Fitting Some Damn Pants Part III

So I screwed around more with my muslin from Burda 12-2017 Trousers 127. To remove more wrinkles and bagginess from the back, a 1 cm vertical tuck running from waist to hem worked pretty well. But it was still a bit baggy, so I added a second 1 cm tuck alongside the first.

Behold (the “before” picture is the one with the doggy photobomb – the leg on the left has a 1 cm tuck, the leg on the right has none). The picture on the left shows 2 cm tucks on both legs:

Doom! Doom! Doom!

Before

So it’s better – not perfect – but maybe as good as I can get it. I will extend the crotch curve a bit on the next pair, so that will take care of the “ass eating my pants” situation. I ignore that problem for now.

I also let out the inseam 1 cm from the knee on down (I sewed this muslin with 1 inch seam allowances), which was supposed to stop the fabric from twisting at the calves because of my extended calf situation. Behold (again, the “after” picture is on the left):

Doomed from every angle!

I don’t see much improvement here from the side view. At the hip, you can see how the gridlines on “after” picture are straighter and there’s less pulling at my big forward thighs. But there’s still twisting at the knee. Again, ass-vs-pants will be fixed with a crotch curve change.

OK, I thought, maybe I can live with some twisting at the knee. I mean, literally every pair of close-fitting RTW pants I have twists at the knee.

But oh crap – look at the front:

What a shit show. Ignore that bulge at the waist (I didn’t properly pin up where the zipper goes). But those thigh whiskers are terrible. This isn’t a case where I can just pin out a bit of excess. This is my thighs desperately seeking more fabric – from anywhere.

So, in desperation, I did this:

Sorry for the sloppy photo but I was at the end of my rope at this point. I stood there thinking “Why can’t I do a full-thigh adjustment?” Just like you’d do a “full bicep” or “full bust” adjustment? Slash the pattern where you need the fabric, fill with paper and tape it back up.

It makes sense in theory. I turned to strangers on the Internet and found absolutely no advice to do it this way. All I know is when I cut open the thighs, the problem disappeared. I might as well try it.

Author: shoes15

I live in Connecticut, USA with my husband and my dog, in an old house outfitted with a sewing room, a garden, an orchard, and a big liquor cabinet. View all posts by shoes15