Moments Of Clarity

The biggest advantage of sewing for myself, I have found, is finding out what suits my particular shape.  Reading sewing blogs has helped me tremendously in this department.  I could have saved myself squillions had I had this knowledge in my teens and twenties.  I can't think how many times I have made something or bought something only to have buyers remorse.  I still have these moments from time to time and most recently two pairs of rtw ponti pants that I bought in haste in early autumn, which now gather dust due to poor fit, come to mind.  Not only is it a waste of money but resources as well.  So when I find a pattern that fits like a glove and I feel good wearing that item of clothing, I tend to make multiples.  My latest offering is one of those.  Oh Ginger, you have me under your spell!  I resisted your charms for so long, but in the end you won me over with your modern vibe, shaped waistband and slender fit.  I am sorry to say Jalie, that you have been retired to the box of redundant patterns buried in the garage.  We have been well acquainted over the last few years but nothing lasts forever!  You were designed for someone more svelte than me and my New Zealand women's hips.  Before you ask, yes there is a thing.  European women are more narrow hipped apparently than Kiwis.

Now, no pattern is perfect I have to say, but all Ginger took was to blend the two patterns.  I thought stove pipe meant skinny but the cut of these jeans is what we call straight leg and I wanted skinnys.  I wore high waisted jeans in the 1980's and wasn't prepared to go there again and low rise, well as much as I love muffins, muffin top is certainly something to be avoided.

I ended up using the stove pipe pattern and narrowed it to the dimensions of the skinny.  I then cut the lengthen/shorten lines and added 1.5cm off each back piece at the waist, tapering downwards to accommodate my sway back.  For future pairs I need to remove more because there is a slight gape.

Sizing on this pattern was the most difficult thing to work out.  My measurements put me at a size 10 but my rtw jeans measured a 6.  Usually in an American pattern size I would be a 4-6.  In the end I went with the size 6 and I a glad I did.  The fit is spot on without being tight.

As others have said, the fly instructions are outstanding and this is the first pair of pants the fly doesn't pull.  I don't know whether this is because of better fit or a better fly.

The big thing I learnt making these pants is I need a smaller front 

and a larger back.  Duh!  Why had I not worked this out before! Simply letting pants out made the front loose.  I would now like to adapt this pattern to a more chino shape using the stove pipe pattern.  Oh and I have ordered more denim from Fabric.com so this pattern will come out to play again.

I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago before I had worn the jeans and am happy to report, I still love these jeans.  The only slight disappointment is the quality of the fabric.  Despite being 2% Lycra, they do tend to stretch out over the course of the day.  It has become apparent that all denim is not created equal and this is one of the perils of ordering online.  I am however learning to identify what does work well and what to avoid in terms of denim.