P.S.A.: Pants Master Pattern Continued

Oh boy, I think I got the fit I want.  I widened the legs of my jean-ius pattern draft muslin while keeping the waist and upper thigh I liked so much on the original jeans.  Then I made up another muslin in a super shiny moire polyester I inherited from my mom's stash.  I got to sew these up last night.

When I first zipped up this muslin and looked in the mirror, I thought "Holy weird flare, Batman!" Once I spread the super-tight thigh area, the whole thing looked much better.  I then made a plumb line and the Little Mister helped me re-draw the side seam.  Below is a closer view of the new side seam and spread thigh area.

I'm seriously pleased with the fit now.  While running errands to get these two back to school after 2 weeks out (1 weather-related week + 1 vacation week = happy kids), I'm going to try to decide what fabric to make these up in first.  Which fabric do you all think I should use?  Here are the contenders:

The top fabric is an orange cut corduroy I got from Affordable Fabrics some years ago.  I've always wanted orange cords for a while now and even have sweaters and tops waiting to pair with them.

The middle fabric is a black and white striped mid-weight denim I got from Affordable Fabrics years ago, too.  I bought a lot of this one (about 6 yards) so if something goes wrong with the pants construction, I still have plenty to try again.  My only concern with this fabric is that it may come off as too dressy for my job's "dress down" day.

The third fabric is a dark vintage denim.  It is 100% non-stretch cotton and is still a bit stiff after 3 pre-washes.  There is enough for 1 project.

Personal Sewing Academy: A-line (no waist seam) Dress

I clearly like to make things difficult for myself.  While trying to figure out the best pattern to tackle for this TNT, I obsessed over briefly considered these patterns:

While these are lovely vintage dress patterns, they either have too many extra seams for a simple TNT (Simplicity 6725) or give an  overall too-boxy appearance (Simplicity 5985).

Then it hit me:  why don’t I just perfect Butterick 5260?  I’ve already sewn it and wear my imperfect finished product at least 2x/month.  All I would need to do to get this pattern up to speed is shorten the shoulder line, shorten the sleeve, do a much needed fba, and make it dress length.

No FBA but I wear it all the time.  Look how much shorter my hair was then!

By George, I’m going to make Butterick 5260 my A-line dress TNT!

Free Obi Belt Instructions Sources

This poor post has been sitting unpublished for years.  I love the look of a cinched waist:  it’s one of the few style devices that keep me from looking pregnant on any given day.  Below are links to three really good obi belt tutorials.

• Simplicity has instructions for 2 different styles of wide cinch belts. They are not exactly obis, but will do in a pinch.
• Craftstylish has a good article on a 1 hour obi-esque sash.
• Adventures in the Art of Sewing has a very nice tutorial as well.

I Won Something!

Brenda of Brenda's Sewing Nook had a pattern de-stash giveaway on her blog & I won one of the draws!  Thanks Brenda :). 

I'd eyed the Fashion Star patterns last year and was very impressed with Clio's version of McCall's 6566.  The Little Miss was excited to see them and started asking about when I would make them up for her.  I think I may have leverage to get her to commit to sticking with sewing lessons!