The Most Tedious Pants In The World

An update...

I should have learned my lesson about Burda, when I made the most tedious dress in the world:


They are up to their old tricks with these pants! I have been working on these pants non-stop since Sunday. Well, you know, except for work. But, normally I can knock out pants in no time at all (because I have done so many!). But these...these are turning out to be a real pain.

First up, the alterations were just mind-bending. With the back leg extended and curving around the front leg, I was lost as to how to alter them, because I had to add width to the back leg. The front alterations were easy...all I had to do was lay my TNT Burda tracing on it, and recreate my altered front crotch curve. There were no other alterations to the front pattern piece, or the front yoke.
The back pattern piece looks like this:


There is a line down the pattern piece from the top of the hip all the way to the hem. This serves as both a grainline, as well as where you are to split the piece, add seam allowances, and sew it back together creating a seam down the back of the leg. I needed to add 2 inches across the back piece at the level of the hips, grading down to one inch at the waist and nothing at the hem. I split that, and added that to each side of that center back seam, grading as needed. This took a pattern piece that was straight, and added a curve to it. Now, the danger is that this would create a curved seam down the back of the leg, but since I added it to both sides, what it created was some extra room for my rear end, because the curve doesn't waver from side to side, but comes OUT from the back of the pant...if that makes sense. The reason that I need that extra space on the back piece is because of a large, round bottom...so I figured that this would give my bottom the space it needed in the pants. Here is the finished seam, with the yoke added:


I also added the same width in the back yoke, and corrected the curve of the piece:

This also necessitated altering the back waistband:


One other change that I made was to attach the pocket flap for the side-seam pockets to the back pattern piece and not the front. That way, I can button the pockets closed and keep them from gaping, rather than having a decorative flap on the front, and pockets that gape anyway:


I was short on fabric, so for the pocket bags and inside of the pocket flaps and waistband, I used a fun cotton:


This fabric is left over from an outfit that I made for my nephew over the summer:


I'm sure he won't mind! If I make these pants again, I will definitely change the pocket pieces to have a pocket facing (a la the Marrakesh pant) as well as adding the extension to the fly to keep them lying flat. To keep them from gaping, I could topstitch the pocket edges, but with so much other topstitching going on, I don't want to add that. With a pocket facing, I could add the flap to the front of the pocket and make it decorative rather than functional, since with a facing a small gape would not reveal the pocket lining of a different fabric.

I will try to squeeze in a little work on these tonight. So far, I have one leg completely constructed, and need to attach the back to the front on the other leg. After that, it just leaves inserting the zipper, adding the waistband, and hemming. I doubt I will get them done tonight, though...it's Project Runway night!