In Progress: HotPatterns 1112 - Classix Nouveau Dolce Vita Slim-cut pants (muslin)

Normally, after sewing a long and involved project like my Leanne Marshall coat, I'd sew a couple of quick-and-easy instant gratification projects before diving into anything involved again. I did promise my husband and follow through on sewing him another merino wool knit t-shirt (using HotPatterns mens' t-shirt pattern), but instead of quickly whipping up a few more knit tops for myself or a Moneta or something like that, I decided to dive head-first into fitting and making pants for myself. I had two reasons for this:

• Over at the Curvy Sewing Collective (CSC), they're doing a series of posts on separates, with a focus on pants this month, and I wanted to join in.
• Pants have become the limiting reagent of my laundry cycle. I wear the same three pairs of jeans all the time, a pair of lounge pants on the weekend, and usually a knit dress per wash cycle, and I felt like I was doing laundry far too often. I knew that I needed some everyday pants that I could wear both to my casual office and on weekends.

Enter my pant pattern of choice:

HotPatterns 1112 - Classix Nouveau Dolce Vita Slim-cut pants

HP Dolce Vita pant

I think I've had this pattern in my stash for about four years, but it's never been far from the top of my sewing queue. To be honest, I'd been intimidated by fitting these, especially in the past few years with all of my pregnancy and post-baby-related body changes to my lower half. Proportionately, I carry a lot more weight in my butt now than I used to, and I've been procrastinating dealing with that from a pant fitting perspective.

I chose this pant pattern because I felt that the leg profile was fairly current without being a "skinny pant". Outside of the usual plus size/curvy fitting issues, I also have very large/athletic calves, which adds another fitting hurdle to skinny pants or jeans. I also liked that this pattern had usable pockets, a traditional fly front, and if I felt up to it, an option for welt pockets in back.  

Over the past few days, I've sewn up a muslin of a size 22 (based on my hip measurement) straight out of the envelope. This is a true, non-wearable muslin--I wanted to have the freedom of being able to mark up this garment without worrying about trying to preserve it for future wear. The fit isn't perfect by any means, but I don't think it's bad for a first muslin.

Are you ready to look at some unflattering pictures of my crotch and butt, as I document my fitting process with these pants?

Dolce Vita muslin - front

First up, the fronts. Obviously, the length is a tad too long, which I know is throwing some other things off. For the most part, the front looks pretty good, I think. There's a little bit of pulling at the tummy, indicating that I need a little more room there.

Dolce Vita muslin - side view

The side seam straining shows (as I suspected might be the case) that I need more room at the high hip, particularly in back. You can see that seam being pulled a bit backwards as it's both straining to handle my butt and tummy. Also, you can see a bit of pocket gape on the slash pockets. These pants do have a tummy stay, and the pocket gape isn't nearly as bad as RTW pants I've tried on with slash pockets. I suspect that when I add some ease through the tummy and rear high hip, the pulling/gaping will decrease.

And finally, here's the rear view:

Dolce Vita muslin - rear

If it wasn't clear before that I needed more room through the rear high hip, it should be now. I also need more length at the CB seam--these sit a bit low on me just standing and give me a full-on case of plumber's butt when I sit in these pants.

So, with what I've learned from this muslin, I'm going to make a few alterations and then tackle a wearable muslin:

• Add 1.5" to the CB seam length.
• Add 1.5" to the high hip (split between front and back)
• Grade the legs down a size, starting at the ankle up to the upper thigh.

I think that these changes will get me into the ballpark of a good fit, although I might need further tweaks. I'll be making my next version out of a soft cotton twill that I got from FabricMart. It's a deep blue/purple-ish color that I love, but at only $3.50/yard, I can afford to sacrifice it if something in my next version goes horribly awry.