I say slowish because I do routinely use three curves I've worked hard to determine - crotch length and depth for woven pants, crotch length and depth for knit lounge pants and armscye length and depth (plus sleeve head) for knit tops.
My primary issue with the sloper concept has been that - and I do realize this is stupid - I always feel like, what's the point of having all kinds of patterns and designs if you just duplicate the same basic elements again and again. Yeah, I know, patterns have lots of unique details and some basics don't interfere with overall design. Or do they?
Look, I'm fairly confident that I can design a pattern based on a sloper (albeit a simple one). But I don't want to! I want to buy patterns and just use them and get fun, different results. Where's the excitement factor in constantly pulling out the slopers??
Admittedly, the lows are nowhere near as low.
So here's where I'm at.
My goal this year is to:
- Develop a woven (tailored jacket) sloper - most likely this will be princess seamed.
- Develop a sloper for stretch woven pants - I've got one for leggings and one for wovens but not one that spans the gap and, let's face it, the stretch woven pant is relevant in my wardrobe!
- Commit all of my slopers to oak tag or some such thing so that they are sturdy and reusable. (Please, need thoughts on best methods here...)
I just traced the relevant bits to make it easy to put them on top of other pattern pieces. Now I'll have no excuse to consider going renegade.
Next thing I did, this morning, was to pull out my Claudia Pants, recently purchased and arrived from StyleArc.
(Brief sidebar: I'm not super thrilled with the customer service they've got going on. I won't harp at the moment, but I may in the near future. And I'm not talking only about my Bengaline which still has not arrived. I'm half considering calling Australia since they haven't been responding to my still-friendly emails...)
In truth, I don't know that this pattern is going to suit me, but it's good to try new things, right? And I do appreciate the stretch-woven factor and the real waist height.
BTW, I'm going to use this stretch rayon denim fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics:
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It's sort of grey/soot (not black like the monitor shows), very light-weight with good drape and some stretch. It's got enough structure, I believe, to suit these pants, but not too much. Just washed this fabric and it's beautiful. It could easily make a dress. It doesn't wrinkle and the hand is delicious. I can see how I'm about to stash binge again...
But wait! Look at what happens when I put my pants sloper pattern piece (albeit a WOVEN sloper) against the unaltered Claudia stretch woven pattern:
Here's an unfettered view of the crotch curve of the Claudia pant:
If you look at the distance between the depth of my crotch curve and that of the unaltered Claudia pant, you'll see that it's 4 inches deeper than mine (never mind the difference in length of that curve). BTW, my sloper is navel, waist-height - not low-rise in any way.
I've read that the Claudias are very long, and I'm short, so I measured the length of my slopers against the below-crotch length of the pants. Guess what? They're both exactly the same length - 30 inches before hemming.
It would appear that ALL of the length I need to get rid of in these pants is in the crotch depth.
Is that not high on drugs???!!! Really. Am I doing something wrong, or is this high on drugs?
Sure, my crotch depth is really short - cuz that's where I'm shortest, in the lower torso. But my legs, as I'm routinely reminded, are actually average-length to long. Peeps who are 5'10" aren't lengthening the legs...
Is it silly that this makes me feel like a supermodel?
I bought the pattern in a 10 because everyone says it runs large and StyleArc advises that you go by hip measurement. Having measured the pattern at the hip, I don't know if I should add an inch. It's 0.5 inches smaller than my hip measurement, but the fabric does have stretch. Any thoughts on this??
What I will say is that the waist runs large by comparison with the hip.
I think I'm glad I didn't go with a 12 - though I forgot about this when I ordered the Elle pants recently. Here's hoping that wasn't a mistake. BTW, I had to buy those pants because Gillian will not stop talking about them and I've been bamboozled!
So this is where I'm at today. Please share your feelings about whether I should increase the hip by an inch and best techniques for preserving my slopers. Also, what do you think of these pants? Let's talk!
Posts
Oh man, now THAT'S pressure! Here's hoping I haven't led you astray! ;)
ReplyDeleteLooking at the back line drawing of the Claudia pant, I kinda looks like the darts take a turn implying that the pants go up an inch or two past the waist. It doesn't look like that in your pictures of the pattern though. Odd! For the Elle pants as I make them (my alterations are long enough ago I don't really remember what I've changed) I do think there is negative ease in the hips and waist. That's why I like them best in fabric with about 30% stretch. For the Claudia pants, mabye you could leave an extra inch of insurance width at the side seam when you first sew them up?
Ha! No pressure. I'm intrigued. And I'd better figure out what the stretch factor of my denim is. I sense 20 per cent max. Bengaline (and I think this is the fabric of choice for StyleArc in these pants) has 30 per cent. Hmmm - gotta go check that out before I cut.
DeleteI did give an extra inch at the hips over front and back seams. I figure, I can always remove it. And if I need fabric of 30 per cent stretch, maybe I"m going to need it!
In the line drawing, it seems to me that the pant waist is meant to be higher than normal, maybe 1" higher? I suggest trying a muslin before you alter any of the pattern just in case you like the look.
DeleteCheck out today's post. I think you will feel vindicated in this comment :-) And I do not think I'm changing the height at all!
DeleteWell, since I've never seen pants, I can't really give you any thoughts on that! But on slopers,I've been thinking a lot about them lately! I'm sick of making muslin after muslin, just because I want I want to make the latest fun pattern. I am determined to get my bodice sloper (and hopefully I can get a skirt sloper working), and learn how to draft my own details or Frankenpattern them from the new style I want! No more muslins! No more muslins! I find it weird how few people use this approach, but I think it's because most people have less fitting issues than me, or just don't care as much! Good luck in your adventures!
ReplyDeleteI know, it's just not a fancy-free method... BTW, I too have very specific fitting issues. (Maybe we all do but some people just don't realize it??)
DeleteOK, seriously, *are* we body doubles? My legs are super long for my 5'2" too, I wear the "longs" when I buy jeans at the store because they shrink in the wash to the perfect length (just *barely* brushing the ground at the heel in my tennis shoes). But my torso is maddeningly short, my chest is my largest measurement, my shoulders are basically nonexistent...I'm thinking I've heard you mention all of these qualities about yourself in past posts.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it will be interesting to see your take on these pants, both the good and the bad. And I think have similar feelings about slopers--I'm not confident in my ability to reproduce the cute details I see on other patterns, so my slopers would be terribly boring and I'd end up not using them anyway. I should follow your example on the armscyes and such though, I could see that being useful on most patterns.
Ha! Well, since you don't post pics of yourself, how would I know :-)
DeleteI'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels conflicted about the sloper. I'm coming to terms, though!
I think that when it's pants, not leggings, negative ease is the least thing you want, without negative ease it's just super-comfortable pants, with it they look much like leggings.
ReplyDeleteI hear what you're saying. And I don't want these to look like leggings.
DeleteNot at all related to your questions, but I'd be interested to hear how you came to develop your sleeve/armscye sloper for knits: was it just trial and error? (have you a post on it somewhere?). I'm just learning the fun of sewing with knits: my primary motivation is t-shirts that fit my frame (smaller shoulders, DD/E cup, small back, pear hips). The shoulders/sleeve/bust relationship is one bit I'm still struggling with.
ReplyDeleteA lot was trial and error. I did post on it a couple of years ago but I've continued to refine the pattern... I used the Sew U Knits t shirt pattern as my starting point. I recommend it.
DeleteChances are, if your bust is proportionately large, you will need a higher, rounder front armscye curve and a flatter back one...
Thanks for that tip! I'll look up that pattern and your old posts for tips, too.
Deletei'd probably just leave a little extra SA on the outer seams as insurance. nothing worse than having a pant an inch too small!
ReplyDeletei'm pretty much with you on the sloper thing. i haven't drafted slopers per se, but if i've altered a pattern to the point of it actually fitting me, i tend to stick with it and just change up the details.
I decided on this path... And I'm trying to understand the pluses of the sloper.
DeleteI get how you feel about the sloper thing---half the excitement of a new pattern is seeing how THOSE pieces come together to create a shape, and how that's different from other, similar pieces. I have figured out my main alterations for *most* patterns, which I usually find gets me in the ball park so I can fit as I go, but there are a couple I'm still struggling with. I really only have a sloper for a knit tee, and sometimes it's really useful, but I also have moments of angst where I think that maybe it's not all that and I should just start over. /sigh.
ReplyDeleteThat is a frightening contrast compared to your sloper, although I don't think .5" of negative ease sounds unreasonable for stretch pants. It does depend on the stretch of your material, though. I like the idea of leaving a big whopping seam allowance for your first go.... And yes, lots and lots of shortening. >_<
That's right! And I think the idea, with a sloper, is that you occasionally revisit it as you're fitting a new pattern...
DeleteIt is frightening! At first I thought it would be a no go. But I'm going to take some off the waist and some from above the crotch but below the waist and see what happens.
I have slopers and they have changed the way that my projects fit on me -- I use a princess seam sloper for tops (and jackets) -- I have a TNT pants (jeans/khakis) patterns I haven't committed to oaktag yet. My slopers are all without Seam Allowance and all on oaktag. . . I think it's a great idea because I bet you make the same adjustments for all. Normally I need only one muslin (if that) -- and on knits I just do a comparison -- I never muslin.
ReplyDeleteI should get rid of the SAs but I add them on (generally 1/4"). Then I can add more, as necessary but I don't need to redo the pattern just for seam allowances.
DeleteI tend to agree with you on the SA -- I'd rather have 1/2" on all. But, when I took my drafting a sloper class, alas we did not. But I save my "patterns" made from these slopers -- and I have some TNTs -- probably should move these to oaktag -- I have a nice S hook that they all hang in in on my sewing "studio."
DeleteSo, does the description of the Claudia Pants indicate that they should hit right under the armpit? Is this a new look on the runway? Because base don that picture, this are some high waisted pants. And where is that bengaline?
ReplyDeleteHA! I know. I was horrified at first. But look at today's post. It will scare you.
DeleteI *love* my stretch bengaline Elles. They are far quicker to make and more comfortable than skinny jeans and the pattern ease is perfect when made up in stretch bengaline. For the winter I usually layer a pair of thin silk long underwear bottoms under them. So while they are slim and have some negative ease at the hip to account for the stretch fabric (otherwise it would bag out and look sloppy), they aren't legging slim.
ReplyDeleteI find that Style Arc is a bit on the long side as far as rise in patterns goes. I am 5'9" with average (if not slightly long waisted) proportions, prefer to have the waistband hit at around the navel, and rarely lengthen the rise of their pants. My main adjustment, besides taking in the waist, is extending the front crotch curve 3/8" and the back 3/4".
Oh, I"m glad to hear this! You know, I've heard nothing from StyleArc on the shipping of this pattern. They've charged me and now it's like they've disappeared. I'm almost ready to ask for my money back on the club.
DeleteThey're def long with the rise. I take it all out of the middle and add it back to the top, however, what with my desire for a true, waist-height pant.
Thanks for your curve alteration info. I've got a new dilemma with Muslin 3 and the info might be useful...