Thursday, May 16, 2013

Papercut Pleated Pants Pattern

Let me begin by saying I love my new pants. I really do. But I do not love the process by which I arrived at them. Here is the tale of the Papercut Pleated Pants.

A few months ago the lovely Anna of Blogless Anna Fame was at my house for a sewing afternoon. We held a bit of a fabric/pattern swap (Leith and Lara were also there so there were lots of swapsies going on). Anna gifted me the Papercuts Pleated Pants pattern, which had been on my 'to-buy' list for a while. I cannot lie, I squealed with delight when she gave it to me.

I was pretty keen to sew them up straight away, but 2 year old birthdays and ponti dresses got in the way, so I have only just made them. I made them in a Bettina Liano denim from Rathdowne Remnants. Lovely denim.


See my dubious expression? There is a reason....

My hair is so gross in these photos. I got it cut today. 

I made a muslin, and thank goodness I did, because the sizing is so off on these pants it isn't funny. I cut the small, and made the following adjustments:

  • I took THIRTEEN cm out of the waistband. 
  • I tapered in the outer leg by 4cm on each leg.
  • I tapered the inner leg by 5cm on each leg. 
  • I faced the waistband with leftover Liberty Lawn.
  • I did the pleats the opposite way to the pattern. 
  • I used 3 hooks instead of 2. 
I also did not use the instructions for the fly front. I used Grainline Studio's tutorial - I discovered this when making my Moss Mini Skirts and it is simply the best tutorial for a fly front I have ever come across. Give it a go - I highly recommend. 
Grrr... you can see the tiniest bit of facing poking out


Do you think it is simply crazy that I had to take 13cm out of a size small waistband? I do. I am usually about a size 12 in patterns - sometimes a 10 for a knit - or a size 6 for the American independent patterns, which I think equates to a size 10-12 Australian. So I'm not a 'small', and certainly not an off-the-size-chart size. I honestly don't know what actually small women would have to do - maybe draft a whole new pattern? 

So ... a reminder to me that muslins are important! Despite the fitting nightmare of these pants I really do love them. I wore them today and they are incredibly comfortable. They are like wearing jeans but more comfortable. I have some suiting in my stash I think I'll make a pair from - what do you think? 



9 comments:

  1. I LOVE THEM!! They look fabulous.

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  2. Don't you just hate it when a pattern needs a silly amount of adjustments?
    The finished pants do look good though. A muslin is a must for anything fitted I think.

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  3. I'm in love with them too, have been waiting to see some finished pants from this pattern. I'm not good with adjustments, i get frustrated and give up. There is no time for altering, only sewing. quick and dirty sewing. I think yours look fabbo :-) Glad you stuck it out!

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  4. These look amazing!!! It does stink that you had to make so many adjustments to get this final product, but it was soooo worth it!! They really are awesome!

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  5. I think all that trouble was worth it. They are a really modern cut pant. They are the only pattern of Paper Cut's that I am drawn to, still putting off the purchase though.

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  6. That's a crazy waistband problem. The pants look fantastic on you.

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  7. i am glad you were able to work out the issues, because the finished product is lovely. i just did a muslin of these trousers, so i'm curious to see if i also have some waistband or other issues.

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  8. Rachel, I know I am WAY behind the times but these look great on you! Make more! I have just started on a pair for myself but have noticed that the dart length is not marked on my pattern. Did you find this on your copy?

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