The End. But Not.

Last post I said "This is either the beginning or the end of my saga with the Elizabeth Suzann Clyde Work Pants." Well, I didn't want to leave you hanging, or thinking I had disappeared from the blog again, but it's The End. 

Of the Clyde Work Pants, that is. And it's not an end with a completed pair of pants to show for it. Although I did end up with quite an impressive pile of ripped out thread. (That's not even half of it.)

Below is where I ended things. I did rip out every seam and all the topstitching and I cut them down by a size or two. And then I sewed them back together, and topstitched again. When I tried on the new version, they fit MUCH better, but I still wasn't loving them. 

It's those pockets, which span front and back. They are just TOO BIG and feel like TOO MUCH fabric in a weird place when I walk. So, I'm giving up because I know I'll never enjoy wearing them (and I'm not about to do any further ripping/altering to eliminate those monster pockets). I might go ahead hem the legs and add elastic to the waist so I can donate them, but I'm definitely not keeping them. So, alas, a wadder to welcome me back to sewing. Hands up if you can relate!

Next up is probably going to be a really boring black knit skirt for work. Nothing fancy because we are still not dressing up in any way at work (and I'm only in the office 2 days a week), but my current black knit skirt is fading. Literally. I've worn/laundered the heck out of it and I want/need a new one. I need to check was the fabric stash has to offer.

In the meantime, please enjoy two more pics of Cyrus. I'll be back soon.

 

Clown Pants (or why one should make a muslin)

This is either the beginning or the end of my saga with the Elizabeth Suzann Clyde Work Pants. Which of those outcomes will be determined by my desire to spend hours with my seam ripper and ability to find something to stream on the ol' tube to keep me occupied while I do so. I note this pattern is now $22. When I bought it, it was free/pay-what-you-can. According to my account on the website, I paid $15. I also think I probably would NOT pay $22. Especially when the very similar Muna and Broad Sculthorpe Pants are available for $16.

I bought and assembled this pattern right before my sewjo went on hiatus a couple of years ago. Since it was pretty much begging to be next, I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl. I can definitely use a pair of dog walking pants. They were never slated to become more than very casual, wear mostly at home pants. But I also optimistically thought "Who knows? Maybe they'll be great." And the pattern gods laughed.

Did I try them on as I went? No. In hindsight, since I wasn't making a muslin, I definitely should have basted everything together before committing to all the serging and topstitching. Yeah, even crusty old sewists make rookie mistakes. Hubris, thy name is Debbie. 

The photos below REALLY do not do justice to just how BIG these are on me. I have a large tummy. I have large thighs. And I have enough room in the pants legs for a small animal. Or even a medium-size one.

I picked my size from the body and finished garment measurement charts and from notes on the retail side of the ES website noting model measurements vs. the size they were wearing. Someone is fibbing. On the bright side, if you thought you were sized out of this pattern by a couple of sizes, you probably aren't. 

I think they're salvageable. It's just going to be a question of how much patience I have in me for ripping out every serged and topstiched seam. Right now, I feel up to it. Stay tuned.

Other thoughts on this pattern: Assembly of the PDF was easy enough. The instructions are so-so. I mean, they will definitely get the job done and are nicely illustrated, but I don't like the order of assembly. For one example, instead of sewing the crotch seam last from front to back with the legs one inside the other, you sew the crotch seams separately and then the inseams as one long stretch. Pretty sure this is to make topstitching the CF and CB seams easier, but I'd rather do it all in one go. So, it's really just a preference thing on my part and not a slam of the instructions. I also don't think I'm going to be a fan of the method for attaching the waist elastic, but I haven't gotten there yet. 

But what I really do not like and will slam a bit for is that notches are severely lacking for aligning the pocket pieces and all the leg panels. For the legs, there's one notch at the waist and one notch at the waist. And all the notches are just one single line/snip, so it would be very easy to mix up front and back panels since the panels are all very similar shapes. It would also be very easy to mix up front and back crotch seams for the same reasons. It's not that I need the notches for lining up the pieces, but more for identifying which piece is which. 

TL;DR: If you do make this pattern, be sure to keep track of and/or label your pattern pieces.  

Parting shot: My sewing buddy Cyrus who follows me room to room wherever I go. (Ignore the pile of crap to the right of the cutting table which still needs to be relocated.)