Loes Hinse Ascona Pant take 2

On this version, I made a size smaller, took a dart at the butt, and adjusted the waist line.  Well, I think I should have added a LOT more to the back.  Let's just say, these pants aren't going out in public if there's even the smallest chance that I may sit down!!
Other than that, the fit is much better.












This time I used 1.5" elastic using a waistband trick taught to me by Loes Hinse in her shop one day.  Use 1.25 - 1.5" elastic and serge the end as usual.  After turning, only stitch at the 1" line, leaving 1/2" free.  This gives a flatter waist for those with a bigger difference between waist and hip.  It works for me.


The problem with these pants is that once I decided to use wider elastic and take a 1/2" dart at the CB, this lowered the waist too much and I did not compensate for it.  I'll have to donate these to a lady plumber!  They say the third time is a charm, so I hope so!  I like using the 1.5" elastic as opposed to the 1" elastic.  And a word about doing the elastic.  I love Loes's way of serging the elastic to the waistband, turning, and stitiching.  The PROBLEM with doing it this way is that you have no way to adjust the waist band after you try it on!!   Also, depending on your elastic, serging the end may stretch the elastic to a bigger size that does not retract!!   I DO have a solution.

1. First, try the elastic on at the height you want to wear the pants.  Pin it with a safety pin.  Leave it on
2. Put the pants on and and pull them up under the elastic and then fold over so that the waist edge of the pants now meets the bottom edge of the elastic.  Check the fit.
3. Change your serger to a longer stitch length.  I have an old serger, so I used the longest stitch length I could get.  This helps prevent the elastic from stretching out on the stitched edge.
4. Do NOT use non-roll elastic.  This seems to stretch out the worst.  Use a good quality elastic.  I buy mine from Peggy Sagers.  You have to buy a lot, but the great thing is that you can cut it to any width you like.  
5. Turn your waist over and stitch as per pattern directions or as above.  If you have not much difference between waist and hip, then use the directions in the pattern.  If you have bigger hips and a smaller waist, you may want to try the method I described above.

Another thing I did differently from the pattern is that I added a piece of twill tape to the rear seam to keep it from bagging out.

This pair of Asconas is a little tighter than the last because there is not much stretch as compared to the RPL I used last time.    As you can see, the fit in the butt is a lot better than the first pair.  It would be even better if I had on different underwear!!

Because there is little crosswise stretch in this fabric, these are a little too tight in the legs. 

 Now I'm anxious to try pair # 3!

The Oxford Pant

Lately I have been having a facination with Loes Hinse patterns. I've made a few things like the Capri Jacket, Bergman Blouse, Marseilles shirt, New York Dress, and a couple of others. These were all made a couple of years ago, so it's been awhile since I've made a LH pattern.






I've been wanting some elastic waist pants that do not look like pajama bottoms. My rheumatoid arthritis has been acting up lately, and when it does, snaps and buttons are almost impossible to deal with.

I've been looking at the Loes Hinse patterns lately (including Textile Studio patterns). These are the Oxford Pant. I still wasn't sure that I would like these pants, but decided to give them a try anyway. When I finally put them on I fell in love with them. I had tried on a pair of pants at Cold Water Creek a couple of years ago that had this same cut. I loved those pants, but they didn't have them in the color I wanted in my size. I've looked for a pattern with this same cut - and now I've found it. At first, I was a little apprehensive, thinking that these might look dated or just plain unflattering. I'm so glad I tried them, because these are my new favorite pants. I have another pair in black on the cutting table right now!





One of the things I like about these pants are the pockets. Also, the sides are top stitched, and that looks nice. There are darts in the back, which help alleviate the "baggy butt" look.
All in all, I'm really pleased with these pants and think you'll be seeing a lot more of these! I also got the Cruise Pant pattern, and will be trying that soon.

HP Razor Sharp - I started all over

I was not happy with the direction my HP Razor Sharp pants were going. Friday night, I was reading Nancy Zieman's Fitting Finesse book, and she has a whole chapter on fitting pants. I woke up at 4:00 Saturday morning and couldn't sleep, so I got up and started taking measurements. I went over to my cutting table and started retracing the pattern, using the pivot and slide method. This time I started with a 12 and made adjustments from there.


The directions in the pattern were very confusing, and because I did not understand their facing/fly front directions, the facing pattern did not fit. I had to re-cut a front facing, and then I used bias tape to finish the edges of the fly facing so that I would not cover up the zipper. I know there has to be a better way to do a fly front with no waistband, but I haven't found good directions yet (or maybe I just don't understand them) I tried to get a good picture of the fly front, but black just doesn't photograph well. This picture is of the inside of the fly with the extension sewn in place.




Here is the inside views of the fly front.

From Endless Combinations

From Endless Combinations

This time I used Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing book for the order of construction, and disregarded the HP directions completely. The only problem with this, again, was the fact that there was no waistband.


The whole time I was making these I was thinking, "These are turning out pretty good. I sure hope they fit!" Now that I've tried them on, I think the fit is pretty good, but the legs are still a lot fuller than I would like, and the shape of them is nothing at all like the front of the pattern. Now that I'm in my 50's, I can see that I've acquired the "low butt, high tummy" syndrome. Damn... I guess I really should start going to the gym. You can also see in this picture that the pockets kind of stick out at the top, and I'm really hoping these don't stretch out in the waist. The lining is showing a bit on this side, but it doesn't on the other side. I think if I would have top-stitched the pockets, that would have eliminated that. The fabric is a triacetate that I got from Fabric Mart last year, and I've never worked with it before.






Overall, I think the fit is good on these. I'm really glad I used N.Z.'s method of getting the fit right. It worked for me on these, and I will try it again on a different pattern. I won't make this pattern again. Even though the fit is right, I don't like the way the waist is and I don't like the shape of the legs that much. I don't think they look as "modern" as I thought they would (but maybe I'm disillusioning myself and need to be thinking about how to get a more "modern" body to put the pants on! LOL. I'm glad to have a good pair of black pants, but the fly, fly facingings, and doubled fly back flap make for a really heavy front of the pants. Also, the pockets add to this. The one thing I DO like about this pattern is the extra wide waist facings. You need them because of all the weight of the pants.

Next up, I'd like to make a couple of quick and easy things. I am going to make a twin set using this black and brown knit.