Well I was sick for a week. Tested negative for Covid, but either a bad cold, or covid... same impact, really. Slowed me down a bit for a week! (By that I mean, less progress on my sewing projets 😁.
I had enough of the curtain fabric to make a third curtain to hang in front of the narrow west-facing window in the staircase. The summer afternoon sun just beams in there, and needs to be covered to keep the house from heating up too much. This will be more elegant than the cardboard sewing-board that I have been using!
curtain will go here
I finished the white ramie Kalle cropped shirt. As predicted, it was a fairly fast make.
I was also giving a lot of thought to which pattern to use for some hiking pants. I had purchased some fabric at Discovery, during our trip in September, and want to make them up. The fabric has some stretch, but more horizontal than vertical - which perplexed me a bit. Should I cut these on the cross-grain, so that the greatest stretch goes AROUND the body, or keep it vertical (this would be the normal cutting layout)?...
The pattern choice boiled down to three main options:
Waffle's Azuki cargo pants.
I am a sucker for Waffle's aesthetic! These pants have some funky pockets, and a narrow leg, which I like. I was hesitant because they are high-waisted, which I don't really love, and the pattern is not specifically designed for stretch fabrics. Waffle is run by a Japanese pattern maker who is based in Europe, thus a € price tag of 12.10. (Link to the pattern here. Photo from Waffle's website)
from Waffle
Pattern Adventure's custom stretch hiking pants
Pattern Adventure (let's call it PA) is a neat concept. The designer takes your measurements and creates your pattern for you. There are a couple of patterns brands that I am familiar with that do this (Lekala, with its 100s of patterns, Apostrophe's 'Myfit' which has a limited selection, mainly basic knits.) So with the Pattern Adventure pants you pay €14.90 for the base pants. Add €5.10 for a proper waistband and fly, €2.10 for front pockets, or €3.10 if you want them to zip, €4.10 for zippered thigh pockets or cargo pockets with a flap, €2.10 for butt reinforcement, €2.10 for knee reinforcements, €2.10 for ankle reinforcements. So all told, it really adds up (add the conversion to CAD, too!), And besides, I was not really seeing the pockets that I wanted. PA gets great reviews, and in fact a reviewer who had made an error in her measurements was provided with a new pattern, and also guidance when she hit a block in her construction. For me for now, the price tag and the so-so pockets led me away from this. But in the future I would like to try a PA pattern! (Maybe for the resident entomologist?) Here is the link to Pattern Adventure; image from their website.Stretch hiking pants
Thread Theory Morden Work Pants.
This pattern was suggested as another option, but late in the game. I was hesitant. I have not used Thread Theory (but the person who recommended the pattern has, and finds their patterns very good.) This pattern has a gusset (an insert) for the inner thighs, which looked interesting, but the overall fit was looser than I wanted. The fabric I have is a light, somewhat stretchy fabric; this pattern would be suitable for a heavy canvas, or similar. Link to Thread Theory site for these pants, image from their web site.
Morden
Decision making
So what decided it for me was that I learned via Lwin at Pattern Review that Waffle was having a mini-sale in honour of Hari-kuyo. This is endearing: it is a japanese festival where artisans honour their broken tools, this one specifically for sewists to honour their broken pins and needles! I guess in many cases the broken tools are taken to the shrine or temple and burned. But needles and pins can't be burned, so they are inserted into a block of tofu! If you are interested, here is some more info.
I purchased the Azuki pattern, had it printed in three adjacent sizes, and made up a "pre-muslin". I copied the front and back pieces to mid-thigh only, the back yoke and waistbands, using a centred zipper (not making up the entire fly), and sewed it up in 'muslin' fabric (old bedding!) to see if that was a good size to use. It was 'just right'. I am thinking that just right is probably a bit snug. And since I have determined that I will keep the greatest stretch going vertical, I will only have a BIT of stretch going around the waist, so I think I will do the full muslin in the next size. (I found a stretchy denim-type fabric on the discount table).
Other pattern work
 |
| a pinch at the waist should do it |
I pulled out the fashion fabric I had purchased for this. I bought it on our outing to Makers Lodge (Carleton Place) in the Fall, when I bought the white ramie /linen (for the Kalle), and some mint-coloured ramie/linen for another project. My memory fails me, but I thought they were all the same fabric. The denim-blue length intended for the Santorini does not feel the same as the white.... the white drapes beautifullyl. The denim-blue feels a bit stiffer and heavier. This will be fine for the fitted Santorini, but I am nevertheless perplexed!
Finished projects
Closet Core Kalle cropped shirt
 |
This fabric is amazing. It drapes beautifully, and it will be cool for summer. I am thrilled with it.
But once again, not super thrilled with some aspects of the Kalle pattern! I did a review on PR, but to summarize my discontent:
- instructions for the band-collar:
- these instructions are designed to help you enclose the collar ends. This is notoriously difficult to do in traditional collar installations, without having bits of seam allowance showing.
- they tell you to keep the shirt body out of the way. Not clear enough. The online tutorial is a bit more specific, saying to push it into the collar area. But the photo is white on white.... hard to see. Anyway, my practice ones were great, but the curve on the final one was a bit angular😞
- instructions for the sleeve cuff:
- Now let me see if I can explain the problem here.... the cuff is angled on one end. This end joins the shoulder seam (which is not written in the instructions, BTW!)
- The problem is folding under the 'hem' allowance on a pointed edge does not work. Okay, I just went to recreate this problem, to take some photos to demonstrate. And in so-doing I figured out how I SHOULD have folded this under. Even with tons of experience, this one has got me several times. Maybe it should be noted in the instructions? (I will add the photo-montage explanation at the end of this post.
But otherwise, this is a good pattern with generally good instructions!
 |
 |
Palazzo pants
 |
The pattern is Butterick 6750, and I have a couple of comments on the pattern!
The fabric is a rayon twill, and is lovely to work with, and drapes really nicely. It does fray, though! I love the pattern and the colour, but am not sure I have tops to match!
So, these pants are way roomier than I imagined in my head.😂 Did not get photos yet of me wearing them, but here they are pinned to the dressform.
It is an easy sew. I did change up a few things:
- french seams (to tame the fray!)
- an 'enclosed' waistband instead of the simple, but lazy way favoured in the instructions.
- Not sure the waistband piece for size large actually fits - I had to add a piece...
 |
| nice pockets |
 |
| French seams throughout |
Cuff fold-over mystery solved
So here is how I should do this in the future. I think it never occurred to me because... I don't know - I was thinking of other things? (The photos don't line up as nicely as I would like, but they are in order from left to right)
 |
| clipped and pressed |
 |
 |
| seam |
 |
| folded in middle |
 |
| hem allowance |
 |
| hem allowance overlaps |
 |
| what to do with this? |
 |
| okay - keep it folded down |
 |
| and fold other side over it |
 |
| which make a nice and flat edge... duh! |
Generally the greatest stretch of a stretch fabric should be placed on the horizontal direction. If placed on the vertical grain the pants will "grow" longer, most likely not what is desired. FYI....
ReplyDeleteThanks - that was my first thought, too... But there is also the point that the vertical stretch will allow for greater movement (such as raising a leg to climb over trees or rocks....). Such a dilemma!
Delete