My mother-in-law asked me to make her a pair of dressy palazzo pants for x'mas. She gave me a pair of moderate stretch knit pants to make my pattern. However, I couldn't find any suitable fabrics in the colour she wanted at my fabric store. Instead, I bought this very drapey, non-stretch grey wool crepe fabric in the colour she wanted:
Since I bought a non-stretch fabric, I modified my initial pants pattern based on the moderate stretch knit pants:
I hope I made it too big because then I can tailor the pants to her body. If it's too small then all hope is lost.
I'm also very nervous about this because her weight tends to fluctuate a lot. Moreover, she is not the most patient client and is not used to 'bespoke' garments that requires time to tailor to fit. I guess I'll have to pack my sewing machine and supplies when I travel to see her for the holidays.
Wish me luck on this one! ;-)
Hello Love Nicky, sorry I have not been around much over the last few weeks - my life has been a little chaotic this year. It's never fun making for someone else, especially if they don't quite understand the process -so I wish you the best of luck with this project. As someone with a fluctuating waist, a solution that works for me is to have elastic in the waistband - usually the back, but sometimes all around, depending on the style of pant. Of course, that can mean bulk around the middle, but if you tailor and use closures and darts as usual, and leave the back a little looser, with elastic through the back part of the waistband, it means the waist can expand a bit if necessary. I hope that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteNo worries. Life is busy and we connect with our sewing friends when we can. Thanks for the tip. These pants are elastic waist pant. However, my client tends to gain/lose weight at the lower body. Although these are palazzo pants, I don't want them to be too too loose and look like elephant legs (grey colour)! ;-)
DeleteDefinitely wishing you good luck!! I like your idea of fitting the pants to your MIL's shape when you visit. There's so much more to think about when sewing things as a gift ... and it's not just a simple matter of taking it back to the store.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny! I'm just worried that she has very different expectations since she gave me her old pants to make the pattern. And I don't think she understands the difference between knit and woven fabrics. Oh well! I'll do my best. If she doesn't like them she doesn't have to wear them.
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