Sunday, July 6, 2014

Thurlow Reveal

I've wanted this pattern for a long time.  I was very excited to get started on it and get to the completed shorts.  I was still hopeful when I made the muslin that these would be the best shorts ever!  Well, they are finished.  And too big.  The waistband is like 2.5 inches too big.  I still like them a lot.  I have plans to remake them in a much smaller waist size.


Fabric: 1.5 yards of 54" wide, brown  (taupe) flannel twill.  Bought the end of May for $6 from fashionfabricsclub.com; Dreamy, soft and lightweight.  I feel like I'm wearing nothing when these shorts are on!  Though I'm not sure the lightness works for these shorts - there is too much draping and not enough stiffness; it wrinkles easily too.  Love the fabric though.


Time to sew: 6 hours; but I broke it up over 5 days because it was too much straight through time for my body to handle.


Instructions: short and to the point.  I didn't follow them but instead went with the amazing sew-along posts by Lauren over at Lladybird.com.  If you are sewing these Thurlows, you want to follow her posts.  Wow!  They are step-by-step with excellent pictures.  She made sewing these a breeze and not one time was I lost or head-scratching, even with the welt pockets.


Adjustments:
I have a 29" waist and 42" hip.  I sewed a size 10 but took off 1/4" on each side of front and back pants, to take 1" off the waist total.
I found that I kept having bagginess under the rear end and I just couldn't live with it.  So I finally found a bit of info in the Threads Fitting for Every Figure book. See below picture.


This is what I did to get rid of that poofy part. It was something about full hip, thinner leg... I didn't' read about any of the info, just did the adjustment according to the picture :D

IN THE FOLLOWING PICS I'M HOLDING THE WAISTBAND TIGHT EITHER FRONT OR BACK SO THEY STAY UP ON ME :-)





Notes:

  • The pattern doesn't state what weight of interfacing to use (I guess it's up to our discretion?)
  • I find it easier to understitch seams, then trim and grade them - personal preference. 
  • Step #15 I don't like to sew the side, square corner of the waistband until after I attach it to the pants.  I feel this gives me more of a straight line up from the zipper to the waistband end. (not the triangle waistband piece, the square one)
  • Step #18 I wish it would have told me to sew the inside button onto the lining of the waistband before sewing the lining down onto the waistband.  I dislike hand sewing!
  • Step #21 doesn't tell you how much to press up and hem for the shorts.  I just folded 1/4" up and then 1", for a 1" hem.  
  • The cuffs didn't look right on me so I didn't' turn them up. 

Oh, and I had such a hard time tracing this pattern because it was a very light dashed line.  So I put my pattern piece on top of my tracing paper, then used a sharpie to outline the pattern and wa-lah! It showed up underneath.  The ink bled through the pattern paper -didn't ruin it - and transferred the lines to my tracing paper. * I would strongly suggest putting an extra layer under the tracing paper (I used some freezer paper) because my table didn't appreciate the black marks that bled through the pattern paper and tracing paper onto the table. *



So expect to see this pop up again sometime on the blog.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

17 comments:

  1. That is a great idea for pattern tracing faint lines! But how disappointing your shorts did't fit at your waist, after all that sewing. Maybe after a while you will alter them? I know it's a lot of work, but they are a great pair of shorts.

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    1. Thanks Philippa! I'm sure I read it somewhere at one time but memory fades from me fast! I was disappointed at first - and again when they turned out to be so comfortable. I'm over it now. I thought about altering them but it would take a lot and I would rather just make a new pair than do all the "fixing" work ;-)

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  2. Your shorts look great, even if they're a bit big in the waist! The insides look very neat too :)
    It is good to get a practise run for later versions. You are a bit like me, I always skip major parts of written directions if there is photos. I am just too eager to go!
    Great tracing tip, I'll be adopting that one ;)

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    1. Thanks Siri! I love that floral fabric on the inside - too bad it was the very last of it! You are right too, it was good practice.

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  3. They look so good on you! I guess that's too much excess to take up exclusively in the cb seam huh?? it'd likely throw your welt pockets off (which are VERY nice btw!).

    I'm sure the next pair will be perfect!

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    1. Thanks Nakisha! Happy Birthday! Yeah, I was stubborn and sewed up the CB before attaching the waistband....... sigh. Thanks on the welts too! I was shocked how well they ended up, lol. My next pair will be navy I think.

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    2. OMG I love your tags! I don't know how I missed that before!!! :-)

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  4. Your next pair will be perfect now that you have all that experience! :) They really turned out beautifully even if they ended up a little big.

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    1. I sure hope so Shirley! I wish they would have fit because I love them so :(

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  5. Lots of great information here - thank you! I've had this pattern traced out for so long that at this point I probably have to go back and trace it again in a bigger size :-( One of these days I may actually sew these!

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  6. Great job.. Now, your ready for your next pair.

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    1. Thanks Judy! I just need the motivation to sew another ;-)

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  7. I love the clean finish on the inside and those perfect welt pockets! That's disappointing about the waist being too big but I'm sure your next pair will be perfect.:)

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    1. Thanks Cindy! I think I surprised myself with those welts :D

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  8. Too bad about the waist since they look so great otherwise! I don't suppose you want to add elastic? (chuckle). Darn those waists. I rarely get mine just right either, even though I have a 10 inch waist/hip difference.

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    1. Ha! love the elastic comment ;)
      It is sure hard getting those waists with such a big difference :(
      I go from 29 inches to 43!
      This was a good learning experience though - I got to do a lot of cool techniques. I guess I'll just be better for the next ones. Thanks Joy!

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