Misty Jeans Sewalong...Dimensions for the Added Sizes

Hello, friends!  I received a response from Style Arc this morning about sizing on the added sizes.  Chloe and the girls at Style Arc are super busy (have you seen the amount of patterns they have been producing of late?) so let's be understanding that it took a minute to get this information.

These are the finished measurements for the respective pattern sizes:

WAIST SIZES 

34   142cm / 56"

36   148cm / 58.5"

38   154cm / 61.75"

HIP SIZES   

34   160cm /  63"

36   166cm / 65.5"

38   172cm /  67.75"

Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, let's look at these finished measurements a little closer.  This pattern is made to be used with stretch denim.  There is going to be negative ease.  

Style Arc designs the pattern with two inches of negative ease built in.  Now girls, we all know that as you add more cloth, there will be more ease.  Let's say that you bought a stretch denim that has 10% stretch.  (Do you know how to figure this out?)  For every ten inches of that denim you are going to get an inch of stretch.  Everyone following me so far?  So, in the case of the size 38 jeans, your 67.75 inch finished garment is going to have an additional 6.75 (rounded of course) inches of ease.  Hence, it should accommodate up to 74.5 inches in the hips.  However, you want some ease for sitting.  That is why I say that the 38 will accommodate up to 72 inch hips.  Is this making sense to everyone?  One of the pair of Misty's I will be making is from a denim look knit that has considerably more stretch, but I will sew it as if it has 25% stretch to keep from getting pull lines.  I would NEVER assume more than 25% stretch, because as you stretch on the x axis, the y axis may shorten (shorter crotch, shorter legs, pockets doing weird things).

Now, let's take a look at those waist sizes.  If you are like me, you are looking at those waist sizes going whoa, that is pretty big.  During the sewalong, I will be addressing ways to better fit your waist, but I want you to know that the waist sizes shown are actually the measure at the top of the fabric where you will be attaching your elastic.  So this would be the measurement an inch below your natural waist.  But, don't worry too much about waist size.  We want to make sure that the pants will fit your hips.  That said, if you have less than seven inches difference between your hips and your waist, order by your waist size.

If there is still some confusion in my clear as mud offering here, I suggest two other ways to pick your pattern size.  For those of us that already have a jegging or pull-on jean that fits, check to see that your fabric you intend to use has the same-ish amount of stretch, and order based on the finished measurement of the jeans you already own, when they are laying flat and unstretched.

You can also wrap your fabric around yourself at the hips, stretching it to the tightness that you would be comfortable with in your jeans.  Mark the fabric and then lay it flat and unstretched, and measure the distance between your markings.  Then order your pattern based on that size.

Most importantly, don't stress.  Stretchy material is very forgiving.  We will work through all of this and get it figured out.  I picked this very pattern because it is going to be easy to work with and adjust if needed.

Hit me with any questions and I will try to answer them as best I can.  I hope I didn't make this too confusing!