Thursday, June 4, 2009

Ottobre 2-2009 #12 Cropped Pants

Pattern Description: The cropped pants are made from heavier weight cotton satin with a touch of elastane. The pants are narrow at the knees but flare out toward the bottom of the legs. You can also make full-length pants. There are front hip pockets and patch pockets on the back. Side zipper.

Let me say now that I almost didn't review these pants because I made sufficient changes that (to me) affected the integrity of the design. I decided to review them anyway because the basic fit and structure of the pants remained unchanged, and the pattern hadn't been reviewed yet.

Pattern Sizing: Ottobre 34-44. I made a 38, and these were a little spacious but that also could have been because of the amount of stretch in my fabric.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Umm, no. It would have, if I had done what they suggested, but I had other ideas.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Absolutely. I read through them even for the parts of the pattern I left out (the hip pockets which don't reach the side seam due to the zipper) and it all made perfect sense.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I thought it had good bones. I'm on a perpetual search for black cropped pants that are just the right length. Which for me is either right below the knee, before the fullest part of my calf, or a few inches above the ankle but below my calf. Having muscular legs is nice until I'm trying to find a perfect pant or skirt length.

Fabric Used: Black stretch twill. It has all worst qualities of a lint roller - I walk through a room and cat hair just adheres to me from the air. I actually put these on in my entryway this morning to wear to work so that they would stay clean.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Okay, here goes. I omitted the front hip pockets. No real reason, except these were basically a test-drive of the pattern and I didn't want to waste the effort. Besides, I wanted to see how smoothly the pattern fit me before I added any bulk.
I omitted the back patch pockets. Same reason. I wanted a smooth pair of pants.

I made a stupid mistake with the waistband. I looked at the picture, looked at the line drawing, read the instructions, cut out the pieces and for some reason cut out one each of the back and front waistband, instead of cutting two. Then in my head I decided that these were facings, instead of yokes/waistbands, and I inserted the side invisible zip as if that were the case. Then, when realized what I had done (don't even think about how blue the air was in the sewing room when that happened), I couldn't bear to pick out the zipper, so after I cut the facing waistbands and sewed them onto the pants, I cut a tab just slightly less than the width of the waistband, made a buttonhole on it, and inserted that into the waistband when I sewed them together. I added a button to the side of the pants and now my major mess-up is one of those coveted "design elements" they would charge extra for in the store!

Once I got over that, I tapered and shortened the legs, making them quite narrow around my calf. That was the look I was going for, and after narrowing the paper pattern to start with, I ended up shaving another inch or so off in the final round.

(My photographer today was much more interested in my top, even though I kept saying, "Take a picture of the pants! My top doesn't even have to be in it!")

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'm sewing them again just as soon as this afternoon's fabric order arrives. I love the pants but I hate the fabric and the fact that I had to tape myself clean twice before the end of the workday. Black cotton stretch sateen is winging its way to me; hopefully its magnetic properties will not be as strong.

Conclusion: These are the closest I've come yet to my perfect cropped pants pattern. I'll tweak it some more with the next version and post another photo when they're done.

5 comments:

gwensews said...

My feeling is that patterns are just a "suggestion". They are to be modified and made into your own idea. You did just that. Enjoy wear your almost perfect pant!

Rachel said...

Those are so cute!! I love your whole outfit.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

They are looking good! I hope the new fabric works out for you.

Tracy said...

I think the pants came out great. The entire outfit looks good to me.

Tany said...

I love them! Great pants!