Corduroy stretch jeans

Did the title of this post send shivers down your spine? I think stretch jeans get a bad name from all those who think the extra ease is an invitation to go down a size. Having said that, I didn't go out of my way to buy stretch, wasn't till I started sewing it I realised it must have some elastine in it.

Corduroy is THE winter trouser fabric. It's so nice and snugly to put on. I made the pants using M 5142 which I bought recently in their half price sale. Right off I was hooked on the styling with the generous use of embellishment and bedazzling.




You will remember my initial pocket design sparked by this instruction:



But in the end, because I don't have an embroidery machine and I have to top-stitch everything on my machine I simplified the design right down. Choosing the colour for the thread was tricky - nothing really stood out - I wanted something subtle, but not invisible. In the end I went with "bone" , partly because I believe there's no harm in flogging a good joke.





You'd really have to seriously be checking out my toosh though to make sense of it. I mean, does it say "knitting needles and wool to you?" I think the knitting needles would work better longer, personally, and corduroy does not carry embroidery well - too textured to bring out the stitching. Still, it will amuse me no end, and I'm the one wearing them.

The fit on these pants is not for those wishing to avoid the state of their derriere. They hug the bootie in a "cross your heart bra" lift and separate kind of way, evidenced in my photos. I did make mine a little on the tight side, but only because I've been caught out by corduroy before, it stretches a lot through the bias of the crotch after sewing. However, there's no doubt: it's too tight, despite me using the flattest back and lowest derriere option available. I have more work to do on the pattern.




The lesson of these pants for me though, has been "sew in haste, unpick at leisure." I grab moments to sew when I can, but I try to cram so much into that time that I inevitably make mistakes, like not stream shrinking out the ease of the waist band before I edgestitched and topstitched, creating serious puckering.

I don't know about you, but I cannot wear something I've made that I've made badly. So I spent twice the amount of time unpicking as it took me to sew it in the first place.

Harumph!

But these will be a useful serviceable pair of pants, and as wearable a muslin as any. Now on Monday I am going to start making these again (with modifications for a better fit) , the capri pant length, in my ugly fabric.

Seriously.



post editing note:

I just had to go back and do something about that back, which would be fine, if say, I was twenty years younger and my name was Brittney. Better, but the real problem is the crotch length, and I am going to address that in my next pair of pants.