Finished Project: Burda 6951, Take 2 (Plus size slender pants)

Remember my wearable muslin jeans from a few weeks ago?

Burda 6915 jeans

Well, it turns out that if you actually use the correct size for your hip measurement, you get a pair of pants that looks like the ones on the pattern envelope. Behold my pant holy grail, a pair of stretch cigarette pants with pockets and a front fly:

Burda (Plus) 6951 - "slim fitting pants"

 I won't write up a full review for this pair since I already reviews this pattern fairly extensively in my original Burda 6915 jeans post, but I will use this post to show you pictures of my new pants and to talk about the changes that I made from my wearable muslin.

As a refresher, here's the back view on my original wearable muslin:

Burda 6951 (wearable muslin)

And here's the back view on the pair that I just sewed up:

Burda 6951 - back view

While I've still got some wrinkles on the back legs (at least partially due to needing a full calf adjustment, I suspect), things sure look a lot "perkier" in the new pair, don't they? Here are the changes that I made from Pair 1 to Pair 2:

• I went down a size (from a Burda 54 to a Burda 52). The Burda 52 matches my 50" hip measurement, but I was originally scared off from this size because the finished garment measurements included negative ease. (This is a pattern designed for stretch wovens.) Clearly, these run true to size because the 52 is pretty much perfect for me, I think.
• I added a 1" horizontal wedge at CB on the lengthen-shorten line, tapering to nothing at the side seam. This alteration gives me a bit more vertical length over my rather sizable booty.
• I took in the legs very slightly--1/4" at both the inseam and outseam, tapering to nothing at the low hip.

 

 Fabric and Notions Used

 

I used the following fabric and notions for this version:

• "Multi-Green Abstract Stretch Cotton Woven" from Mood.
• YKK zipper (purchased locally from Pacific Fabrics).
• Jeans button from Castbullet.

Burda 6951 "guts"

Construction Notes

I constructed these pants as if I were constructing a pair of jeans, minus the flat-felled seams and contrast top-stitching. (I simply used black thread for all top-stitching. I finished all of my seam allowances on my serger and top-stitched the ones that normally would be flat-felled.

For Next Time

 

After wearing these a bit, I could use just a touch more vertical room at the CB seam, so I will probably increase the size of the wedge that I added there by about 1/2".  Upon looking through my pictures, it looks like I (not surprisingly) could use a bit of a large calf adjustment, as well--although I'll be conservative with that because I do want these to fit closely through the legs.

For what it's worth, I'll likely be wearing these rolled up "boyfriend style" when the weather is warm, so here's what they look like when styled like that:

Burda 6951 - boyfriend-style

Final Thoughts

 

I couldn't be happier with how these turned out--I feel like I made a lot of positive progress with my fit, and they're super comfortable to wear.  I want to make this pattern up now in, like, a million prints and colors. Of course, I'll do a pair or two of "traditional" jeans, as well.

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.

Pants!!!

I just completed my first pair of "real" (i.e. fly front) pants recently, and I could not be more excited. After going through such an ordeal to fit my upper body (lessons learned: stick with princess seams and use patterns with different cup sizes, if possible), sewing pants (even with the fly) was a piece of cake. Given that I've barely bought any pants or jeans over the past two years, I'm pretty bored with every pair that I own, so I think that I'm going to go on a pants sewing kick.

My next project (I already have these cut out) are these linen pants from the July 2008 issue of Burda World of Fashion:

I'm not sure how those pleats will work on my body, but they are stitched down to reduce bulk, and I love the wide waistband. Given that my fabric was about $3/yard, they're a pretty low-risk experiment.

If those go well, I'm contemplating to sewing my first pair of jeans, using this jeans pattern from the August 2007 issue of BWOF:

This is only, of course, if I don't get sucked into sewing other things, first. I'm loving the idea of sewing up some of the new menswear patterns from the upcoming October issue of BWOF for my fiance. Finally--some fashion-forward patterns for men!

And I also love this faux Persian lamb coat from the September issue (love the wrap dress that it's over, too):



This would be a bit of a splurge for me, fabric-wise, but I'd really love to make this up in a similar faux Persian lamb fabric. I do have a birthday coming up...so maybe this could be a birthday present to myself. ;)