Remember how I was so proud of myself yesterday that I quit sewing before I got over-tired? Well I guess I didn't quit soon enough, because this morning I discovered that I had sewn the wrong seam on the waistband facing. Of course, I didn't realize this until I had attached the facing to the waistband and then severely trimmed the seam allowances. I did wonder why I had to stretch the fabric so much as I was sewing. And then I took a good look at it and realized it was all backwards. So I had to pick it all out and redo it. Sigh . . .
I also spent a lot of time on the zipper. I hand basted it in to make sure everything was lined up. But I always have a lot of trouble with the bottom section of invisible zippers, where the pull is when you're sewing. I can never get my stitching as close to the zipper teeth in that section as I need to. I ended up going back over it by hand to try to fix it, and it is a little better, but it still gapes at the bottom:
Does anybody have any tips for avoiding this?
The biggest problem with the pants is that the zipper is wavy, and I really have no idea how to fix this. Was I supposed to put some organza lining in the zipper section to counteract the stretchiness of the fabric? Look:
My immediate solution is to wear the pants with a top that's a little longer. This one looks good with the pants (and these sandals!), but it's not quite long enough to hide the "wave" :
And here they are from the back:
I think overall they're a good fit, and the alterations I made to the pattern were spot on. I can live with the little bit of bagginess in the back of the legs for now (until I actually read Pants for Real People that I made Hubby buy me months ago). I just need to figure out how to deal with the zipper issue.
For reference, I started with a size 8 and took in a couple inches at the center back and about a half inch at the right hip (my less full hip - thank you, Body Map!). I did not alter the crotch curve in any way. There is a little whiskering at the front crotch, so I may do that on future makes, but I want to wear these for a while and see how they loosen up before I make any more changes to the pattern.
And for fun, here are a couple Hubbyisms:
Before I even put them on after I'd finished, he said, "Those pants do not make your butt look big." Good boy!
And once I had them on he said, "Those pants make your butt look amazing!" Best boy!
AHAHAHAHAHA! Your husband is hilarious! I have to agree-- these are suuuuuuper flattering! And I love the cheerful red! I bet the organza would help to stabilize the zipper opening (if you felt like unpicking and going through that headache...). But honestly, these look amazing! The wavy zipper isn't noticeable at all.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Best boy indeed! These look great- sorry to hear about your zipper problems! They fit so great, and I can't even see the wavy zipper in your outfit pictures :)
ReplyDeleteYour butt does look great - and what a well trained husband you have! I have no suggestions on the zipper insertion but perhaps the topic has been covered on one of the Colette forums? I do think these are flattering!
ReplyDeleteHilarious husband! The same thing happened when I made them. I think it's a combo challenge - if your fabric has a lot of drape (which works well on one's derriere) it makes the side seam weaker and more prone to stretch. Organza might help, but I suspect not. I think the best way to manage this is to shift the zipper to the centre back.
ReplyDeleteI have the same zipper problem! Love the red
ReplyDeleteLove your man's remarks! I completely agree - your butt looks amazing in these.
ReplyDeleteI hate wavy zippers and I get them all the time regardless if I've interfaced or not. I'll be watching the comments regarding this.
Thanks for all the compliments, ladies! I am really encouraged to learn that I'm not the only one who has this zipper problem. Now we just need to find out how to fix it!
ReplyDeleteAside from the small hiccups they are looking well fine. You can try pinching away that excess fabric (I'm assuming that's why you have a bump, maybe?), measure it and then taking out the corresponding amount on the pattern?
ReplyDeleteOnce you sort the bump and zipper issue out you will have a very amazing pair of Clovers there.
i've been wanting a pair of red pants too! hopefully i'll get to take the plunge soon...
ReplyDeleteas far as the zip is concerned, i would venture to say it's just a result of the fabric stretching since it's on a slight curve. if you wanted to redo the zip, you could probably put an ease stitch near the seam line to pull the fabric back where it's supposed to be, then reinsert the zip. pre-construction, i would probably just use a strip of knit fusible to stabilize the area.
that said, it's hardly noticeable once it isn't being pointed out! nice work on the pants (and husband training!)
Thanks, Lisa! That's kind of what I'd thought (stretching because of the curve) but I wasn't sure how to deal with it. I'll probably be too lazy to fix this pair, but will definitely try the knit fusible for the next pair!
DeleteMan I can tell that these are going to be awesome! Hope you find a solution!
ReplyDeleteI know I'm really late commenting, but I wanted to share. The best invisible zip tutorial I've found is by one of the Sewing Divas. I always had the same problem of not getting close enough to the zipper teeth at the end. This tutorial showed how to fix it.
ReplyDelete