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Writer's pictureMarica N. Mitchell

RE: Life LESSONS learned from creating a mere pants!

Happy Monday Loves!


Can’t believe I will be heading back to work this week.  It has been a great summer and yes I am excited to be heading to a new school this year.  I will NOT miss the 1 hour or more commute and will be able to get an extra hour of sleep or work out before I go to work. I waited last minute to make a few basic staple work pieces and decided that I would use my easy to sew patterns that would take me less than 2 hours to create.  My first option was to create at least 3 palazzo pants with 3 different fabric types using Simplicity 8605.


My first pants had so many issues and taught me so many life lessons.  I first looked through my stash and found a lightweight denim, however, I did NOT have enough. I needed an extra 10 inches if I had to cut on grain. I decided to CUT it cross grain not realizing that IT was definitely a BIG NO NO!  For the most part, I always cut MOST of my patterns on GRAIN except when I want to add a little drama or play with the stripes.  For gathered skirts or a top, YOU may be able to get away with it but I PROMISE you, it MAKES a BIG DIFFERENCE with these wide leg pants.


SO here are the mistakes that you may NOT see with the denim: 1. Need to add a little bit more adjustment to the crutch and the waistband.  This is a paper-bag waist and sits at the natural waist and I had to wear it super low to avoid crotch issues.  I adjusted the crutch before cutting and it needed at least 1/2 inch more. 2. Grading in between so many sizes to have a WIDER leg did NOT work for my body type.  I had to adjust it before shooting as it had some serious issues on the thighs and sides. 3. Use fabric that works for the desired look.  Rayon drapes better so of course I will use this block for rayon palazoo pants.

After seeing a sewist (skirtboss on Instagram) wide leg palazzo pants and how she explained grading to the largest size, I figured it would work for me since we are both tall. The issue is I AM NOT PETITE and more on the CURVY body type so mine did not look like not even close to any of her wide-leg pants.  I had to grade in between sizes for the waist and hip and grading between 2 larger sizes for the pants below did not give me the right fit.  I adjusted it slightly for it to look halfway decent to wear outside the house. I needed that epiphany to learn that what works for someone else may not work for me.


Some life lessons are: 1. God created us in HIS own image and we all are unique.  Our body types are different even though we may have the same characteristics (height, shape) it may not come out or even look the same. 2.  If you don’t have enough, just don’t cut!  We often times want to take shortcuts to get to the finish line.  Life is NOT a race! I wasted 2 yards of lightweight fabric that I could have used for something else just because I wanted to cut these pants so bad. 3. Failure is the best life lesson.  If I had given up after my first pair, I would not have created a winning look and learn how to stitch down the elastic in the waist area.  I will always look at each failure as a valuable life lesson. 4. Only you sometimes will see the mistake so brush it off and keep it moving.   Everyone loved the pants including me at first and a NON-sewist will say how beautiful it is. I am still proud of it no matter what and got so many compliments.  We are our biggest critic and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.  Once you rock it with confidence, that is where the focus will be.

OUR FIRST SHOT AND I LOVE THE WARM TONES!

I am so happy with VERSION 2 and somewhat pleased with VERSION 3.  I graded to the large, adjusted the waist and the crutch by 1/2 inch and it was perfect. In addition, the reason I even more in  love with version 2 more is the fabric choice was perfect and it drapes so beautifully.  I used 100% rayon from my stash and with version 3, I used 100% polyester.

ROCKING IT WITH MY OGDEN CAMI!

Will the fabric and cut make a DIFFERENCE? Absolutely!!!  I am in LOVE with this pattern after a few modifications and will create it as a block for any future 100% rayon wide leg pants.  I am pretty sure it can work for polyester, lightweight denim, and even linen but I have to note that the drape will be different.

LOVE THE FAKE JUMPSUIT

I truly enjoyed shooting with Carlos a local photographer at this rustic location in Miami!  BE SURE TO CHECK HIM OUT ON INSTAGRAM HERE! I loved every single photo which captured the natural elements and the beauty of the fabric.  I definitely will be using him again in September for my Fabric Mart and #sewyourview.

Thanks so much for stopping by and stay tuned for VERSION 3 and 4 later this week or next Monday!

Have a BLESSED WEEK! One Love, Marica

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