Ah, home sweet home. We've been back about two weeks now, and while I really didn't want to come home, now that I'm here it is lovely. I'm reunited with my pup, have been to Brisbane to see my old friends (had a great engagement party to go to) and see my family, and have caught up with my Melbourne friends. And it's Christmas time! I love Christmas, and this year will be especially exciting with Little M.
Since we got back I have repaired the zip on my Clover pants. What a mission! So.. here is my review.
These pants are easy to put together, but challenging to fit. I ended up making 3 muslins before sewing the 'good' version. In the end I gave up trying to get a completely smooth look. I think I'd still be going if I did.
See the wrinkling around the crotch? And around the knees? I tried like the devil to fix that, but no dice. I made a size 6 for my first muslin, out of material that had stretch. I didn't like the fit, so I cut another muslin out of different stretch fabric to see if it made a difference. The size 6 were huge. So I cut a size 4, and made the following adjustments:
- Lengthened both the front and back crotch by 3.5cm each.
- Graded between a 2 and a 4 for the waistband.
- Added a smidgeon (probably about 0.5cm) to the inner thighs, tapering to nothing at about the bottom of the knee.
I desperately want to make a black pair (got a lovely remnant from Tessuti that will be perfect) -- but am thinking of reducing the crotch length by about 0.5cm to only 3cm. What do you think? At the moment they sit on my belly button - I think they're meant to sit below?
I also made the Jasmine blouse to go with these pants. It is a lovely blouse and easy to construct. I made it from a very sweet and very sheer swiss dot cotton (also from Tessuti). I made a size 6 -- I love breastfeeding, but I do not love the increase in my bust size. I'm hoping when I wean Little M that they will go back to my normal size and this blouse will be a bit looser across the bust.
I'd love your advice regarding the pants - I've never had to fit to such an extent before.. and while the Colette Patterns' sew-a-long for the Clovers was wonderful, I found it hard to 'diagnose' my fit issues. I think I need someone there with me to say 'oh yes, those knee wrinkles are due to (insert fit issue)'. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Gorgeous top and pants! I have only ever made shorts and they weren't that fitted so I can't really help with advice. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteWell they look fine to me - Maybe there's not really any issue at all. Pants DO wrinkle in all kinds of places - far more so than skirts or dresses. They couldn't be perfectly unwrinkled ALL the time unless you never moved!
ReplyDeleteSo chic as always, Rachel! I think KittyMeow is on the money, although if you find that magic wrinkle diagnoser let me know ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat blouse is adorable! And the pants look totally fine, don't stress about it :)
ReplyDeleteI've never made pants/trousers before, so I'm afraid I'm no help with your fitting issues. However, I think your Clovers looks amazing on you! I can't imagine you'll need much more tweaking to get them exactly how you want them!?! And the blouse is so lovely...each one I see makes me 'need' that pattern even more! Your really look great Rachel, this is a lovely outfit!
ReplyDeleteThese are both so lovely! Just adore the clover pants and the jasmine blouse looks super comfy and chic! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI love both the trousers and the blouse. You look fabulous!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Rachel. Your outfit is a great combination. As sewers, I think we can 'over fit' our clothes. The lines we see in photos are sometimes room needed for us to move - our clothes need to move so we can. Look at any RTW cigarette pants on women in Melbourne and I am sure they will have more 'lines' than yours.
ReplyDeleteLovely fabric choice for your blouse.
Bye and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
I think they look great and look like they fit better than RTW pants. As one of the other commenters said, all pants tend to wrinkle in different places. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
ReplyDeleteLove your outfit! The pants and blouse look great together.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see another melburnian sewing blogisy :) I came across your blog from the Tessuti Flickr stream - thanks for your notes on this - I've just received my Jasmine and Clover in the mail, so I'm looking forward to knocking them up.
ReplyDeleteAs for the pants fitting - not sure it's possible to get them completely wrinkle free - I would imagine as long as you can have them sitting normally whilst in a straight standing position, you're doing pretty well. I guess I'll soon find out!
I love them both, but the blouse is to die for. Can't wait to try it myself!
ReplyDeleteSo nice to see a review of these pants! I'm dreading pants, but it's hopeless to find good-fitting pants in retail shops, so I'm considering the Clover... I've found a link that looks good about pattern alterations. Check these out: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_c/c-228.html and http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_c/C-227.html
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the next pair! And the blouse is sooo nice! Love the front bow!
I know you think your pants look crinkly, but over here they look great! So does your jasmin!
ReplyDeleteI am a long time sewing enthusiast from Melb. Don't be disheartened- sewing pants is pretty straightforward but the fitting ISN'T! (sometimes I lie awake wondering about why my pants have diagonal wrinkles in the back of the knees- OCD maybe?!). I'm only guessing but the problem may be the angle of your legs from the knees down may be different from the angle of the pants pattern. Having said that, I think your pants look really lovely.
ReplyDeleteTotally cute outfit. Hi newest follower here.
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Oh wow those are very beautiful .Your excitement is clearly justified! I want to tell youtrue religion shorts is my favorite and hope you can come in and see.
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