Alteration-Induced Migraine

Since Sunday I have been working on Burda Style 12-2009-116, a pair of cargo trousers in cotton twill. Technically, these are my muslin, because I had NO IDEA how to go about making alterations to these pants. In fact, I am pretty sure that just thinking about it gave me a migraine. I normally don't have trouble making pants alterations, but these had crazy seams going in every different direction:

The back pant piece is split into two pieces, and then wraps around the side of the leg. Here is a quickie drawing of what the pieces look like, and in their relative locations with the pockets marked:


Normally, the alterations that I make in pants are as follows:

• Extend crotch curve to accommodate additional "thickness" in body
• Add wedge to raise back of pants, keeping the underpants hidden
  
• Taper towards waist, to prevent waistband from gaping
  
• Add 2 additional inches of width to back leg, tapering to 1 inch at waist

I'm getting pretty good at these alterations, but in these pants??? I had no idea where to start. To start, I used my TNT Burda pants to retrace the crotch curves. I then added the additional width that I needed on the back leg at the seam that split the back leg vertically. I also split the back yoke and added tissue there, and then re-drew the curve on the bottom edge. I also added width to the back waistband. Fortunately, this pant already had a contour waist, so no need to change that.

Then I forged ahead....and found that side seam pockets are NOT my friend. The Hot Patterns Marrakesh pant lulled me into a false sense of security (because those turned out so awesome) and made me think that in spite of the fact that I am a fluffy girl that I can wear side-seam pockets. WRONG!! And I spent so much time on those pockets, too. They gaped terribly when I tried the pants on for fitting.

I also sewed the pockets on the legs totally flat, rather than making "bellows pockets" as instructed. I kept the pleat on the front, for appearances, but then sewed it down to reduce bulk. I have chubby legs already, I don't need giant expandable pockets tacked to each thigh to draw people's attention to it...you know, in case they didn't notice.

I started by switching the pocket flap to the back rather than the front, so that I could button the pockets shut (I ran out of khaki twill so used a funny print for the pocket lining and waistband):


But, no dice. The pockets still gaped terribly. So, I sewed them shut! But, I left the pocket bags there, so you know...when I lose weight I can open them back up (yeah, right!):


I have to say, that these pants took FOREVER to make, partly because of how long I sat and stared at them blankly trying to decide how to alter the pattern, but also because of all the topstitching. You do have to be careful bringing the pieces together, so that the seams match. Here is the back yoke:


And here is the front. The yoke seams have to be matched across the fly, so make sure you baste that zipper! You can see that I managed to match the yoke seam, but somewhere lost my ability to use the seam allowance guide, because the waistband doesn't match:


In the end, I am probably 75% happy with these pants. They are REALLY comfortable. Because of all the topstitcing, you can easily justify machine hemming. The pockets bug me, but that was my fault for ignoring what I KNOW to be true about the kinds of clothes I can wear and the kinds I can't. And the fit is nearly there. I usually have issues with the back, and get creases under the buttocks, hence the reason that I have to add to the crotch extension and the additional width across the back pant leg. Here are the pants from the back:


Considering that I had NO CLUE how to alter those given the seams going in a million different directions, I can definitely say "not bad." It could be better, but the seam down the back leg are vertical, as are the side seams:


But, since these are a casual pant, meant to be "slouchy," I'm not sure how much I want to mess with the fit, considering they are currently comfortable, and don't make me look fatter...which is always a key consideration for pants!


I may give these pants another go...you know, after the migraine fades. There is a second version in the December issue, this one made without the bellows pockets, and the pockets switched to open as welts in the seam between the pant front and the front yoke:

In the magazine, they made these to be more of a dress pant, which might be another option if I want to go back to working on fit:


I would certainly recommend these pants to a sewist who doesn't mind the repetitive top-stitching. If you think jeans are the most awesome thing ever to sew...you'll probably like these just fine! However, I would not recommend this pattern for someone who is not very, very familiar with sewing pants. I have done dozens of pants, and I really was stumped by the alterations on these. There were a couple of times that I just had to walk away from them for a while.

Also, the Burda instructions are completely useless...so if you don't already know how to assemble a yoked pant, they won't help you for more than order of assembly.

If I haven't scared you away....then make these pants. They are a good option for the fluffy girl who likes the look of a cargo pant, but doesn't want to look like they accidentally left the house in their husband's pants. So many RTW cargos have drawstrings, or are deliberately made to be huge and droopy...not a good option for those of us who want to look LESS fluffy, not more. As I said before, I'm about 75% happy with these pants...which means I'll certainly wear them! Overall, not bad for a muslin.