Good morning, sticker-outers, blender-inners, and assorted unlabelables, and sorry about those sweat stains; it was hot here yesterday.
I am close, so close to having these pants completed.
Basically, there's just the waistband left to do, but since this requires attaching hook and eyes and belt loops, it can't be rushed. But things are looking good.
Yesterday, except to go running, I didn't leave the house.
I ended up using my self-drafted pants pattern, as many of you recommended, and adding all the various parts from the McCall's pants pattern I'd considered using. Not so easy. After cutting my fabric, I pin fit the pants.
Then I got to work on the side "slant" pockets. Time consuming.
The result, however, is worth it.
Then the fly had to be sewn in and that messy little area where fly, fly facing, and bottom of zipper fabric tape all come together, securely stitched.
The real challenge was the back welt pocket, my first.
Not perfect but good enough. I shouldn't have had to topstitch along the top but I forgot to stitch the seam allowance closed from underneath. I may fiddle with that a bit yet.
Friends, corduroy is challenging. It's thick and pillowy and if it's over-handled, starts to look it. It can only be minimally pressed. In making these pants I never ironed once, not so far. It's been all about finger pressing and handling things gently.
After serging all the seam edges, I prepared to sew the pants closed and then tried them on.
I pulled them on, zipped up the front fly...
...and pulled the slider clear off the now-fully-zipped zipper! (I had cut off the top to shorten it.) The slider could not be put back on. I had to rip the zipper out and install a new one. A lost hour I will not get back.
The pants themselves are looking good and fitting well. And I love the color.
I will finish these today; I must. So much more cranberry corduroy awaits.
Please get out of the house and enjoy the day on my behalf. Why should we both have to suffer?
Happy Sunday, everybody!
The pants look great Peter, as does your welt. (And your tush!)
ReplyDeleteYou've now learned a zipper lesson all of us had to learn the hard way. ;-) I now never cut the tops off until I've attached at least part of the waistband or a safety pin.
Argh!!! The zipper lesson! I've had the lesson multiple times! And I've never learned!
ReplyDeleteLookin' good! You're a much better person than me! I just made cords for myself and I pressed, smashed and mishandled! Mine were just weekend pants, though!
your welt pocket looks great. did you use a tutorial for it or just pattern instructions? it's really time for me to try one and get it right, but every time i do it's just a hot sloppy mess. yours worked. so how'd you do it?
ReplyDeleteruth k
Peter, those look amazing! I actually kind of like the topstitching over the welt - adds a designer element, and a nice contrast to the vertical wales of the corduroy.
ReplyDeleteFabulous color, and you did a terrific job with your self-drafted pants. So glad you decided to do this!
The pants look great, I love the color! The only way a slider can be reattached is from the bottom of the zip so next time just remove the bottom stop and slide it back on. I have done it a few times too and wanted to smack myself each time!
ReplyDeleteTo press the cord you might try putting a large scrap of the fabric over your ironing board and pressing your fabric from the wrong side.
They are looking great. Nice fit! I wish I had a dollar for every time I've pulled that zipper slide stunt!
ReplyDeleteLots of great ideas here for avoiding the dreaded "OMG, I just ripped the slider off the top of the zipper!" issue. I've certainly done it many times; my habit now is to put a safety pin on the top IMMEDIATELY after I shorten it. The pants look great. I have to admit that I was dubious about cranberry ( must be my memories from the 70s), but they do look great on you.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving your progress! The welt pocket looks awesome, and the color and texture is regal. The fabric store I used to work for had a sign over the courduroy emblazoned with "The fabric of Kings!" so that's what I always say in my head whenever I see it.
ReplyDeleteThat is a tragedy about the zipper! But, lesson learned so oh well. I love this project as I love corduroy. I'm finishing up a women's skirt suit in corduroy but I've been away so it sits buttonhole-less in the closet for now.
ReplyDeleteWe've all done this and learned the lesson. PITA. By the way, I hesitated to discourage you when you said that you thought corduroy would be easier to sew on than wool. Now you know that this is not the easiest fabric in the world to sew! But, you've done an admirable job. The pants look great.
ReplyDeletewow, those are your first welt pockets? were you born with the magical welt pocket genius gene? ;) they look perfect from here!
ReplyDeleteVery impressed by the pants so far. And the zipper, guess we should have warned you about that, since it appears that we have all done that at least once. Sorry about the extra work. :-)
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, Meredith, I don't blame you...well, maybe just a little. ;)
ReplyDelete(It's Debbie Cook who's REALLY to blame.)
Oh my! Those are looking fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThe welt looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe bloody zipper lesson........a rite of passage?
Peter, they are looking great and I can't wait to see the finished product! The color is just perfect. Good luck and just focus —we know you can do this...and don't forget to eat! :)
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing last fall with a zipper--maddening. I am impressed with the welted pocket. You are acquiring new skills so quickly! Your pants look good on you too.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason why most directions re: zippers recommend you make a bar tack at the bottom of the desired length instead of cutting off the top.... As you've just discovered. I made yet another trip to the fabric store yesterday after a lovely royal blue corduroy for another dress for the baby. So I'm going to be sewing lots and lots of it in the near future...
ReplyDeleteThe welt pocket is killer. The progress (despite zipper mishaps) impressive. In Italian the words for zipper are chiusuro lampo -- which literally translates back to lightening bolt closing -- so no wonder it's a bit of a perilous apparatus. Glad to see you rallied!
ReplyDeleteciao bello,
Pam
That welt pocket is beautiful! Can't wait to see the finished pants - they are going to look amazing.
ReplyDelete(Be careful with the all the fluff from the overlocking ... you don't want to get Corduroy Lung.)
Pants look great and I'm super jealous of your welt! The red corduroy is fun.
ReplyDeleteI managed to get the zipper pull back on once by closing the zip by hand then sliding the pull on from the top. Think it was a metal zip, may have been nylon. Since then I've remembered to pin or baste the top of the zipper.
I love the cranberry corduroy pants! Congrats on the self drafted pant patterna and your first welt pocket. It looks good to me.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the zipper issue, decades ago when I took 4+ semesters of sewing classes in high school, we were taught to shorten zippers from the bottom by removing the small brad and replacing it at the desired length. Many sewing ideas have been updated since then, and there may be better ideas, but it seems that this adjusting from the bottom might work for getting your pant zippers just the right length.
Best wishes. I am sooo happy that you decided on this project rather than that dreary vitality draining quality navy jacket and old man high waisted "sans-a-belt" pleated pants. Those two articles simply drained all your vivacious personality from you.
(... from one who really knows and loves a well-tailored suit.)
The new outfit will show you at your charming best!
maybe this is why thrifters find so many zippers in our searches. We buy two zippers per project, just in case.
ReplyDeleteLooking really good, Peter! You are such a quick study. I love the color.
ReplyDeletePeter!! They are completely fantastic! The colour and fit are brilliant on you and I'm completely impressed with how quickly they are coming together.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great job on the pockets. :) Eeep - sorry about the zipper. Argh!
You're going to knock 'em dead at The Event That Must Not Be Named.
Your pockets look fabulous! I did that to my zipper on my last project. Twice! It made me want to pull my hair out. It's no wonder that my current project has no closures. :)
ReplyDeleteThe colour is perfect! This is going to be a mighty fine outfit.
ReplyDeleteLooking good Peter. Great welt pocket!
ReplyDeleteSnazzy
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS!
ReplyDeleteI have a v lovely star skirt upstairs-I cut the zip at the top, then realised the front/back were not correctly aligned! So a tall bit & a short bit, such a mess! I must look at that again sometime! :)
WOW, Peter! Amazing fit in all the right places. You have me so inspired that I bought a vintage 80's sport coat pattern on Ebay this morning. Luckily my deadline is June 11, 2011 :)
ReplyDeleteYour welt pocket looks nice. For future reference, and less frustration next time, try finding Kitty Rotruck's instructions for welt pockets. she's awesome. perfect every time.
ReplyDeleteI have an old copy from a class I took in my teens, but I'm sure there are books out there, too.