When I checked the reviews of Marcy's OOP Vogue 8397 pants, they dated back to 2007... almost seven years if we count from the beginning of the year to the current date... which makes one wonder if she's sewing something that's out of date or something that's unique and timeless. I've debated this before. I'm choosing the later because it really wouldn't matter what year I wore these in, there still wouldn't be a lot of women in my community wearing anything like this... which makes me unique... even if out of date... LOL.
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I bought this pattern for two reasons. The first year I was at Design Outside The Lines, Marcy wore the pair on the right with the tucks and I loved them and another woman - Julie - wore the pair in the middle sewn with a knit and I loved them too. Obviously - VBG - that meant I needed the pattern. It's only taken me a year to sew them.
Many of the reviews noted the pattern ran large. I didn't find that for view A. One review said the measurements were printed on the pattern tissue. I didn't find that for view A either but... I have a measuring tape. I can measure. In the end, I did what I always do - looked at the size for my hip measurement, went up one size in the back and down one size in the front, and compared the pattern pieces to those of pants I'd already sewn and liked the fit of.
Interestingly enough, I started watching Joi Mahon's class Fast-Track Fitting yesterday and she measures the body front and back and makes adjustment based on those differing measurements. I'm only part way into lesson two so I can't speak for the whole class but so far, I find that attention to detail most helpful. It's something I learned the hard way with my fitting and now use regularly because...
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... the differing sizes front and back provide the right amount of width in the right areas and - with pants - create a shorter front crotch extension and a longer back one which is exactly what I need. I was intrigued that with this pant pattern the back crotch is more L than J shaped. I need that too.
One aspect I've been paying more attention to with my sewing is alterations that MUST be made before cutting out and ones that CAN be made after. Before cutting, I made sure there was enough width around the hip and waist, enough length along the inner leg, and more than enough crotch depth. Everything after that could be adjusted.
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After watching Peggy Sager's DVD on pant fitting, I have a better understanding of the crotch depth and why adjustments are made from the waist. Once the pants were sewn together, I used the elastic and chalk method - which I first learned from Pati Palmer - to mark the location of my waist.
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The solid line is the line drawn around the bottom of the elastic marking my waist and the dotted line is 5/8" away. The wider bit front of the picture is center front and the narrower bit back of the picture is center back. It's hard to turn down a nice casing along a curved edge so instead, I cut a 3 1/4" strip the length of the waist plus seam allowances and then seamed it at the short ends, pressed it in half lengthwise, stitched it to the top of the pants, and threaded 3/4" elastic to a snug but could be snugger waist measurement. According to my scale - which I'm totally convinced is lying - I lost 2 1/2 pounds on Saturday. Not likely but enjoyable for the moment. I'm sure it'll be back tomorrow - VBG.
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When I asked my husband what he thought of the points, he asked what points? I helped. Then he said they were very stylish and well sewn. Hmm... I think they're fun and I love the dart just above coming from the hip. I hadn't noticed those on Julie's pants.
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Howard said the back made my butt look great. Nice... but I think it's more likely that the top makes my waist look fabulous. I'm wearing the sister's clothes. Marcy's pants. Katherine's top. AND... I really am going to have to figure out how and where to take pictures. My photographer is willing but not the greatest at giving directions and thinks I look gorgeous no matter how goofy my face. Goofy is not - LOL - the greatest posterity look.
The pants are sewn from a light-weight cotton with a small check and a crisp hand. They'll wrinkle a bit more than I'd like but I was avoiding synthetics last week which turned out to be a good choice. I sewed the cotton pajama pants earlier in the week, these on Friday, and then a pair of synthetic pajama pants on Saturday. By the time I finished those, I was having issues again. Sigh. Back to natural fibers.
For those of you who are interested in this part of my life journey, I am making progress on my learning. I finished Super Immunity. It's more of a medical information book than a plan of action but it did give me new information on why improving my immune system is important. With good timing, William Crook's book - Solving the Puzzle ofYour Hard-To-Raise Child - arrived just as I finished the first one and I'm most of the way through it. What stands out is the connection between yeast and food allergies, chemical sensitivities, and other health concerns that run in my family so I'm going to explore that direction some more with his other book The Yeast Connection and Women's Health.
Today, I'm getting the guest room ready and later tonight, my friend Caroline arrives. I'm looking forward to our week in the studio although there's been a slight shift. We're not going to be entirely alone in the house as planned. One of my son's friends from work was going through a rough time and needed a safe place. Sixteen is too young to be homeless and on the streets so he's now with us indefinitely. We'll see how that goes. Apparently I collect boys - LOL. Most of them were here for dinner last night and except for my SIL, all of them were in town this weekend. This is good.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - safe spaces
I bought this pattern for two reasons. The first year I was at Design Outside The Lines, Marcy wore the pair on the right with the tucks and I loved them and another woman - Julie - wore the pair in the middle sewn with a knit and I loved them too. Obviously - VBG - that meant I needed the pattern. It's only taken me a year to sew them.
Many of the reviews noted the pattern ran large. I didn't find that for view A. One review said the measurements were printed on the pattern tissue. I didn't find that for view A either but... I have a measuring tape. I can measure. In the end, I did what I always do - looked at the size for my hip measurement, went up one size in the back and down one size in the front, and compared the pattern pieces to those of pants I'd already sewn and liked the fit of.
Interestingly enough, I started watching Joi Mahon's class Fast-Track Fitting yesterday and she measures the body front and back and makes adjustment based on those differing measurements. I'm only part way into lesson two so I can't speak for the whole class but so far, I find that attention to detail most helpful. It's something I learned the hard way with my fitting and now use regularly because...
... the differing sizes front and back provide the right amount of width in the right areas and - with pants - create a shorter front crotch extension and a longer back one which is exactly what I need. I was intrigued that with this pant pattern the back crotch is more L than J shaped. I need that too.
One aspect I've been paying more attention to with my sewing is alterations that MUST be made before cutting out and ones that CAN be made after. Before cutting, I made sure there was enough width around the hip and waist, enough length along the inner leg, and more than enough crotch depth. Everything after that could be adjusted.
After watching Peggy Sager's DVD on pant fitting, I have a better understanding of the crotch depth and why adjustments are made from the waist. Once the pants were sewn together, I used the elastic and chalk method - which I first learned from Pati Palmer - to mark the location of my waist.
The solid line is the line drawn around the bottom of the elastic marking my waist and the dotted line is 5/8" away. The wider bit front of the picture is center front and the narrower bit back of the picture is center back. It's hard to turn down a nice casing along a curved edge so instead, I cut a 3 1/4" strip the length of the waist plus seam allowances and then seamed it at the short ends, pressed it in half lengthwise, stitched it to the top of the pants, and threaded 3/4" elastic to a snug but could be snugger waist measurement. According to my scale - which I'm totally convinced is lying - I lost 2 1/2 pounds on Saturday. Not likely but enjoyable for the moment. I'm sure it'll be back tomorrow - VBG.
When I asked my husband what he thought of the points, he asked what points? I helped. Then he said they were very stylish and well sewn. Hmm... I think they're fun and I love the dart just above coming from the hip. I hadn't noticed those on Julie's pants.
Howard said the back made my butt look great. Nice... but I think it's more likely that the top makes my waist look fabulous. I'm wearing the sister's clothes. Marcy's pants. Katherine's top. AND... I really am going to have to figure out how and where to take pictures. My photographer is willing but not the greatest at giving directions and thinks I look gorgeous no matter how goofy my face. Goofy is not - LOL - the greatest posterity look.
The pants are sewn from a light-weight cotton with a small check and a crisp hand. They'll wrinkle a bit more than I'd like but I was avoiding synthetics last week which turned out to be a good choice. I sewed the cotton pajama pants earlier in the week, these on Friday, and then a pair of synthetic pajama pants on Saturday. By the time I finished those, I was having issues again. Sigh. Back to natural fibers.
For those of you who are interested in this part of my life journey, I am making progress on my learning. I finished Super Immunity. It's more of a medical information book than a plan of action but it did give me new information on why improving my immune system is important. With good timing, William Crook's book - Solving the Puzzle ofYour Hard-To-Raise Child - arrived just as I finished the first one and I'm most of the way through it. What stands out is the connection between yeast and food allergies, chemical sensitivities, and other health concerns that run in my family so I'm going to explore that direction some more with his other book The Yeast Connection and Women's Health.
Today, I'm getting the guest room ready and later tonight, my friend Caroline arrives. I'm looking forward to our week in the studio although there's been a slight shift. We're not going to be entirely alone in the house as planned. One of my son's friends from work was going through a rough time and needed a safe place. Sixteen is too young to be homeless and on the streets so he's now with us indefinitely. We'll see how that goes. Apparently I collect boys - LOL. Most of them were here for dinner last night and except for my SIL, all of them were in town this weekend. This is good.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - safe spaces