First I’ll show you some changes I made to muslin 3 to improve the fit.
At the front I pinned out a horizontal dart and added some fabric to finally fix that wavy side seam (this latter part is better visible in the side view of the muslin).
The change I made to the paper pattern to add that extra room to the front is possibly different from how you think it was done so I took some pictures. I chose not to add this extra space by adding onto the side seam because that most likely would have changed the length of the front side seam and then it wouldn’t have been the same length anymore as the back side seam. Instead I made a vertical cut in my pattern and created a lot of hinge points at the side seam. In the muslin I measured at several point how much room I had to add. The hinge points made it possible to curve the original side seam to mimic what I had done in the muslin.
1. Slice in the pattern as you did in the muslin. 2. Create hinge points, I accidently cut some of those too close so they teared… 3. Tape a piece of tracing paper underneath the pattern and shape side seam to add additional room to pattern.
At the back I struggled a bit and ended up adding another wedge across. Not sure whether that was really necessary… In the end I decided that the way I had taken out the extra space I had taken out at the yoke wasn’t right and created the weird shaping so for muslin 4 I redrafted this curve in the pattern.
Then onto muslin 4. I didn’t have enough fabric left to make it full length so I made it as long as I could with the fabric I had left over from muslin 1 and 2.
For this muslin I redrew the back seam because I needed to fix the problems I had created by taking out all of the gaping I had at the center back of the yoke. In the muslin you can see that I am now planning to remove this excess by pinning it out as if they are back darts. This will create some shaping in the yoke pieces and I think this should get rid of the gaping. I also realised that the curve I had at center back wasn’t deep enough to accomodate my curves so I changed it as shown in the picture on the left. Perhaps I’ll have to scoop it out yet a little bit more.
In muslin 3 I felt that after I straightened the side seam it was still located a bit too much towards the front of the trousers so I moved it back by 1 cm in the pattern. This was done by making a vertical slice in both front and back pattern pieces. The front piece was taped to some extra tracing paper adding an extra cm. The back was overlapped to take out 1 cm. Don’t forget to also make this change to the yoke piece!
Still a couple of wrinkels at the crotch, but not too bad. The top of the trousers aren’t straight so I’ll have to change that. I think moving the side seam backwards is an improvement.
I do think the back looks better but now there is some fabric pooling that I’ll have to get rid off. This picture is also a bit slanted…
Side seam is much straighter. Top front is a bit lower than the back.
Since jeans are usually supposed to fit quite tight when you put them on I think I’ll make them a bit more fitted at the side- and inseam because the muslin is a bit loose right now and I think they will end up too loose when sewn in a stretch denim.
I’m afraid I’ll have to make at least 1 more muslin… Can you believe I am already dreaming of all the easy no fuss tops I’m going to make after I finally finish these jeans?
oh, my goodness ~ you are soooo good and industrious! Thank goodness you’ve such patience! Why not give yourself a quick break/reward & run up one of those dream tops… as an incentive to keep going? 😉
xxx del
I’m just worried that if I let myself get distracted I might not return to this project…
Very interesting to see before and after. Those are areas I too am working the “wrinkles” out of.
I think that is what most people struggle with. The wrinkles…
Yay to jeans-making!! I am in the process of making my first pair of jeans as well, and have started Muslin #2. I admire all your hard work and effort! I didn’t realize I would have to put this much work into fitting on the front end. Best wishes with your jeans!!
Good to know I’m not the only one struggling with this process right now. I hope you’ll end up needing less muslins than I do… 😉
Oh my that’s a lot of muslins! You’re jeans are going to be perfect!
That’s what I hope….
I am slowly working my way up to a perfect jeans pattern but I am not even to my first muslin so your post gives me hope!
Good luck!
It’s with great interest that I looked at these pictures, I teach pattern making in Ontario, Canada in the European tradition. Kudos to you for trying to figure out the jeans pattern! I applaud your perseverance because I tell my students all the time not to expect a perfect fit the first time, in some cases the second or third times and we draft patterns using personal measurements! There are much easier ways to achieve a perfect fit by simply manipulating the lines on the paper to suit the needs once one is familiar with the pattern draft. The mock up tells the tale as to how the lines need to be manipulated just by looking at the horizontal and vertical lines I can tell you exactly what to do to fit the pants. Please contact me for further information. Cheers!
Thank you for the offer, an e-mail is on its way!
Thank you for your detailed instructions and your perseverance is admiral. You have me the encouragement to make another attempt.
Good luck!
beter gewoon een goed patroon maken
rundschau coupe/ dit is een probleem heupwijdte en formule tussen been toegift
How do you know where to add/take away the extra fabric?
I must admit for me it’s still a bit of trial and error. I try to look at where the fabric creases and strains.
Oh my goodness! WE HAVE THE EXACT SAME FIGURE!!! Here is some keys to understanding our figure issues!
My pelvis is tilted forward which causes a myriad of issues. This makes the front of the pelvis shorter and flatter. It makes the butt stick out at the bottom. It slightly elongates the lower back/pelvis & puts stress on it. This also throws the top of the thigh bones forward, causing more mass at the top-front of the thigh. All this tends to mess up the front crotch & makes a big S-curve on the outer side seam! Once I figured out what was happening to my body on a bio – mechanical level, fitting issues finally made sense. I hope this info is a help to you too!
I haven’t even made trousers yet! But now I’ve read your blog on where to make adjustments I’ll have a go. Thank you
Did you have a muslin 5 or a blog entry on your final fit?
I’m in the process of fitting and onto muslin 3. Definitely my most challenging project yet
I am sorry, I don’t. Life got really busy and I paused this project because I really needed larger chunks of time to work on it. After having 2 babies I now have to start all over because my shape has changed somewhat.
Good luck with your jeans project!
Hoi Emmely, Ik kwam jouw site tegen en dacht:”Hier heb ik wat aan”. Probleem is echter dat ik niet zo goed engels spreek en dus alles moet vertalen met Google. En toen zag ik je naam en …….je bent Nederlandse. En dus vraag ik mij af of je blog niet ook in het Nederland is. Zou mij erg helpen. Groetjes Wil.
Hoi Wil, helaas schrijf ik op mijn blog alleen in het Engels. Groetjes, Emmely
Very inspiring, thank you for sharing. I’ve just started to learn about pattern fitting and these photos really help to highlight the issues and how you can resolve them. I’m currently working on a toile now 🙂
Good luck!