What do you get when you don't finish your muslins?

You get a pair of really, REALLY, tight pants.

And you get thankful for the fact that the adrenaline of sewing these pants must have been so great as to raise your metabolism so that you now actually fit into said really, REALLY tight pants.

The tight pants in question are from Burda World of Fashion, 06/2007.

Pattern: BWOF 06-2007-104, Size 38/40.





Fabric: Black 98% Wool/ 2% Elastene from Fabric Mart and Black High Power Mesh Fabric from Lucy's Fabrics and a bit of Black Silk Charmeuse from Fabric Mart for detailing.

Pattern Alterations: I couldn't find the back line drawing of this pattern but the original pattern is drafted with the back waistband being thicker than the front. I wanted a uniform waistband so I redrafted the band to my liking. Originally I had cut a 38 at the waist grading to a 40 at the hips and thighs. The muslin seemed to reflect that this was a good fit but when I added the underlining I had to make my seam allowances a lot larger than the allotted 1/4" and so I think the legs ended up a size 38 which accounts for why the pants are so much tighter on me than on the model.

Techniques: This was my first pair of pants, dare I say even my first pair of bottoms, which was a great learning experience.

For reference....

Back Welt pocket: I used this and this tutorial found at Fashion Incubator. They are awesome! Last time I made welt pockets they took forever and they turned out to be a mess but using these tutorials made the whole experience completely harmless.


Underlining: Greatly aided by this explanation on Pattern Review.


Fly Front Zipper: I used a combination of Burda's instructions, Sigrid's explanation and Summerset's explanation. I didn't end up with the perfect fly front in terms of cleanliness on the inside but it does lie flat and I think it looks good from the outside which is good enough for me for my first try.



Details: Not exactly a technique, but I used silk charmeuse to cover the buttons on the back pockets and as one layer of the front pockets to add "interestingness" to the garment. I also used it to bind the pockets to gussy up the insides. Lastly, I added some topstitching and did a lot of edgestitching.

A view from the front.

A view from the side.

And you know what? I love these pants. Ah, I think they are so great albeit it a bit hot under the wool and the lining. Looking at them in pictures I'm starting to think maybe they aren't so tight it's just that the lining sticks to my leg and makes me feel like the pants are positively glued to me. Now, I'm going to find me a cape to sew!!!