I finally added it to my stash this spring and still, went months waffling on it. Then I added it to my summer plans and spent weeks waffling. Then I finally decided to cut them out and right up until the point where I was about to cut them out, I considered bailing.
First, the envelope includes all sizes. I went through the gazillion sheets twice and I had 2 of the same sheet. This pattern sheet had the front pants piece for sizes 16-22 and the pocket piece for sizes 6-14. So I was missing the front pants piece for sizes 6-14 and pocket piece for 16-22. I was relieved because I felt managing with the smaller pocket piece was doable.
I wish I'd been missing the pants piece because I would have SURELY jumped ship. But nope, I carried on. Sigh.
The pattern pieces were ENORMOUS. I considered the fact that my twill would be too rigid for the style but, I carried on. Sigh.
A 9" zipper was required. Eesh. I carried on. Sigh.
The instructions are HORRIBLE. Now, y'all know me and know that I sew near any and everything and rarely struggle with any sort of construction. It's actually a straightforward design - not complicated - but the instructions are HORRIBLE. I couldn't believe how unclear they made things. Bleh.
Once I got them assembled, I basted the pleats (they are sewn through full thickness of front and facings) and basted the side seams.
CLOWN PANTS!
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| Listening to foolishness re: the sad state of America... |
Yuck. I hate them. I ended up taking the side seams in another 1" (about 1'4" from the pockets, increasing once I got past the pocket). They did feel a lot better on but I was not happy about the fit, about the fact that they came up to my bustline darn near, and I felt they were not the best use of my wonderful printed twill. I kicked myself for not cutting another pair of NL6459 after finishing the crepe pair.
I pulled out a few pair of flat-front, side-zip pant patterns and I believe I can cut M7745 from the cut pants. I have to take them apart (meh) but I don't want to waste the fabric! I picked it up at Cali Fabrics. I check them out periodically and wonder why I don't shop there more frequently. 1) hate the whole yard requirement 2) I always get bad cuts there. This fabric and the jersey I used for my Kommatia tee was cut terribly. I don't think they'll be in my regular rotation of online retailers -- I find poor cutting to be completely unacceptable* -- but I do like this fabric.
*I stopped shopping with Fabric.com for over 4 years because they'd routinely send me pieced yardage. I would order 3 and would get a 1yd and 2 yd cut or two 1.5 yd cuts. OY!
Now, I know people tend to mean well but, I am not looking for tips or advice on these. I'm totally okay with everything not being for everybody. I knew this pattern wasn't for me which is why they hadn't made it into my stash before now. And I'm not saying "this pattern is bad" - I am saying "this pattern does not work for me".
Onward!
I am so annoyed with Simplicity and their crappy website experience. The latest release they show on the site is Early Fall but Fall catalogues are in stores. I bought NEW patterns from Hobby Lobby!
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| 8992 and 8989 are from the latest release |
I'm going to start looking into another pattern cataloguing method. My annual membership just renewed in May so I have time to figure out a new system and slowwwwwlllllly :-) migrate my patterns over.
14 comments:
Hahaha! You are seriously not having a good day. It will get better. ;)
I HATE Hobby Lobby, but I am headed there today to check out the new Simplicity patterns. The only reason I go there.
Hope you can salvage that material because it's cool. I hear you about the 1 yard requirement for some online retailers. That creates waste and is a perplexing policy in the midst of all the environmental conversations going on. I won't shop at Hobby Lobby for political reasons but I have the luxury of a Joann's right across the street from the nearest HB so I can wait for their frequent sales.
Had to go look at the pattern just to see what you were talking about. I quite agree. As someone with a very high waist these would look ridiculous. Good luck with the slavage.
Sorry these pants didn't work out for you, but I look forward to seeing how you save the fabric and revamp it into something new! Also, I am headed to Hobby Lobby tomorrow to look at the Fall patterns at my leisure, hooray! I hope to bring home a few, yours look great.
That fabric is pretty good. Sorry the pattern didn’t work.
The look on your face says it all!
I have a recommendation for cataloging your patterns. Tap Forms. I have this app on my phone and I love it. You set up your own form with the fields you want. My forms have two pictures of the envelope (front and back), pattern number, year, garment. designer, woven or knit, size, company, price and notes. Yes, it does take a while to enter them all (800!!!, I only have 400), but I sat in front of the TV, put on something I really wanted to watch and it seemed to go fairly quickly. What I really like about having them on my phone is that I can access all my patterns wherever I am, even the out of date ones. So if you find the perfect fabric for that old pattern you don't have to buy a little more fabric, just in case.
There are some bad sewing gremlins orbiting in your sphere today! I do hope it gets better soon. I get those days, too. All the sewing frustrations of the year show up on one day! ""\\
I have no problem with the one yard cutting. I can always find a use for extra with my bag making and such. But I can't tolerate those who list prices online and they are for half yards. Now we are talking serious anger and I won't shop with those any more. Done! I refuse to shop at HL as well. Luckily there is a super sized newish JAs near me as well as an awesome quilting store, 3 floors, that sells garment fabrics too. No complaints here.
That is a *really* high waist. I have a short front rise so it would be halfway up my chest.
I use Evernote to catalog my patterns - I love it because I have it on both my laptop and phone. So it's easier to add a new pattern using my laptop, but then I have access to everything when I'm at the fabric store. I create a new "note" for each pattern, and then I tag each note with the type of garment, recommended fabrics, whether it is an indie pattern, etc. I can also tag patterns to put in my sewing queue, or patterns that I really want to consider for Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer. With all the tags I can easily sort through my patterns - for example, if I have a knit fabric that I want to match to a pattern, I simply select my "knits" tag, and voila! Everything is filtered down to all my knit patterns. I can also easily add pictures and links to pattern reviews. I also love that I can easily include my Burda magazine patterns so they are not forgotten. Plus there is a free basic version that almost always is enough for my needs. I also use Evernote to create notes on my different projects, whether they are makes that I'm currently working on, or makes that I am considering for the future. Finally, I love using it for keeping track of my fabric stash - I have a spreadsheet in a note, and the spreadsheet contains all the pertinent info for my fabric - cost, yardage, photo, date I purchased, care instructions, notes on what I want to make with it, etc. This also makes it super easy to keep track of how much fabric I own without having to physically look through it. Anyway, I hope you find the method that works best for you. And good luck with your pants, I'm sure we will all be impressed and inspired with whatever you end up doing with them!
I think we all have to call uncle from time to time. With your sewing skills I think you will find a way to salvage that fabric. I am not that all organized to keep better track of my patterns; I too use PR when I remember to log my patterns purchased off of their site. I started using Evernote, but became tired of the process. Basically I take photos of pattern purchases, except downloads which are saved in their own file on computer. I post the pattern pictures in folders labeled for the year in which I purchased them.
The Simplicity website is such a mess, bleagghhhh! I'm waiting for the new Burda envelope patterns to come out, where are they?! Also, if you fancy trying Fabric.com again, I've never had a wonky cut from them, and I get a lot of my fabric there, especially quilting cotton and rayon prints (Joann.com is a different story!!). But I understand if the scar from your burns are still fresh. ;)
Textillia is fantastic for cataloguing patterns. The database is maintained by volunteers, so new releases go up pretty quickly. And, if a pattern isn't listed, you can add it yourself, like Ravelry. You can also search patterns by all sorts of attributes, from style to design details to date of release. It is great.
There aren't many reviews on there yet, and the boards aren't very busy, but everyone is friendly. Give it a try!
Hah! I made the exact same face when I made those pants! Into the donate pile they went, and I haven't looked at the pattern since. Not. For. Me. It pains me but I do try to finish pieces that I know I'll never wear when I first try them on. You never know, there may be someone out there wearing them right now.
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