Pants Muslin #1

I'm not so sure about the "Fit Nice Sew Slim Pants" system. I guess I was expecting perfect fitting pants right out of the pants pattern package. BUT then what is a perfect pair of pants? What should it look like on me? Maybe I need to remain flexible. After all, I should go ahead and sew in the drawstring elastic waistband and see what the pants looks like when finished. So, here's my pants muslin #1 still in the works...front view.



I need to cut the excess fabric off the top of the pants and then sew in the elastic. Here's a side view.



Here's the back view. Wow...where did all that padding come from???? I rarely look at my backside and I'm noticing pictures don't lie!!! I really need to lay off the dark chocolates and do some running.



There appears to be a lot of gathers around the waistline. I could take in the sides a bit, but I need to make sure I have enough room for the pants to go over my hips when I pull them on. ;)

These "Fit Nice Sew Slim Pants" are initially sewn with the draw string elastic waistband. They can be modified to add front pockets, a zipper, and a waistband.

What do you think? Do you see something I don't see? Should I give up on this pattern and try a Burda pattern? Comments and suggestions are are wholeheartedly welcomed here.

Pants Status

I'm still working on my pants. I sewed up the seams and tried them on and I like what I see so far. That is, "no smiles" under my rear smiling back at me. Of course, dark brown fabric wasn't the best choice to use as I have a hard time seeing any real problem areas. I really like the front and especially the side view of my pants...very slimming. BTW, I love this twill fabric with a bit of lycra. I could get used to seeing this fabric in my stash. So, this first pair of pants is on temporary hold.

In the meantime, I have cut out another pair in real muslin fabric. I'll be sewing this pair soon. Working with a light colored fabric will definitely help me see any fitting issue I might have. I figure any initial adjustments that I need to make will be made to the side seams and then see if I need to add any darts in the back. Then I'll check to see what my crotch area (front and back) looks like on me.

It's soooo cool to be in front of my SM again. Kind of like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget. ;)

Pants in the Making

As you know I'm on a personal quest to sew a decent pair of pants for myself. It's been two weeks since my pants class and I thought I would start over and retrace another pants pattern. Could I remember all the steps from class? That would be my first clue if the class was well taught. The results? It was a very good class. ;)

The only changes I made to this 2nd version was to draw a smaller waist and then draw a narrower pants leg towards the bottom. My first version would have had the leg width around 20 inches. That would have definitely looked funny on my 5 ft frame. My 2nd version has the pants leg width around 16-1/2 inches.

I dusted off my scissors (paper and fabric) and cut out my pants.



The fabric I'm using is a brown twill with some lycra. At $3/yard, it turned out to be cheaper than using muslin and it was sitting in my stash. (Must make a note to buy some muslin when it goes on sale)

I need to put aside my knitting projects for a few hours this morning and sew my pants. I'm really anxious to see how much tweaking I'll need to do. Ahhhh...the joys of sewing.

The New & Improved Kwik Sew Patterns

Sometime last week, Kwik Sew came out with their new Fall patterns. There was only one or two patterns that caught my eye. I saw this pants pattern and thought it would be worth a try. For you Kwik Sew pattern lovers, you’re going to love the improvements KS made recently to their new patterns.

I purchased the new KS3625 pants pattern yesterday. I noticed the front envelope had a new look. When I turned the envelope over, I was surprised to see a different look and color on the back envelope. The sizes now have a blue highlight bar. There is red text that highlights the features of the pattern. The overall information presented looks less cluttered, easier to read, and finding information is fast.

Inside, the pattern itself is pretty much the same. When you think about that, how could it get any better?


I instantly noticed a change to the instruction sheet format. KS has added a light pink to the pattern color to differentiate the pattern from fabric (layout section).

In the procedures and instruction area, the stitching lines are now marked in red. Also, the seam allowance text is red as well. Can’t miss that anymore.

I love the improvements made to the instruction sheet. The red stitching lines make it easier to follow the instructions. No more guessing or re-reading 3x what needs to be stitched next.

These are big improvements for KS. I personally think some of their patterns are worth the money especially when I don't have to tinker too much with the alterations. Their pattern paper is wonderful and lines are clearly marked.

When you have limited amount of time to sew, I think Kwik Sew is the way to go. And for some patterns, you have to "think outside the box" to make the garment a little bit better than the basic look.

A Better Pair of Shorts

I thought it was time for me to start talking about sewing again and what I am working on. Also, to show a picture of my work in progress.

I have been working on this new Kwik Sew 3614 shorts pattern. I am making View A, the city/walking shorts. I have omitted the pockets and belt loops. I mentioned before, that I was not going to do any alterations to the pattern or make any changes while I was sewing. I stuck with the 5/8 inch seam allowances. So far, the results have been really good.


For this pair, I am using a light rose colored cotton/lycra twill fabric from Hancock's. This color is more towards the brown hue and finding thread to match wasn't easy. I have an eye for color and can match thread to fabric on my first try. This time, this fabric color stumped me. I ended up going with a lighter thread color.

As you can see from the picture, I have finished installing the waistband and I also sewed up the crotch area and the back seam. I tried the shorts on and they fit. I have less wrinkles and issues in the back crotch area compared to the other KS pattern I have been using. For now, I am quite happy with the results. I hope to finish the shorts on Sunday and then post a review with me modeling the finished garment.

Stay tuned....

My New Brown Pants

Finally! My new brown pants are completed. I love them. I love the color. It's a medium brown cotton twill fabric that I found at Hancock's. I got the fabric for half off. I used about 1-1/2 yards, but purchased extra for pre-washing and shrinking. The cost for making this pair was under $8 including the cost of the fabric, thread, weft interfacing, and two hooks & bars. Not bad.

I used my Kwik Sew 2840 pattern to make these pants. The picture on the envlope shows a cropped version with an inseam length of 25-1/2inches. I made no length alterations to the pattern and I think it's a perfect regular pants length for me.

The only pattern adjustment I made was increasing the crotch point (back pattern) by 1/2 inch. While I was sewing the back seam, I decided to take in the back waist.

Here's a picture of the slit hem of my pants. I love the detail and finish. It's a nice added touch to a plain pair of pants.

I have posted my review at Pattern Review. You can see the review listed on the right side of my blog.

Now on to my next sewing project....

Kwik Sew 2840 – City Shorts…Completed

So, I now have pictures to share with you. Here's my "city shorts". I know they look a bit long (below my knee). I did not adjust the length of my shorts as I wanted to see how the basic fit would be straight from the pattern. The inseam length is about 10 inches.

I just love these shorts. The front pockets, the curved waist band, and the zipper application made these shorts fun to sew. I love Kwik Sew for their great pattern instructions and drawings.

The zipper is installed further in from the center front. That way you can't see the zipper at all. Even when I'm sitting down. I could have used a hot pink zipper with these shorts and you would never noticed. lol!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I had issues with “smiles” in the back of my shorts. Here’s a before and after picture. The before picture (left) represents the actual fit with no adjustments. You can see I have pinned the back seam to see what the fit would look like. On the right, is the after picture which includes the adjustments I made to the shorts. I re-sewed the inseams using 1/4 inch seam allowance. I sewed the back crotch deeper than the 5/8 inch seam. Once I got towards the back of my shorts, I tapered back to 5/8 inch seam allowance up along the back and through the waistbands. It does look a little better.

Sorry for the shocking rear end picture (left). DH was using my new camera and it must have been in "macro" mode with the flash turned up. lol! Well, I guess it helped that you all can see the rude details.

Here’s a picture of my back waistband. It’s nice to have a back seam that goes through the waistband area. Makes it easier if you have to take in or let out. I tried to make sure my seams matched up.





Here’s a picture of my front pocket with the topstitching details. It is true what some say, never stop topstitching while going around a curve. I kept an even sewing tempo going around the curves and created a smooth stitching curve. The edge of the pockets are also topstitched (double rows).

And I must not forget a picture of my zipper sewn into the center of my shorts. So, I didn't use hot pink after all. I went into my zipper stash (thank you...Vogue Fabrics) and found the perfect color. Of course, it was miles too long. After I sewed in my waist band to the top of my shorts, that's when I clipped the top of my zipper off.

I used my serger to finish most of the raw edges and seams. For the hem, I serged around the bottom edges of each leg. Then I pressed a 1 inch hem. I then pressed the serged edge into the hem. I topstitched around the hem.

I am pretty confident that I need to adjust my back pattern piece by adding to the crotch/inseam area. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the rest of the “smiles” would be greatly appreciated.

Status of Kwik Sew 2840 - City Shorts

I have finally finished my shorts. I finished sewing two pairs of hooks and eyes into the front waistband. Now, it's too late for me (after 10pm) to take pictures, but I will be posting some pictures over the next few days. Hopefully, a PR review will follow shortly.

Shannon...thank you for providing the appropriate description of View C, now known as "city shorts". I like that. Since this version is a wearable muslin, mine are actually a little bit longer as I made no adjustments to the length. My sewing goal was to see how these turn out straight from the pattern.

I will also share a before and after picture of my city shorts. The only issue I had was in the back/behind...I had "smiles". I made some adjustments which I will also share in a later post. My RTW shorts/capris have bigger "smiles". So, I'm happy with the end results and especially for my first try.

I am getting a sewing high from this pattern. I can see this could be a TNT pattern for me. I already have other fabrics lined up for different versions (lengths) of these shorts/cropped pants.

It's sleepy time for me...more later.

No More Elastic Waist Shorts/Pants for Me

Well, I finally did it. I took the plunge. I attempted my first pair of zippered shorts. It's still in the final sewing stages, but so far I like what I see and feel. It's not a perfect first pair of shorts, but looks be a wearable muslin.

And whatever happened to my elastic waist shorts/capris I was suppose to be making? Ahhhh, I am entitled to change my mind. lol!

I went through my pattern stash several times, looking for an interesting shorts/pants pattern. I had a specific pocket in mind...cargo type as I don't care for side seam pockets. The pattern had to have a front zipper. I kept coming back to my Kwik Sew stash. Here's the end result: KS 2840 - fitted cropped pants and shorts with a shaped, low cut waistband with side pockets stitched directly to the front. View C is perfect! Gotta love shopping in the pattern stash.

For my muslin, I used a cotton twill fabric. No lycra, no stretch. I wanted to see how the fit would be without any help from the fabric.

The love how the curved waistband and side pockets are sewn. I also love the zipper application. So far, it's looking pretty good and the waistband is sitting nicely below my waist. I really like the curved band.

You know...I feel like I have reached a new sewing level. I will post a picture soon...stay tuned for my new sewing adventure.

The Status of My Elastic Waist Shorts and/or Capris

Okay, I made a muslin out of this above ankle pants pattern. This Butterick 5000 pattern is correct, the pants are "semi-fitted". The size Small that I made were actually a bit too tight. So, what did I do? I moved on to another pattern. Don't worry, I haven't given up on this pattern. I just need to find one that fits and then go back and figure out my adjustments for B5000. That's how my mind works. No time for frustrations...just keep moving ahead and learning. lol!

So, onto this pattern Butterick 5044. I love this pattern...the drawings I see on the pattern envelope tell me a lot. I had a feeling I would have better luck with this pattern. The finished hip measurement is about an inch wider than the B5000 pants. I play it smart and decide to make the shorts in a muslin. You know, less fabric and quicker to make. Oh, I consider this to be a one seam shorts/pants pattern. There are no side seams.

The end result is...almost a good fit...in the front. The only issue I have is the back side is running shorter than the front side. Does that mean I have a bigger or non-standard rear-end?

Since my mind appears to be working a lot lately, I decided to take my Kwik Sew 3314 pattern (where did this come from? I'll get to that in a moment) and see if I can retrace the back part of the KS pattern over the this Butterick pattern. Basically, raising the backend (waist area). I'll let you know how that comes out.

So, this my 3rd attempt to sew pants. My first attempt was 2 years ago and it was with KS3314. That pattern fits me. I can't remember if I posted a review on that pattern. Back then, I didn't care for elastic waist pants and didn't pay attention to the fit.

Why don't I stick to a potential TNT pattern? I'm pushing my own personal bar and I really need to understand my own fitting/alteration changes. I've been avoiding making pants for awhile and I think I need to change.

Also, I've been sewing a lot of Butterick patterns lately. I really like the styles I see. That is what's pushing me to change.

Plus, this new learning experience will help me when I teach my basic sewing classes.

Please feel free to comment on any ideas or suggestions that you may have for me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)

(Sounds like I'm getting all chatty again) lol!!!

Ankle, Cropped, & Capri Pants Lengths - Post #2

Now that "summer" has officially started early with the hot temperature (90s) and lots of humidity, I have been wanting to sew some summer pants. I had a bunch of pants patterns in my hand...wondering what length to make? Since I can't go by what the pattern suggests on the back envelope (yes, I am only 5 feet tall), I decided to thumb through my latest Talbots' catalog. Why Talbots'...you asked? Because Talbots' includes some finished garment length measurements with most of their outfits. I know I can go into their store and pull a size 6 Petite pair of pants off their rack and the length would fit me 85% of the time. Yes, I do love to window shop. lol!

So, here's what I have come up with for my personal preference on pants inseam length (give or take a 1/2 inch):

Long - 27-1/2"
Ankle - 26"
Cropped - 22"
Capris - 19"
Pedal pushers - 14"
Bermudas - 11"

As I start sewing and completing my pants, I will keep this updated.