When Sewing Attacks

Today I was futzing with the recalcitrant trouser's pockets, and pocket facings*.  I pulled on the trousers in yet another try on of yet another adjustment, when I was scratched, nay gouged, by the damn things!  I'm no lightweight: I deal with severe chronic neck, back and jaw pain, constant headaches, and all kind of unfriendly autoimmune stupidness.  But this hurt!  I dutifully went to the sink, after noting that my pocket adjustments hadn't worked, and washed the 3.5"/ 9cm long bloody gash in my leg.

This photo is from 7 hours later, after washing it again just in case.  It is still quite angry with me.  I don't blame it--those trousers are mean!  Shea butter is not a cure-all in this case, sadly.

I do think I've found at least a partial solution to the gaping slant pockets: by adjusting the tension on the pocket vs hip facing I've stopped the pants front layer from pulling and sending the pocket opening flaring upward.  The hip facing (layer against the skin) needs to be at a slightly higher tension than the pocket (in the center, and this whole assembly is more tensioned than the pants front (self explanatory).  This way the upper layer has the least amount of tension while worn, the lower layer the most in case your fashion fabric stretches, and the pocket layer should be completely stable and floating in the middle withtout a care in the world.  Which is where I'd like to be.

I've now basted and removed most of the pins, the trousers are just waiting for daylight and someone brave enough to try them on.  If the pockets still gape badly I'll give them one more chance and then declaring it as good as it gets.  I would consider basting shut the pocket openings but I know I'd be driven slowly mad by having pockets that are entirely inaccessible.  So we're not even going there.

*Those pocket bits that extend all the way to CF that you're told are so important but right now are just a pain in my ass.

Ugh, Pockets

Burda 04-2010 #119
slash pockets of disgruntlement

Some people have sleeve issues, I have pocket problems.  The slash pockets on my navy trousers are gaping.  I used hem binding when sewing the pocket seams, so they wouldn't stretch and gape, but even after pressing, steaming and moving the upper edge, they're still gaping :(  I just read a tip to fully stretch the pocket opening before sewing, so I'll try that next.  Any changes I make from here on require unpicking finished seams so it's becoming a bit overwhelming.

As far as overall fit goes, taking in one leg by 2cm helped a lot so I think that part is figured out.  I basted on the waistband tonight: hips-to-waist and pockets aside, the trousers fit well.  I'm almost out of navy thread, having unpicked at least as much as I've sewn, so moved on to brown for basting.  It's much easier to see when unpicking, a nice bonus.  I invested in a scalpel-style seam ripper and it'll earn its keep this week!

ETA: I've added a Follow by Email feature, on the upper right below the About Me.  Thanks to reader Maren for bringing it to my attention.

Trouser Update

The trousers are coming along well.  I think I should have cut a size 38, not 40, especially with the give of wool twill.  The legs are baggy enough to have draglines.  I'll take in the outseams and see how they look.  The waistband seems to fit well, though I haven't sewn it to the pants yet.  The pockets gape a bit so I'll rebaste them before attaching the waistband.  Funny how something looks great flat but acts very differently on a 3D body.

Looking at the photos from my last post I realized I'd sewn the fly shield onto the wrong side.  If I'd sewn on the waistband, the shield would have prevented the top of the zip from opening.  Oops.  Thankfully it was easy to fold down the top of the shield and solve the problem.  I really didn't want to have to redo the topstitching!

I Sewed a Fly!

The navy trousers are coming along well, after I conquered the pockets.  I sewed the fly zip last night and it's in, looks good, and works.  At 1am I decided that the topstitching was good, unless it looked awful in the light of day.  The vertical stitching is a little bit further away from CF at the base than at the top, but not enough to be noticeable.  And no one should really be staring at my crotch once these are done.

The fly shield and waistband lining are in a bright madras plaid.  Working with this wool twill is just delightful!  It's squishy but manageable, presses wonderfully, and isn't so stretchy that all my seams look awful.  I think they'll be very comfy on, too.

Never Ending Pockets

Between Burda and my pain-based congnitive impairment,  I've sewn (and unpicked) at least a dozen wrong pocket seams on these trousers  Last night culminated in a big mistake and needing to recut the hip pieces :(  Thankfully I had enough fabric.

I've switched from Burda's text directions to Simplicity directions with diagrams, and hope that helps.  I'm also stacking pieces together before sewing to reduce errors.  It is immensely frustrating to not be able to trust my brain on a day-to-day basis.  Especially when energy to sew is such a precious thing!

Here is where I left off:

Pocket pieces top, pant fronts under, pattern tracings all around

Waistband pieces: wool outer, organza lining, madras plaid inner waistband.
Front plaid piece becomes fly facing.

I was very frustrated last night.   Today I realized that once I've conquered the pockets it'll be pretty smooth sailing to finish the pants.  The next big step is inserting the fly zip and I have many visual resources for that.  I just hope these I can wear these trousers this late winter/early spring.  I even knit a vest to wear with them.

Summer's Been Sewing?

What a shocking surprise!  It wasn't mere mending or alterations, either.  I cut and basted together a pants muslin of Burda 04-2010 #119, to make navy wool trousers.  I've wanted to sew pants like this for years: the silhouette is great, they're comfy, and they'll look fantastic with my new handknit vest.  

The muslin looked surpisingly good considering I used cotton broadcloth, didn't press my darts or seams, and cut the muslin with only a 6" inseam.  Slapdash all the way!  All sewing was done after dark so I have no embarrassing photos.  Now that I know they fit I'll go back and press seams and give them a better try on, with photos to double check the fit.

All the raves about Burda's excellent pants block are true--the fit is great as is, just a few tweaks in the fashion fabric.  Compared to the Simplicity trouser muslin, in the same fabric, these look practically wearable!  The wool twill is from Fashion Fabrics Club's wool sale last winter, midweight with a nice drape.  I'd considered lining them, to prevent bagging, then realized that was a lot to take on for my first trouser project (though my third pair of non-PJ pants).  I just downloaded David Coffin's Making Trousers... from the library, so perhaps that will convince me to take the leap and line them. 

Burda 04-2010 #119, without cuffs