Saturday, February 14, 2009

Pants

My First TNT Pants Pattern

BWOF June 2008 #104 (size 44)

It's been traced and cut forever (since Dawn first made them in July), waiting for the right fabric. I made a muslin last month in grey, but since the fit on these is soooo much better, I doubt I'll wear those much anymore. I've got another grey wool piece like this brown one that I will use to make one more version. I got both pieces of fabric at the same time through the co-op, and love them. Great bottom-weight with a touch of stretch, and I think they were only $7/yd.

Either I didn't realize that BWOF extra pattern pieces (a, b, c, etc.) don't include seam allowances, or I messed something up? Belt loops had to be recut, which was a huge pain since I didn't lay them on the yoke and find the mistake until after I had turned, pressed, and topstitched them. But, it did give me another opportunity to use my tube turners and press bars. I usually dread turning tubes, but this time it was effortless. Goes to show you how the right tools can make a job easy. I took a bunch of pictures, but am too lazy now to track down the camera to post them. Maybe later this week... I recommend you take your 40% off coupon to Joann's and pick them up if you don't already own them!

This time I added pockets and belt loops. I might remove the pockets on my next version, as I'm not crazy about the added "girth" in the hips. I certainly don't need anything extra there, and I really don't use pockets on dress slacks, so what's the point. The belt loops are super wide, which is great since my favorite black belt is able to slide through with no trouble at all! My favorite fly zipper tutorial is Sigrid's. I printed it and keep in my a binder next to my machine. You can see it here and she's got quite a few tutorials to check out while you're there. In conclusion, I'm really, really happy with these pants and will make them again. You can see my review at Pattern Review here. Time to start scheduling in "gym time", I absolutely hate the pictures below.

Looking for a recommendation: A couple years ago, I bought 20 yards of fusible interfacing so I'd always have it on hand. I bought the 99 cent Joann's fusible version, and (thank goodness) I'm nearly out. It never stays fused and I need recommendations for a replacement. Any advice out there?






For any embroider-ers out there, All Threads is a great place to shop online for embroidery supplies. Always FREE SHIPPING and fast delivery. 2 rolls of stabilizer, 50 pre-wound bobbins (half white, half black), and 20 Schmetz Universal needles arrived onmy door step yesterday. Yes, that's a lot of needles, but with my embroidery machine, I replace needles every 8 hours of embroidery.

As for the other projects I had planned yesterday, they are still on the "to-do" list, and since I have a short work week (just Mon & Tue, then off for Wed-Thur-Fri !) they will get done very, very soon!

8 comments:

Amanda S. said...

These pants look great on you!!! TUBE TURNERS?!!! I hate turning tubes, but I never knew this even existed. Thanks for the useful tip!

Meg said...

Pamela Erny's Sew Exciting is a great source for interfacing. When you get to NYC, stock up on fusible interfacing at Mood Fabrics. They carry the best stuff and their prices are very reasonable.

Bunny said...

I have three interfacings always on hand: a fusible tricot in black and white, usually FusiKnit, a weft insertion fusible that comes in gray and sometimes black, and Formflex in black and white, a woven that I love. Having these on board seem to carry me thru most of what I need.

I did not add the seam allowances to the ABC pieces of my BWOF either. You are not alone! Pants are Lookin'Good!

Anonymous said...

I like Palmer & Pletsch's interfacing. It's great. It's much wider than what you buy at Joann's.

Summerset said...

I'd second what LindsayT said, go to Pam Erny. Her website is Fashion Sewing Supply, and she has a blog, too.

Summerset said...

Nice trousers! They look like you're going to get a lot of wear out of them. I'd second what LindsayT said, go to Pam Erny. Her website is Fashion Sewing Supply, and she has a blog, too.

Dana said...

Nice job on the pants. The whole outfit looks great!

Sharon Sews said...

Your pants turned out really nice. They look great on you. I recently started using Palmer & Pletsch's interfacing and really like it. The other one I keep on hand is FusiKnit.