Sharon Sews

Abby (5 months old) and Sophia (5 years old) Best Friends Forever!

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure The Class Well, I guess my now you've all figured out that I'm a bit a perfectionist as well as an over achiever. I was one of those kids you got annoyed with when grades were done on a curve since I was always going for that A+. I really thought I needed a decent fitting muslin before this class began and that tan muslin was not a good fitting muslin. It turns out I was fine. There were some woman that I thought their muslins fit very well but Cynthia ended up doing a lot of pinning and slicing to their muslins. I did not think my muslin fit that well, but Cynthia didn't make too many adjustments. This morning, before I set off for the class, I had everything set up on my dining room table all nice and organized into plastic bags - seam ripper, hem gauge, tape, extra fabric, each altered pattern (each in a separate envelope), as well as the other required items on the supply list. I tucked everything into two big tote bags and off I we

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure Muslin Number Four Tomorrow is the all day pant fitting class. This is what I'm bringing with me (along with my first muslin and altered pattern in the hopes of finding out what I did incorrectly.) This muslin is sewn from the recommended fabric - 100% cotton twill - with the zipper and interfaced waistband added. The front view of the blue muslin with side zipper and waistband added. I think the waistband is too tight. The back view of the blue muslin with side zipper and waistband added. To my untrained eye, it appears to strain at the high hip and is quite baggy under the seat and at the lower hipline . The side view of the blue muslin with. The back of the waist rides higher than the front - seems to be above my waistline. The front seam pulls to the front at the upper hip. Well, there isn't much else I can do at this point. I received a lot of encouragement on the PR boards from members who had recently taken this same class in KC. They

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure Muslin Number Two Not knowing what to do with the pant muslin I posted a cry for help on the Patternreview boards (you'll need to sign in to view the message boards). As usual, my cry for help was heard and answered. Two members suggested I try a muslin using the pattern without alterations first - just add extra width to the seams. It sounded like good advice to me so I quickly pulled another piece of fabric out of the stash to be sacrificed for the sake of a great fitting pair of pants. I cut out the pattern - no alterations this time - with an extra 1" around the entire pattern piece. I quickly sewed the darts, stay stitched the waist, and sewed all of the seams together using a 1" seam allowance. Essentially I ended up increasing my original pattern by 5/8" all around since the pattern had a 5/8" seam allowance built in. This worked out well as this Burda pattern is designed to be close-fitting and I don't want my f

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure Muslin Number One continued As noted in my previous post I was going to try and fix the fit of the crotch curve by increasing the back crotch curve and decreasing the front back curve. I have dentist and eye appointments lined up for this morning, so in between appoints I made some quick crotch curve adjustments. Rather than cut out an entire new muslin, I did the additions and subtractions on muslin number one. That's one reason a 1" seam allowance is important to work with...I could easily let out the back crotch curve. I cut off the excess on the front crotch curve. I don't have the measurements of each handy at the moment, but it doesn't really matter because it did not work. These are the type of photos I'd rather not post for the world to see. However, I need to document the process for myself and I have always found it helpful when others share their fitting experiences with me. Adjusted muslin number one - back view. Noti

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure Muslin Number One (No photos today as I've already ripped part of the first muslin apart.) After dutifully taking all of the required measurements, transferring them to the pattern and making all of the required alterations I cut the muslin. Knowing this was my test muslin (meaning not the pair that would attend class with me, but the pair that I would use to pre -test my altered pattern) I sewed the seams quickly - in the proper order - with a long stitch seam. I stay stitched the waist line but did not sew on a waistband, nor did I add the zipper. There's a number of problems with this first test muslin, but the crotch depth and crotch length appear to be the right lengths. The knee and leg length adjustment were also good. The pants overall are too wide at the hip, but I think that can be addressed in the class. To my surprise the side seam is in it's proper place. Which tells me I need more width in the back of the pattern and less in

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure Measurements and Pattern Alteration My earlier post talked about my desire to finally obtain a pant pattern that is altered so that it will provide me with a pair of pants with the perfect fit. Following the instructions in the pants fitting workbook, I enlisted the aid of my hubby to assist with obtaining accurate measurements. That involved wearing a piece of elastic around my waist as well as vertical strips of masking tape marking my center front, center back, and each side. Real romantic huh? He helped me to get my front, back, right, and left waist to floor measurements as well as my waist to knee measurement. (All of which are really difficult to measure accurately by yourself.) We measured my front and back hip in 2" increments beginning 2" below my waistline. I also needed to measure my thigh circumference, crotch length and crotch depth. To get the correct crotch curve I used a flexible curve and transferred the shape onto a pie

The Perfect Pant Fitting Adventure I know I'm not alone in this quest for the perfect fit as there are numerous books and DVDs and classes available to help sewers learn how to fit and sew the perfect pant. I have read many of those books. I have viewed many of those DVDs. I have attended a lecture or two on fitting pants. Alas, I'm still in search of the my perfect fitting pant. I will master the art of getting a pair of pants sewn that actually fit me. That is why I set aside some money to attend an all day Pant Fitting class taught by Cynthia Guffey at this year's sewing expo. This class required pre-work, which is expected. What I didn't expect was that the pre-work consisted of completing a pair of pants to bring with me to the class. Drat! I really just wanted someone to take my measurements and tell me what changes needed to be made to the pattern. You know, the easy method of pant fitting. Since the class is next Wednesday I realized that I've procrastinat