so while we're waiting, lets do a bit of planning? isn't there some saying about "good planning makes...well thought out... plans...?" or something to that effect? well whatever, thats what we're going for here.
Clover by Colette Patternsremember these? in this post i talked about the reasons i am drawn to this pattern, the most important reason being that this pattern looks perfectly adaptable to whatever my dreams pants may be. when i shop for patterns i usually look for things that i can use as a base. something that i can tailor to fit my proportions, and then use almost like a pattern block (a simple set of patterns drafted using your own measurements) for future projects. now i could just make my own pattern block - but why do that when colette patterns does it for me?
my inspiration for the pants i would like to make for my fall palette challenge come from this little pair that is available from madewell.
Chimney jeans from Madewell
my inspiration for the pants i would like to make for my fall palette challenge come from this little pair that is available from madewell.
Chimney jeans from Madewell
now i could buy these jeans for a pretty $110.00 big ones. but i say "why buy what you can turn into a major pain-in-the-ass project that sucks up way more than $110 worth of your time?" see my logic? no. well i don't either. all i know is that $110 outright hurts me a lot more than $110 in materials spaced out over the course of a month. did i lose you? my apologies. lets get back to brass tacks....
looking at the details of these pants, there are some pretty notable differences. lets start with the big one... the fly - or as the case may be - lack of fly!
you will note that the madewell jeans on the left sport a rather typical center front zip fly, with a not-as-typical tab closure at the waistband. our colette's on the right, however, simply have a center front seam, with an invisible zipper sewn into the side seam. this makes for more of a dressy 'trouser' look, and also makes them easier to sew. for anyone who has ever tried sewing a zip fly you know they can kind of be jerks until you figure out whats going on. so why am i opting for the jerky option? because i'm a glutton for punishment i take every opportunity i can to perfect new techniques. see what i did there?
to draft the zip fly i plan on frankensteining my patterns. taking the fly from one pattern and basically grafting it to the colette pattern. that should work, right?
now lets look at these pockets. the madewell jeans have more of a trouser pocket. i'm not really sure what its called, but for our purposes we'll call it "the side slash pocket". that makes it sound pretty cool. you will note in the photo above of the colette pattern that they have placed the pockets rather discreetly underneath the waistband. i think this is a really pretty touch, and something i will probably do on a future pair of pants, but for these i'd like to go for more of that masculine/feminine look that madewell does so well. to achieve this look i'll re-draw the side seam of the front pant from about hip height up to the waistband, and then create a separate pocket piece that will be sewn into the side seam. that last sentence may not make sense to you, but don't worry, it made sense to me, and thats whats really important here.
now lets have a look at the tush...
hellooo ladies...
once again, the colette pattern is pocket free, while our madewell friends are sporting some welt pockets back there. welt pockets are easy enough to add to any pattern, and while they take some time to get all the measurements in there, they really aren't too difficult. what is key, to any pocket on the rear, is placement. as we all know pocket placement can make your butt look bigger, smaller, more shapely, etc. etc. etc. notice how the madewell pockets are placed higher on the rear, right where the darts end. did you notice? good. me too. on the first pair of pants i ever made the welt pockets accidentally ended up somewhere on my thighs. it looked like little mouths were on my legs. lesson. learned.
and one final thing to note:
the folks over at madewell.com very kindly made this little "fit" guide for me. all the better for me to copy their design! thanks madewell! you can bet your panties i've made a note of that little "11 1/2" leg opening". noted aaaaaand noted. if there's one thing i will not abide it is a 11 3/4" leg opening. i will not abide it!
now that that little scheming session is done, i guess its back to waiting on the old mail system, eh? come ooonnnn mood fabrics! you're killing me here!!!
xx
looking at the details of these pants, there are some pretty notable differences. lets start with the big one... the fly - or as the case may be - lack of fly!
you will note that the madewell jeans on the left sport a rather typical center front zip fly, with a not-as-typical tab closure at the waistband. our colette's on the right, however, simply have a center front seam, with an invisible zipper sewn into the side seam. this makes for more of a dressy 'trouser' look, and also makes them easier to sew. for anyone who has ever tried sewing a zip fly you know they can kind of be jerks until you figure out whats going on. so why am i opting for the jerky option? because to draft the zip fly i plan on frankensteining my patterns. taking the fly from one pattern and basically grafting it to the colette pattern. that should work, right?
now lets look at these pockets. the madewell jeans have more of a trouser pocket. i'm not really sure what its called, but for our purposes we'll call it "the side slash pocket". that makes it sound pretty cool. you will note in the photo above of the colette pattern that they have placed the pockets rather discreetly underneath the waistband. i think this is a really pretty touch, and something i will probably do on a future pair of pants, but for these i'd like to go for more of that masculine/feminine look that madewell does so well. to achieve this look i'll re-draw the side seam of the front pant from about hip height up to the waistband, and then create a separate pocket piece that will be sewn into the side seam. that last sentence may not make sense to you, but don't worry, it made sense to me, and thats whats really important here.now lets have a look at the tush...
hellooo ladies...once again, the colette pattern is pocket free, while our madewell friends are sporting some welt pockets back there. welt pockets are easy enough to add to any pattern, and while they take some time to get all the measurements in there, they really aren't too difficult. what is key, to any pocket on the rear, is placement. as we all know pocket placement can make your butt look bigger, smaller, more shapely, etc. etc. etc. notice how the madewell pockets are placed higher on the rear, right where the darts end. did you notice? good. me too. on the first pair of pants i ever made the welt pockets accidentally ended up somewhere on my thighs. it looked like little mouths were on my legs. lesson. learned.
and one final thing to note:
the folks over at madewell.com very kindly made this little "fit" guide for me. all the better for me to copy their design! thanks madewell! you can bet your panties i've made a note of that little "11 1/2" leg opening". noted aaaaaand noted. if there's one thing i will not abide it is a 11 3/4" leg opening. i will not abide it!now that that little scheming session is done, i guess its back to waiting on the old mail system, eh? come ooonnnn mood fabrics! you're killing me here!!!
xx
Awesome analysis! That ankle opening is a very valuable measurement too. I won't be adding welt pockets though that would just make me crazy. What kind of fabric are you using, I'm going with stretch poplin and then hopefully a stretch corduroy.
ReplyDelete