We have a winner for the Tummy Tuck jeans, based on the question from the first entry . The winner is Misty (aka Christy T), randomly selected from the 28 contest entries which designated the McCalls pattern #6985 as the worst fitting of all.
Tangentially, I’d mentioned a delightfully intriguing draft from a vintage German pattern drafting book I have. A scan of the crotch curves is here (in the forum). I plan to test it very soon. I think it will be very flattering, particularly for the bottom-endowed. I’ve never seen this in any other drafting book.
Related: Jeans and pants fitting tutorials
Jeans fit so lousy these days
Jeans fit so lousy these days pt. 2
Yet another pet peeve: Waistbands
Anatomy of a Camel Toe pt.1
Anatomy of a Camel Toe pt.2
How to fix a camel toe
Adding a gusset to pants pt.1
Adding a gusset to pants pt.2
Kathleen, as I don’t have access to the forum, could you either post the image here, or at least the name of the book?
I’ve spent far too much money buying pattern drafting books since I started reading Fashion Incubator – all of my bookshelves are now overflowing!
Anne,
If you’d like access to the forum, then I think you need to buy Kathleen’s book like the rest of us forum-accessers did. (I’m not a DE and I bought the book.) I think the reason Kathleen posts certain things in the forum is to make the forum a value-add and encourage people to buy her book, because buying her book is what gets you access to the forum.
There’s a “buy now” button under the picture of the book at the upper left corner of this page.
I have done this on my own pants for many years now and it works great both in the tummy and the back. I have a “bubble butt” as one might call it and need even more room than most!
I started doing because I drape most of my patterns (I actually have a personal butt form that goes from waist to mid-thigh that I made!) and in doing so I kept coming up with that weird curve at the back, at first I straightened the line in the back, but over the years I have come to trust the weird curves that show up when draping, including draping sleeves.
Wow. Really??? How cool is that?!
Kathleen, you blew my cover ;)
I did buy the book. And I am still barred from the Forum, or at least I don’t know how to gain access. And I realllly would like to see that German pattern.
Sarah@dosfashionistas
at least I don’t know how to gain access.
I save all registration response emails Sarah. I don’t find a registration from you. Actually, I save a lot of your emails, you’re always interesting and come up with good stuff. Honestly, I was feeling a bit moxied that you bought the book (Jul 31, 2007) but never signed up for the forum. I’m happy to help you rectify that, go here to register. Once I get it, I process it and send you an approval notice. Be sure to check your spam folders. Be advised we have a username policy. While private, the forum isn’t anonymous. It must be your label name or a variation of your real name.
Alison, last year Kathleen told me that for my needs, I wouldn’t find the book useful (although I’m happy to find out that I would). Kathleen also said some time ago that she was planning something appropriate for amateur dressmakers available by subscription, so I’ve been waiting for that.
Oh, and I lost my job last week. The upside for everyone else is that all those vintage pattern drafting books on ebay have one less bidder ;-)
After reading the last blog entry on jeans, I tracked down a pair of Rockies (at Drysdales). They arrived yesterday and they are terrific! After years of avoiding jeans, I started wearing Avenue brand, which I basically like. They have a very baggy, comfortable fit, are heavy weight and wear forever.
These Rockies (Dallas style in relaxed fit) fit much better. They have room for the butt, fit fairly snugly in the crotch, but don’t pull because of the room in the seat. Plus, the sizing seems accurate; I’m used to having to buy up a size.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Kathleen, have you made any progress on the book /anne mentions just above?
I would love to support you, but I’m not sure your DE book will have enough utility for me (home sewer) to justify the price. I’m sure it’s worth every penny to a DE, but if 3/4 of the contents aren’t useful to me …
Or, is there any other way for a non-DE to join the forum?
[For that matter, is there a better way to contact you, other than blog comments?]
LizPf,
I’m a home sewer and I bought The Book so I could join the forum. No, it is not a reference I turn to at home, but it’s absolutely fundamental to intelligent participation in the forum.
Hi Liz. The best way to contact me is via the about page. My email is listed there.
Non-DEs join the forum all the time. They are a valuable resource in pointing out inconsistencies and errors in our thinking. They gain too; they use the forum to get straight answers on their sewing, fitting and pattern questions sans rumor mill and hyperbole that are typical elsewhere. I don’t know of a fair way to include enthusiasts other than requiring the bok. If there were no criteria for them, we’d be inundated and the board would lose its focus. I mean, how could I pick and choose people who’d be good candidates? That’s not a rhetorical question.
And yes, there’s a book in the works on construction that would benefit many, not just pros. We discuss it on the forum frequently. It’s a difficult job, the initial difficulty is defining its purpose and scope. Obviously it can’t be written by committee but even there, it’s surprising how everyone wants something different.
I have been playing with these curves, and I think I’m putting them to high up the cb and cf seams? They seem too tight at points i and i’, and then kind of pooch out. I wonder if Kathleen ever did test this, and what the results were?
I can’t speak to your example because I don’t have a frame of reference but as to “testing” this, it’s the only way I’ve ever done it, the way I was trained etc along with all the other old school pattern makers trained in the dark ages. Pants didn’t used to fit as they do now so I am not the only person who could routinely make it work. I know you’re not suggesting otherwise but it would be great if you could leave a link to an illustration to describe your difficulties.
I can post some pictures in the forum, if that would be fun. I messed around with the idea some more yesterday and I think I’m getting better results this time, now I just need to find a butt to stick in them. I was really referring to what you had written in this blog post:
“Tangentially, I’d mentioned a delightfully intriguing draft from a vintage German pattern drafting book I have. A scan of the crotch curves is here (in the forum). I plan to test it very soon. I think it will be very flattering, particularly for the bottom-endowed. I’ve never seen this in any other drafting book.”