Monday, November 9, 2015

The Finished Product - Style Arc Misty Pull-On Jeans Sewalong

Friends, I am so glad to be finally posting this post!


Style Arc Misty Pull-On Jeans - Plus Size Edition


I want you all to know that I have not made any alterations to the pattern in these pictures.  This is how the jeans sewed up straight from the package (although I did size down 2 sizes).  You can see the wrinkling across the knees is still there.


Style Arc Misty Pull-On Jeans from the back


I feel pretty alright about the fit through the behind.  My sweet husband didn't notice that the building had left dust all over my back, so if you can, please ignore it.


Style Arc Misty Pull-On Jeans Knock Knee Adjustment Needed


I am not mad at the fit here in the front.  It is just as good as RTW if not a little better.  I knew going in that I need a knock-knee adjustment, but I really wanted to sew for the sewalong straight from the pattern.  I think it can be intimidating for beginners when we do a sewalong and then start making all kinds of adjustments.  I just wanted to show what you get (or should I say what I get?) without any changes.  I just want to be clear on that.

I didn't photograph the tummy area of the jeans.  Be mad at me if you want.  The fit there is pretty good.  I will be lengthening the front crotch curve a little in the future, but that is the only adjustment I will be making.  The elastic ended up coming in about an inch below my natural waist.


Style Arc Misty Pull-On Jeans Sway Back Adjustment Needed


Those smile lines at the bottom of my bum are the only issue with the fit of the back of the jeans for me.  This indicates that I need a pants swayback adjustment.  Just a minor one though.  Look at that pattern matching!  Not only did they match up from side to side, but the pattern continues on through the yoke.  Boy is my elbow sore from patting myself on the back!  My pockets have disappeared in to the fabric.

Now, with the pictures out of the way, let's just talk about these pants for a minute.  These pants are comfortable.  I imagine that these feel the way those pajama jeans from TV informercials felt.  Some of that may be the fabric I chose to use, but I have heard that same sentiment from other sewists as well.   What isn't comfortable about them is that exposed elastic waist, but in all fairness I have never liked the feel of elastic against my skin.  I will be going back and removing the elastic and encasing it with the jeans fabric.  When I make these in the future, I will only make them with encased elastic.  I do believe that I will make more of these in the future, but with all the necessary adjustments.

Let's talk about how you can get in on the fun of the Misty Jeans Sewalong.  If you search #mistyjeanssewalong on Instagram, you can see where some sewist are having discussions and posting pictures of their Misty Jeans.  Please feel free to join the conversation!

On Sunday, November 15th I am going to post a link party that you all can link your Misty Jeans to after you make them.  You will be able to post pictures of your Misty Jeans from any online picture posting source (flickr, Google Photos, etc.) as well as from your blog if you have one.  The link party will stay open for posts through November 30th.  Then, we will start live voting for the jeans on December 1st.  I can't quite tell you about the prize pack yet, but promise I will have all the details up in the link party.

So tell me friends, how are you doing on your Misty Jeans?  

17 comments:

  1. These look great, Alicia! I can imagine they are definitely better than RTW, I can't believe this is with no alterations. I do agree with you that there must be some disparity in drafting because I think you and I have fairly similarly shaped lower bodies (booty shape, thighs touching til the kneee) and my fit was horrible. My adjustments helped somewhat but made the grainline all wonky. I'm going to try to get some photos after work today. I'm wearing jeans at work and am actually comfortable for the first time ever, so thanks a million for getting us all excited about this pattern! Once I sort out some real fitting adjustments, I'm definitely going to make more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Megan! I agree that you and I have similar body types, and these should have had a similar fit for you. I am so happy that you are able to have comfy jeans, and I think that the comfort level makes them worth working out all the fitting issues. Can't wait to see your finished jeans!!

      Delete
  2. Huge congrats on these Alicia. I think they look great on you. Sterling job hosting the sewalong too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. These look great! I finished (and wore) mine over the weekend but haven't gotten pictures yet. I'll be able to better assess the fit on mine once I can see it in photos.

    Mine are super comfortable, but I found that they ran really long. I'm not really seeing the tell-tale "knock knee" wrinkles in your photos, so in the wrinkles that I am seeing, I'm wondering if it's more a matter of you needing to shorten the legs a touch between the crotch and knee point. (This is coming from someone who has no idea how tall you are and always sees fit adjustments through the mental filter of a 5'2" shortie.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle Rose, that's a great point for new sewists. Photos will tell you so much about fit that you may not see looking in the mirror.

      I am 5'6" and Style Arc designs for 5'6 1/2". I may need to take a very slight shortening at the knee, but trust me I have severe knock knees. My photographer may have straightened the wrinkles a little much. ;)

      Delete
  4. Love the photos Alicia. They help me to assess my own pants/jeans challenges. I see some twisting/wrinkling between your knee and ankle. I get that too. Can you --or anyone else in CSC blog land -- identify what that is caused by? Also how do you a sway back adjustment to pants? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for pointing that out Robin, because it was something I meant to address. That is caused by having full calves. This is a great tutorial on how to do a large calf adjustment https://www.sewalongs.com/clover/clover-large-calf-adjustments

      As for the sway back pants adjustment, Colette also has a great tutorial for that here: https://www.sewalongs.com/clover/clover-swayback-adjustment

      Delete
  5. Very nice trousers. I love the pattern on the fabric and they look really nice on. Always the sign of a good pattern when you want to make it again. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, MoR! If there were any of the fabric left I would grab it up and send some to you! Thank you for all your kind comments over the course of this sewalong.

      Delete
  6. Those look awesome on you right out of the package. I think I'm going to have to encase my elastic as well as soon as I get some! Although, if I encase it I can use some white elastic that I already have. Thanks for hosting this sewalong, Alicia!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tanya! Go with the white elastic and encase it. You will be so glad that you did!! This sewalong has been so much fun. I am already thinking about what my next one will be.

      Delete
  7. I haven't gotten too far, but I'm still very determined to finish. Especially after seeing how great you look in yours! I have a question, though about the elastic waist. You said that you're going to encase the elastic in this post. I have a RTW pair of pull-on jeans with and encased elastic waist. Whenever I get the slightest bit sweaty, the fabric soaks it right up and it gets really uncomfortable. Any solutions to that? Encase in synthetic fabric?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond! I haven't had this experience with an elastic waist before, so I am not sure. I find that when I wear synthetics I sweat more, but if it is the feeling of the waist being wet that bothers you, synthetic could be the way to go. I am wondering if a cool max knit might be the way to go? Knit would be fine to encase the waistband with.

      Delete
    2. Just saw your response. So far the plain elastic is really comfortable. If I ever have a problem, though, a cool max knit is a great idea.

      Delete
  8. Thank you so much for doing this sewalong! I had planned to make these jeans and was fully confident that I could accomplish it. Then I saw that you were doing this sewalong, and that was what actually got me started. After buying the pattern and looking at the very brief directions, I laughed, because I never would have know what to do without your very detailed directions.

    These jeans are the best! The fit is perfect and they're so comfortable. I'm hooked on sewing my own clothes! I'm planning to make a couple pairs in colored denim (green, yellow, red?) and some shorts with leftover fabric from my first pair.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I forgot to mention the changes I made to the pattern. The legs were to wide from the knee down, so I took them in. They're perfect now! I also decided to use only one layer of elastic and it's really comfortable and still works great.

    ReplyDelete