Finished - Misty Jeans and the High Cuff Sweater (plus a unicorn - pants fitting tips)

Hello Dear Readers, how ARE you? How is early 2021 treating you? Hopefully better than the shitshow that was 2020 but I suspect for many of you it is just more of the same. I have some new bits and pieces to share starting with this combination I made back in August last year. It's not the most exciting but I felt it worth sharing as the focus of my sewing over the last few months, and into the future is really trying to improve the fit of the clothes I make. 

I feel with these pants I have cracked (oh I do laugh) part of the code of my personal pants fitting puzzle and that piece of code is the Full Seat Adjustment. The pants pattern is the Style Arc Misty Jeans, a pattern designed for very stretchy wovens. I first made this pattern (unblogged) when early pregnant and quickly found my regular jeans to be very uncomfortable. I pulled those jeans out last year when doing a wardrobe cleanout and found them to be really quite good in terms of fit for my current body. I felt they were worth a revisit with a few little changes. The pattern doesn't specify the exact percentage of stretch needed but recommends 'stretch denim or bengaline'. Bengaline is super stretchy, and I had some very stretchy cotton twill in my stash with 40% stretch which I think is roughly what this pattern needs. 

I remember the first time around I wasn't having a bar of that exposed elastic waistband, and instead made a fabric covered waistband. I did the same thing this time. I also lengthened the pockets as I remember being intensely frustrated that the teeny tiny shallow pockets always peeked out. They have no function but making them deeper at least keeps them where they should be. The only adjustment I made was the aforementioned Full Seat Adjustment. I can't call it a FSA as that is my shorthand for forward shoulder adjustment, so I shall henceforth call it the FAA (or full arse adjustment). Hints one may need a FAA include the side seams around the hips being pulled to the back and the CB of the trousers dipping down, especially if you squat. My preggo Misty's do this and so it was time to start investigating alteration options. The other epiphany I had was that discomfort I had in the front of many trousers I have made (cause unidentifiable as there were never any giveaway draglines, whiskers, frowns or smiles) is almost certainly due to the fullness of my backside dragging the whole garment back at the front crotch. 

A few years ago I treated myself to a copy of Fitting and Pattern Alteration by Liechty and Rasband. This is a real investment of a book and I think well worth it if you have any desire to improve the fit of your clothing. I will admit a lot of it is over my head still, but essentially it has an almost encyclopaedic list of not only pattern alterations for varying body types, but at least 3 different methods of achieving said alterations - pivot and slide, slash and spread, and Rasband's own method, the Seam Method. The Seam Method is remarkably simple and involves cutting along the seamline of the pattern where you need the alteration, and making the adjustment there, with some little hinges to keep the pattern flat. It is probably easier to see rather than me explain so here are a couple of pics of my pattern pieces and an image from the book taken from Instagram:

So simple. So easy, even with a separate yoke piece (I just taped them together at the seamlines, made the adjustment and pulled the pattern pieces apart again). I used contact adhesive paper to fill in the gaps as it both sticks the pieces to my cutting mat when adjusting but is sturdy enough to hold the adjustments in place permanently. These are a size 12 in the Misty (sizes go from a 4 to a 30, which fits a hip measurement of 154cm), with roughly 1.5cm added to the inseam, the rise and the width of the back piece. And I am so pleased with the fit. They are comfortable, don't dip down at the back and look pretty good. 

I'm also wearing the High Cuff Sweater by The Assembly Line, a Swedish pattern company. This is a medium - the second largest size so clearly not even close to being a size inclusive design at the moment. It is designed for wovens, with a bust dart, and cuffs/neckband being finished in a rib knit. The selling feature for me is that gorgeous swooping back detail - the CB is curved upwards, and the rib is cut deeper in a matching curve to get the effect. This was a fairly pricey pattern, and I deliberated for ages before buying it but in the end succumbed as I have several variations in mind already - winter fabric, sheer fabric, no sleeve cuffs, ruffle instead of hemline ribbing..... 

The fabric is an inexpensive but robust grey and black cotton gingham from Darn Cheap Fabrics, and the knit rib from Maai Designs. Alterations included a 1.5cm forward shoulder adjustment (sliding the whole seam forward), raising the bust darts by about 2cm, narrowing the width of the neckband piece by 1cm and lowering the CF by about 1.5cm. From these photos it is clear that I needed to also make an FBA (full bust adjustment). After measuring and remeasuring my bust has finally settled itself into a C cup, and The Assembly Line, like most pattern companies, drafts for a B. For future versions I may add a tiny bit more width to the back ribbing piece to ensure it doesn't ride up (see previous musings on Full Arses).  

So there you have it. Stay tuned for more in depth discussions on my personal fitting requirements and tweaks. No ETA promised. 

Stay well, safe and happy out there lovely seamsters.