On ironing

Summer must be the worst time to begin thinking about pants because pants mean pressing the epic yardage that's just come out of the dryer. But, the back to school sales have begun (already?), so it means it's time to start my back to school sewing projects.

In the coming days, I hope for three new pair of pants, erm, trousers, one red and two khaki, based on the block I drafted this past April using AmaniAdria's tutorial on YouTube:

Ah, the skepticism! I cut the first muslin of this block with nearly two inch seam allowances in case it was a complete disaster. As it turns out, patterns that are made to measure actually result in clothes that are made to fit. Go figure. Lots of seam allowance trimming ensued.

The only fitting adjustments that I made to this sloper or block or pattern or whatever you want to call it were to the leg width (arbitrary), to the back dart length, and to the front rise. (On me as drafted the rise was much more Fred Mertz than Katharine Hepburn. Not rock-able.)  If you haven't yet drafted a pattern -- especially for trousers, which can be miserable to figure out fitting-wise -- I recommend it. It's not really scary. All it takes is a big piece of paper and enough frustration to propel one to action. Yup, that's what frustration does on a good day. I'm not sure how many commercial pants patterns gave me heartburn before I reached that threshold, but the last one, from which I kept only the pocket pieces, certainly got me there.

In my next life, I'm going to become a bespoke tailor. And singlehandedly revive the occupation.

Back to the present, I have some lovely cherry red twill in the laundry basket waiting to be pressed. I'm thinking capris, which will be wearable through at least September. I just love red pants.