happy that I am learning and improving now. I can’t count the number of times I have heard someone say that RTW fits in the waist but not the hip, or whatever.
Nice job! And your photos helped create a really useful tutorial. I’ll be inserting my first zipper in decades in the skirt I’m currently cutting out. It is not an invisible one, though. (I don’t think?) And it’s 2″ too long, so that should be fun. And aren’t you having fun, and making some fabulous new pants/trousers in the process! 🙂
Thank you! I have seen, when the zipper is too long, you can sew around all the closed teeth to make a new zipper stop and then cut off the excess of the zipper. I’m sure you will do fine!
Oh thanks! That sounds easy enough…
Great efforts. You’ve reminded me that making trousers was one of my targets for this year. I need to get back on the job…
😀 Thank you!
Good job! That looks tricky. The pants look great. I also read somewhere that washing pants with the zipper done up and the button buttoned will make that pair of pants last longer. 😊
Good idea! I guess it prevents the zipper from twisting and pulling.
For a change you could try a pin tuck down the front and back, following the grain lines. I did this on some of Kelly’s samples but forgot to write a blog about it! It’ll look like what you did on the brown trousers but you don’t have to sew it as separate pieces. I often do this on linen trousers to help keep the shape.
That’s right! I have some RTW with the small pleat in the front. Thanks for the idea!
Fantastic that you made your own trousers!! I wish I could pluck the courage to make some too. I never wear them because I can never find a pair that fits!!
I know! RTW doesn’t fit well on me neither, so I thought, could I possibly make them worse?
Looking good! I cheated a bit last year when on my fast and made a few pairs of espresso leggings as quick fix to expand my wardrobe. Even tho I’m not officially fasting now I hardly ever buy rtw 😀
I know… You kind of get out of the habit and how much do we need anyway! 😀
What a freeing concept – making your own pants! Very impressive. They are looking great!
Thank you! I need them, I said I would make them, I just gotta follow through! 😄