Friday, November 14, 2008

Ever have a TNT pattern get away from you?

Actually it was mostly user error, but I'm annoyed with both myself and the pattern because the pattern (BWOF 6/07 #126) has always worked before. It wasn't drafted specifically for fabrics with some stretch, but I think as I've gone along, tweaking here, thinning there, the excess has been worked out and when I made them in a charcoal gray bottom weight with only minimal (almost non-existent) stretch, THEY. WERE. TOO. TIGHT.

It wasn't a weight or a body issue; it was an unthinking fabric choice combined with a specifically adjusted pattern that caused me to end up with a very nice pair of gray pants that I can't breathe in when I zip them up. And I'm not even thinking about sitting down. This isn't a problem that's going to be solved by losing a few pounds. The only solution for these pants is to find someone who's a bit smaller than me and donate them to that person's work wardrobe.

Thankfully I'm going fabric shopping on November 21 and 22 - someone, somewhere will have a nice charcoal gray double knit with some lycra so that I can remake these. In the meantime, I'm making a pair in a moss green plaid stretch that I got from Jomar a few months ago> It was originally intended for a BWOF dress, but I decided I didn't want to be covered all over in moss green plaid. Probably a wise choice.

It took me all of Monday night to cut these out, making sure I matched all the plaids, cutting extra-wide seam allowances in some places to give myself a little wiggle room for matching - just in case. It took me all of Wednesday night to get them pinned and the leg seams sewn so that the plaid matched. I almost pulled a complete blunder - on the inseam of the left leg, I matched the plaid perfectly and pinned it, and ended up with a very uneven hem. Huh? The I looked at the top of the pants and realized that somehow I had mis-matched the plaid by one row, so I would have ended up completely skewed and that would have PO'd me so much the pants would have ended up in the UFO pile.

That would have been bad - two unsuccessful pairs of pants from a TNT pattern, and through no fault of the pattern. I probably would have banished it to the bottom of the pile. So I'm glad I was paying attention and only had to repin. Got that last inseam sewn before bedtime and yesterday morning I pinned the center seam and tried them on for fit. Plenty of ease - actually a little too much, so I can adjust the seams a little - and the plaids matched. I had the house to myself last night, but I managed to distract myself with other things so that I still have to sew and attach the facings and hem the pants. But at least they're almost done, so I can get that badly-fitting pair out of my head.

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