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?
