We're making Megan Nielsen's Tania culottes, view D, again (v.1 here).

But this time we'll make them to actually fit as intended, high waisted and everything. To solve the between sizes issue we'll use Curve size 20 for the front, and size 22 for the back, to the length of the size 20.

We'll be using a bright purple linen, Gütermann thread colour 392. And we'll need an invisible zipper (in black) for the side seam, cotton stay tape to reinforce the pockets, and stiff fusible interfacing for the waistband.

And that's it really. Started by overlocking the raw edges, and it sewed up very quickly. This fabric takes a press very well, so the super narrow hem came out lovely. The missing pleat marking on my pattern did trip me up again, momentarily.

These are delightful in hot weather. I'm still not sold on high waists in general, but can admit it does work lovely here. The swish, the colour, the in-seam, so far so good.

Finished, front
Photo by chebe

McCall's M8479 is a woven short skirt pattern with faux-wrap options. I was having a hard time understanding how all the pieces went together, so I made a 'base' version of the skirt with the most common pieces and without any of the wrap choices, which isn't technically an option provided. It is closest to View A, but without the over-wrap half skirt (read on for explanation of this).

But first, why a skirt pattern? Well, simply, I need basic/versatile skirt options to fill a gap in my wardrobe. And this skirt pattern has a fly front zipper, which I haven't tried before. Skirts use less material even than shorts, so it's a lower stakes way to practice. And I really couldn't figure out what they were doing, without examining the pattern pieces closely. Curiosity, basically.

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McCall's M8479, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

Butterick B6902 is a woven trousers and waistcoat/vest pattern. The trousers also come in shorts length, as View C. (Which is a great way to fit trousers without using too much fabric.) They have slash pockets, a faced waistband, belt loops, and a side invisible zipper. This adventure begins with a toile.

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B6902, view C, shorts, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

After making the Aberdeen t-shirt I still have plenty of that Spoonflower fabric left over, so I figured I'd try something more suitable to its weight, like a skirt for layering.

I don't actually have a skater skirt pattern. Or instructions for how to draft a flared knit skirt. So taking inspiration from the many I've worn over the years I attempted to draft my own skater skirt.

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Skater skirt, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

Seamwork's Christina is that wardrobe staple; the pencil skirt. This one is a little different with a curved hem, faced back split, and invisible centre-back zip. The Bonus pattern is a more conventional pencil skirt, with pockets. I took the side pockets and added them to the base skirt. This is a non-stretch woven, close-fitting skirt. So first things first.

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Seamwork's Christina straight skirt, fitted, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

The fabric choice in the top was driven by the fabrics I wanted to use in the trousers. The trousers in question being a soft tuxedo-style; BurdaStyle Smoking Trousers (Plus Size), March 2013, numbered 140B, (same pdf as the 'Marlene (as in Dietrich) Trousers'). The provided image doesn't really show anything, so let me describe them. These are a non-stretch straight-leg pattern to be made up in crepe. It closes with an invisble zipper in the centre-back, and there are back waist darts. The (front) pockets are curved, and the waistband has a two-overlapping-at-centre-front-curved-pieces detail, that is actually sewn together, with two buttons as just decoration. The pattern also has optional side stripes, which it suggests to use a sequin fabric with.

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Burda Smoking Trousers, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

Seamwork's Pauline is a midi-length straight skirt with a split to the front on a princess seam along the knee. I said 'MOAR', and mirrored the split on the other side to get two splits. I straightened the top of the front-side panels a smidge, and took 16cm off the length, to just about knee-length. With the Margo sizing still in my mind I made this one on a base pattern of size 16, with a size 20 at the waist. The back is plain, with double waist darts on each side. This was only a first version so I didn't bother adding pockets or anything.

I made it up in this plain cotton twill, in black, (100% cotton), 240 g/m2. 9" invisible zips apparently don't exist any more, so I used an 11"/ 28cm invisible zip, in black, in the side seam, and closed with a hook and eye, also in black. (This pattern actually calls for the use of a hook and eye, this is a sensible pattern.) I once again skipped the interfacing.

This little skirt might not look like much, but it is a fantastic fit. The slight narrowing under the hips is very flattering. And as a basic black skirt will go with anything in my wardrobe. This is up there for the best thing I've ever made. I do want to look into ways to stop damage to the tops of splits / vents like this though, as that's the weakest part of this kind of skirt.

Seamwork's Pauline straight skirt, slightly modded, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

Seamwork's Rudy is a raglan sleeve hoodie, with patch pouch pocket. The Bonus adds a centre front zipper. It is a relaxed fit, with elastic at the wrists and hem, through the hem casings, no cuffs. I went with a Misses size 16, but concerned by the finished garment sweep measurement, I added 2" to the width. To avoid any complicated interactions with the sleeves I added a half-inch to both centre-front seams, and to the centre-back fold. As well as slashing up the back of the hood sides (where the seam allowance stops towards the back), and spreading them a half-inch each side as well. And not to forget the pockets, added a half-inch to each of the centre-front edges as well.

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Finished Rudy and Mel, side-by-side
Photo by chebe

Remember Seamwork's Margo I made not too long ago? Well I made another version. But this one's a bit different.

A friend pointed me at The Closet Historian's youtube, and I have become obsessed with her retro-futurism and cyberpunk designs. Many of her outfits and look-books feature shiny shiny pencil skirts in a variety of novelty fabrics. I want.

But. I'm having difficulty sourcing the really nice cosplay fabrics she uses inside my tax region. So until I figure that out I'm trying out the more old-school dance-wear fabrics that are available to me, like this stretch black lamé (96% Polyester, 4% Elastane), which feels like a lighter-weight spandex coated in mock-pvc.

She made a video about how to make her simple stretch pencil skirts. But, I'm worried that for daily wear they might look more fetish than sci-fi (which is what I'm aiming at) on me, so I'm using Margo instead. That's a 16-18/XL, with the hips narrowed, and I took 3" out of the length.

Using a fabric like this requires a slightly different set of tools. I'm using my clips instead of pins, to avoid unnecessary permanent perforations in the material. I trialled a teflon foot versus a regular foot, and there are catches with both. My teflon foot opening is very narrow, so I can't use twin-needles or zig-zag stitches with it. And because the whole point of it is to not grip the fabric I need to use two hands to guide the fabric through the machine to keep stitching straight. But the regular foot causes the top and bottom fabrics to travel at different speeds, creating a twist in the seam. Luckily I was able to press this out, but think I'll be sticking to the teflon foot whenever I can while top-stitching. (The back of this fabric behaves like regular spandex.) The bonus is that this fabric is unlikely to fray, so I skipped seam finishes. I did press, and hem though. Just with a straight stitch, not a twin-needle.

It fits with minimal tension across the waist and hips, and is loose further down. As you can imagine it's not all that flattering across the tummy. (But that can be countered with structured under-garments, or a longer top over it.) I'm almost tempted to go down a size, to get a fit closer to the pencil skirts. We'll see. I guess I should have figured, from this being a dance fabric, but it's actually quite comfortable, doesn't fight movement at all. Not sure its reached 'sci-fi' though, at least not on its own.

Finished Margo skirt
Photo by chebe

Seamwork's Shelly are classic style leggings, with no seams down the outside of the legs, and gussets (that extend to the knees) for comfortable fit. I made mine in a cute planet print jersey of 95% cotton, 5% elastic. The background is a dark-blue/navy, and the planets are off-white, some of which have Saturn-style rings in silver glitter around them. The fact that it's printed means it isn't the best choice for leggings generally, but for practice fitting leggings it's perfect, because the more the fabric stretches the more of the off-white base fabric colour is visible.

So, let's talk about fit, baby. I went with a base size of XL (16-18) based on waist (being at the larger end of the range) and hip (being at the smaller end of the range) measurements. I measured my calves against the pattern, guessing at what the fabric stretch would give me, and saw that an XL would absolutely not fit. I graded the pattern to 2X at the calves (and lower). Leading to a ~1.5X from the crotch through to above the calves.

If you're sewing these up with an overlocker/serger absolutely reinforce the seams first. I had to go back over many of them with a narrow zig-zag/stretch stitch to stop them unravelling.

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Then I finally got to try them on. The fit through the legs/calves is great. The ankle is even a little loose, but I'm okay with that. The fabric feels comfortably taut, but not restricting. With loose fabric behind the knee. And first time too! Astounding. But then I wore them for a while. And found that when doing terribly active things, like walking up the stairs, the waist would end up most-way down my arse. So I pinched out the excess at the waistband. 9cm either side of the back seam. 18cms total. That's 7 inches. I graduated from the point at the top of the waistband to the bottom, and then rounded the join off, trimming a little corner off the leg pieces as well to avoid a point. Now they don't fall down when I walk up stairs, but there is still a little too much movement. I don't want to remove more width though, because I won't be able to get them up over my hips. Not sure what I can do short of adding a zip. But for leisurely activities they are fine and quite comfortable.

The length does feel a bit short, hitting just above the ankle bones. That is where it hits on the pattern model too, but I'd add a couple inches if I make these again.

To sum up, that's a waistband graduated from a Medium (very roughly) to an XL through the hips, an ~1.5X through the thighs/knees to 2X at the calves/ankles. This is not a fault of the pattern. I have always had an extra-ordinarily difficult time getting trousers to fit me. Well, except when wide-legged jeans were available. Those were great times. ... And also my next big sewing project.