Project 6 of 50: Perfect Plus Pants

I have been on (and am still on) an epic journey of finding a TNT pants pattern. I'm getting close, but I'm still not there.

I had been fiddling with the Style Arc Linda Stretch Pants that everyone is raving about, but I just couldn't get them to work on my body. This was after months of trying by myself and two sewing lessons where my fabulous sewing teacher helped me make adjustments. I'm retiring them for the moment. I may return. It bothers me that everyone else says how good they are - I must be doing something wrong.

Happily, these Perfect Plus Fly Front pants are the closest I've found so far.

The pants are drafted for a shorter, rounder (plus sized) figure. That fits my body shape perfectly. Do I want it to? No. But it is what it is. For now. And I need clothes for my body right now. Enter the Fly Front Pants. These brown pants are my (wearable) muslin.

Amazingly, I didn't have to do too many alterations. In fact, I just shortened the rise in both the front and the back and removed the front darts. I'm fairly happy with the fit. There are still a couple of drag lines in the back that I want to work on and and they are baggier overall than I'd like, but they're wearable. For a 'real' pair, I'd definitely make them out of a drapier fabric. This fabric is just too stiff. I'd also add a couple of inches to the length. These were already so short, I had to sew a hem facing rather than just turning up a hem.

I converted this pair to elastic waist (using the waistband from the Style Arc Linda Pants) and sewed a false fly front. I wasn't going to be fiddling around with a proper fly front on my muslin.

I'll definitely be making another pair of these, but I really want a slimmer leg pair of pants that I can wear with loose tops. These are just too baggy, however, they'll look fine with a more fitted top.

I'll have to work on a top to wear with these. This ensemble is the best I could come up with. LOL. I was trying to work the 'inner column'.

Where to from here? Just last week, my Sure-Fit Designs Pants Kit has arrived. My plan is to draft a pants sloper that fits me beautifully, that I can then use to adjust my commercial patterns. That's my dream, anyway. We'll see if it works out. My husband helped me take my measurements the other night and I'm ready to draft up my pattern this weekend.