A simple pair of pants has me stumped...

14 years ago

I figured if I could make a welted box cushion without a pattern, I could handle some knit PJ pants for DD, whip them out while she was at school. Well, I didn't finish the waist or hems, tried them on when she got home and they were huge! I used Simplicity pattern 4005, cut very carefully to size 5 (largest size in pattern), it really was stretching the limits of the remnant I had to get the crotch extensions to fit on the fabric. I took a 3/4" dart in the front and a 1 1/2" dart in the back and it's still baggy on DD, the waist is still 21" and I swear she's a 22" but it hangs. She also complained about the "bunch" in the back where the seam is at the waist/seat and then is folded over for the elastic so it's 4 thicknesses of a thin knit for about 1 square inch. I only hand-stitched the bottom of the casing so I can rip it out, put the elastic on the outside and fold it over to the outside and maybe it won't bother her as much - also cut the elastic shorter.

Is there any way at this point to cut some fabric out of the waist so it doesn't have to overlap or gather as much? The whole reason why I decided to start making her pants was b/c she's outgrown the largest size Garanimals and everything else is too tight in the bum (I didn't take the darts all the way down to the crotch) and she complains about seams and tags.

I can't figure it out - no finished waist/hip measurements given for the pants, but the body measurements for a size 5 were 21.5" waist (not!) and 26.5" hip. I even stitched a second seam along the inner legs b/c with 5/8" (OK, maybe it was closer to 1/4") SA the legs were really wide, and she wanted these for play pants, not PJs (I was just using the pattern).

At this point it would take hours to rip out the darts and seams and cut the pieces smaller, but I'm wondering next time if I should make a smaller size and just lengthen them. Even the size 2 waist/hip on the pattern looks huge, one half the size 5 waist is 15", size 2 is 13". I got the 15" raw measurement down to 10.5" with the darts and gathers, wondering if I can get it to fit snug (but not tight!) around DD's 22" (?) waist if I use the size 2 or 3 pattern with size 5 length? How do you tell from the pattern what size will fit, or how do you alter the pattern for the "model's" measurements? B/c it doesn't look like I can trust the "body measurements" on the package.

Thanks.

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Comments (3)

msmeow
14 years ago
I can think of a couple of things that might have caused problems:

- if it's a pajama pattern, it's probably sized much bigger than a pants pattern, b/c people like PJ's to be roomy & comfortable

- is it a pattern specifically for knit fabric? If it's a pattern for woven fabric, knit won't work out well

- if it is a pattern for knit fabric, does your fabric have the correct amount of stretch? There should be a little ruler thing on the pattern envelope to test the stretch. If you're fabric is stretchier than the pattern is sized for, you will also have problems

That's what came to mind right away. Maybe other folks will have other solutions!

Donna
sheesh
14 years ago
I cannot find Simplicity # 4005 (or 4050, either) on line.

Msmeow had some good thoughts.
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2ajsmama
Original Author
14 years ago
Sorry, that should have been 1/2" not 1/4" seams. You're right, this may just have been the pattern - hard to tell how baggy the pants were supposed to be with the model wearing a longer top over them. The drawings didn't look that full.

Pattern just says "use flame retardant fabrics" so not specifically for knits - how do you adjust a "woven" pattern for a knit? Stretch the knit as you cut?

I measured crotch depth on some of DD's (fleece) pants and the size 5 pattern was only 1" more, those pants were getting a little small so I figured it would be OK for loose sweats. Didn't know how to measure crotch length, but took her pants, folded them in half with center back seam sticking out and it seemed to match the curve of the size 5 pretty well, she needs the room in the bum. The finished product just seemed to have too much fabric in the small of the back so I took it in with a dart. Same thing with the front.

I have Simplicity Simply the Best book and looked at crotch depth and length adjustments, so I can measure DD and the pattern for next time (using flannel or fleece). But would you allow the 1.5" - 2" ease for a child? or less?

And how would I measure the front? I can get overall crotch length, but DD needs that mainly in the bum, not the front or the lower back. So even if I made more than half the measurement in the back rather than splitting it evenly, how do I account for her booty/sway back?

Thanks.