The last post ever about my Strides trousers!

Good morning! Well, I'm done with the Strides pattern...for now anyway. I spent hours taking them apart and resewing them strictly to the pattern, size 14. 

And they were simply too big for me. It's particularly evident in the front. Baggy gone baggier. 

I put the pants aside for all of one day, knitted, read, and then messed with them some more. Took off the waistband (again), cut 5/8" off the top edge of the pants all the way around, and took in a total of 3.5" at the waist: 1.5" on each side from the waist cured to just below the pocket, and the rest at the center back. I also redid the back seam to adjust for the bubble caused by the scoliosis curve in my right hip. And reattached the waistband. Whew. I think I should have started with the size 12.

The belt loops and front pleats are just pinned in this photo. And the fit is much better. But now I'm sick of these pants! 

Before I leave them, I should mention some of the nice aspects of the pattern. The zipper instructions are excellent, and the zipper facing and opposite seam are generous. The zipper can be set without the teeth peeking at all. I love the shape and utility of the buttoned fly shield, and the way the multi-piece pocket is drafted. 

I like to draft a tissue template to topstitch a front fly...I just sew over it and pull it off. No way am I going to free-hand that bottom curve!

And I use my open-toe presser foot to do the topstitching, because I can really see where I'm going. I use it to stitch-in-the-ditch as well, for the same reason. 

I added a few fun bits taken from men's trousers - bar tacks on the top and bottom of the pocket, and at the base of the front pleat. Actually, they really do make the pockets and pleats lay down better, in addition to securing these stress points during wearing. Squint a little bit and you'll see them...

 

All in all, I think I would like these better with two front pleats.  They're very wide in the front (the side seam is almost an inch to the back), and the single pleat looks a little lost. I pulled out Vogue 8836, which I've had for a while, and flat-measured it against the Strides. The Vogue pattern has two pleats and two back darts (the Strides have one), and it's more suited to my hip curve. The Strides are pretty straight in the hip - but then they're styled after men's trousers.

Vogue 8836

I'm not in a hurry to make more pants! I'm finishing a dress I'm making for Ashley (a surprise), and I'm working on her Boneyard Shawl once again. She and Darrin were able to snag an October reservation at their favorite B&B in Salem, Mass. The shawl will be fun for her in that witchy place of all things Halloween...

Bye for now - Coco