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Update: Welt pockets for my denim pants

Construction update May 26, 2015 Leave a comment

I couldn’t stop thinking about welt pockets, so after consulting about three sewing books from my library, I finally broke down and added them to the back of my already completed wide-leg 1940s denim pants from Simplicity 3688.

Welt pockets were so much easier than I thought! I plan to put them in every pair of pants I ever make.

The outside:

My first single-welt pockets! I used vintage buttons and white top-stitching to match details elsewhere on the pants.

You can’t tell from this picture, but the pockets are really low. Not stupid low, but pretty low. My books said they shouldn’t cross a dart, and the darts were long. But after my pockets were complete, I examined a few suit jackets in my closet and found that the welt pockets cross right through seams and/or darts! Next time I make these pants, I’ll put the welt at least an inch higher up.

And the inside:

I had to use scraps to sew the pocket bags, so they are smaller than they should be.

Although I was able to add the pockets after the fact, they would have been more successful had I done them during construction. I examined the single-welt pockets on my husband and son’s khaki pants and found that the top of the pocket bag extends into the waistband seam. I think anchoring them at the top would keep them from sagging, so I’ll try that next time.

Also, in some of the pants, the sides of the pocket bag were sewn BEFORE it was pulled to the wrong side, then they were sewn again to make French seams. They were very tidy inside.

Since I made these, I’ve been noticing all sorts of interesting variations in welt pockets. (Which means I’ve been staring pretty intently at a lot of butts. “Pardon me, I’m not a perv, just a seamstress.”) I’ve seen pocket flaps of various shapes, button loops, and different top-stitching details. Some of these variations will make it into a future pair of pants.

But I have several other projects to complete before I can even think about another pair of pants.

Vintage-style denim pants from Simplicity 3688

Completed project, Vintage style April 3, 2015 Comments: 4

My second attempt at Simplicity 3688 is a success.

This is a distinct improvement over my first go at the pattern. Nearly two years ago, I tried (with a few tragically cut corners) a fitting technique that didn’t work out for me. I decided to go back to my favorite way to fit a pattern: Make a muslin and figure out what I need to change from there.

For those who aren’t familiar, here is the rather famous Simplicity 3688.

Simplicity 3688.

It’s a reproduction of a 1940s pattern that is well-known among people who like to sew vintage styles. I’ve made the skirt twice.

For the pants, I cut the pattern a size smaller in the hips than in the waist, but that’s the only change I made before the muslin.

From the muslin, I determined that it was an inch too long in the crotch and that if I took that inch out through all the darts, they would end in much better spots. I also needed to add two inches to the length. That’s it.

I made the pants from a dark denim (that turned out to be stretch) with white top-stitching thread and a white vintage button at the waist. Here are some closeups of the details.

Simplicity 3688. Photo by Jeanne Marie Tokunaga.

Top-stitching on the waistband.

Adorable vintage button closure.

Note that the buttonhole isn’t stitched with the usual satin stitch. The buttonhole was a new-to-me technique on my sewing machine. The Fancy Damn Sewing Machine has an automatic buttonhole function and fancy foot. You tell the machine how big your button is, set the wheel on the foot so it starts at the beginning of a buttonhole-sewing cycle, and press the foot pedal until your buttonhole is complete. Works like a charm (except on silk).

But I had told the machine I was sewing on heavy denim, so it changed the buttonhole stitch style from a satin stitch to Xs, and it wouldn’t let me go full automatic. I used a regular buttonhole foot. I had to hit the reverse button when the first side was long enough, then the machine made a bar tack and started sewing the other side of the buttonhole. When I pressed the reverse button again, it finished with a bar tack. Amazing.

The pants are very comfortable, and the fit is close, but there are some things I already know I want to tweak for the next time around:

I thought at first that the crotch was still too low, but then I realized that my waist is lower in the front than in the back, and if I fixed the pants to match, the crotch would fall where it should and the pants would hang better. I have already adjusted the pattern at the waistline to accommodate this.
The waist may need to be taken in. Since my hips have always been a size smaller than my waist, I am used to wearing pants very tight in the waist so they aren’t crazy loose in the butt. These pants have zero ease in the waist, but I may want a half-inch to an inch of negative ease. I’m going to wait on that decision until I’ve worn them a few times.
Somehow I made the pattern too long. I don’t think I’ll bother to change that, better to err on the side of too much length than too little.
I’d like to add single-welt pockets to the back. I’ve never made them before and am dying to try the technique. I actually could still add them to these pants.
The top-stitching length gets shorter the more layers I went over. I think I’ll need to lengthen the stitch in thicker areas so it all looks the same. I also think I should use a longer top-stitch length overall.

And here are the pants on me, with the blouse I most recently finished (and a new pair of shoes).

The finished pants.

I don’t normally wear blouses tucked in, so here’s how I wore the pants on my recent visit to the Legion of Honor Museum.

Simplicity 3688 and Butterick 5846.

The blouse is in a quilting cotton whose print I couldn’t resist, so it doesn’t drape well, but next up is the same blouse in an adorable bicycle-print blouse-weight fabric.

And here are the pants on me a few days later, with a knit top, cardigan, and loafers. So comfortable! I’ll probably wear them like this most of the time.

Simplicity 3688. Photo by Mark the Brother.

A different way to wear the pants.

I really like the silhouette and comfort of these pants. I’m definitely going to make at least two more pairs in denim and dial in the fit before I eventually make a lined pair from the really nice navy wool crepe in my stash.

Wide-leg denim trousers with zipper hidden in the pocket

Completed project, Fitting issues, Separates, Sewing a vintage wardrobe, Techniques, Vintage Separates Project May 6, 2013 Comments: 5

I recently finished a modified version of Simplicity 3688.

Wide-leg denim trousers from Simplicity 3688.

This project had three new-to-me techniques:

Palmer/Pletsch’s fitting method.
Sandra Betzina’s zipper hidden in a pocket.
Faux flat-felled seams and the use of topstitching thread.

This is how it went:

Palmer/Pletsch’s fitting method

I used Palmer/Pletsch Pants for Real People as my guide. P/P fitting books recommend that you pin-fit the pattern tissue, then partially sew the garment and finish by fitting as you sew. Pin-fitting even reinforced pattern tissue seemed a little dicey to me, so I traced the pattern with Swedish tracing paper (which is really more like nonwoven interfacing than paper) and used the P/P fitting methods from there.

I was really happy with the fit of the tracing paper version, but the fabric version somehow went awry. I think it’s because you fit only half the garment in tissue, and I didn’t end up with enough width by the time I cut it out in fabric and sewed the two halves together. P/P recommend 1-inch seam allowances, but I ignored that good advice. That would have saved the day. Instead, I sewed 3/8-inch seam allowances rather than the 5/8-inch allotted for a little more room. That improved the fit somewhat, and made all the faux flat-felled seams faster because there was no trimming necessary.

I also goofed up their excellent method for fitting a waistband. You cut and pin the waistband to fit you the way you like. No measuring involved! Then you attached the pants to it. Well, you’re supposed to fit the INTERFACED waistband to your waist. I missed that part, so I fit a stretch denim waistband to my waist. When I added the interfacing, it wasn’t so stretch anymore, so it ended up too tight. (At least it was too tight right at that moment. I’ve since lost 5 pounds, and the waistband fits a lot better.) But I did use their special waistband interfacing and the technique that goes with it. I love it! It will definitely be my go-to for straight waistbands in the future.

P/P have tips for fitting pretty much every figure variation you can think of. And it’s all illustrated in their book, showing real people and their real pants. But when I make — and fit — this pattern again (which I definitely will), I’ll make a muslin, then use their fitting methods from there. P/P are very successful with their pattern tissue fitting method, but I’m just more comfortable with fitting a sewn muslin.

I do like the overall shape of the pattern, so I think it will be fantastic once I fit it to me properly.

Sandra Betzina’s hidden zipper

I wanted to make wide-leg denim trousers, but I didn’t want a center front fly. Too much bulk in the wrong spot! A back zipper on denim trousers just seemed wrong. But I also wanted side pockets. I hate not having a pocket to slip my phone or keys into. So I scoured the Internet for a solution and found a reference to Sandra Betzina’s method for hiding a zipper opening within a side slash pocket. It sounded well worth the investment in a used copy of her book Power Sewing, where she illustrates the technique. Genius! I had to give it a go.

Well, what do you know? It worked. I’m not sure I love it, but it definitely worked. I bought both polyester and brass zippers because I couldn’t decide which to use. Once I was sewing, however, I knew I had to go with the brass for denim. It’s a little difficult to zip up pants inside a pocket, however. And with no back flap protecting my skin, I’ve nipped myself once or twice with those brass teeth. If the fit on the pants were better (say, looser), or I used a polyester zipper, it might be OK.

There’s a zipper opening hidden in that pocket! See the pulling at my tummy? All my pants do that. I do need to reduce the width into the waistband, but probably not where those darts are placed. Maybe just at the side seams.

See the zipper hiding in the pocket? Crazy, no?

Faux flat-fell seams

The construction was very straightforward, and I had some fun with the denim and topstitching.

I was very pleased at how the Fancy Damn Sewing Machine handled multiple layers of denim. It had to pause and collect itself twice when I pushed it a little too hard, but other than that, it sailed through the project without a hitch.

The faux flat-fell seam from the inside.

The faux flat-fell seam from the outside.

I have never done a flat-fell seam before, faux or otherwise. It’s a great technique for finishing denim seams. And I was really pleased with the how the topstitching went. I did opt mid-project to buy a proper topstitching needle. It has a bigger eye for the bigger thread, so it prevented the shredding of the thread I encountered a couple of times. I used the appropriate gold topstitching thread and love the way it looks. It wasn’t until I got to the hem that I remembered to increase the stitch length, so that area looks best.

The topstitched hem.

I had purchased a nice brass button for the closure but wasn’t sure how well a buttonhole would sew through denim and the interfacing, so I chickened out and did a hook-and-eye closure. I really need to sew in another set for the underlap.

All in all, it’s a successful project that just doesn’t fit as well as it should. Or perhaps as well as it will, as I’m back in weight-loss mode. I’ve lost five pounds since I fit the waistband. Who knows? Another 10 and it may fit great.

It is a great wide-leg pattern, however. I look forward to solving the fitting issues and making it again in denim (lighter blue with red topstitching?) and dressier fabrics (the wool crepe in the stash). I may have to give more thought to the pocket and closure, however.