Style Arc Carlisle

Pants photos are so difficult. While these pictures are not inspiring, I am really happy with this pattern. The Carlisle jeans are the type I like: high rise, with the base of the waistband at the natural waist, and loose straight legs. The pictures have been adjusted to try to show a little bit of detail in the dark indigo denim. 

I also think they are more flattering than these close-to-the-mirror photos show. The top is tucked in only for illustration purposes. Never in real life!

Pattern notes: 

These jeans are really long. As drafted, I think a person who wears heels could wear their very tallest with them and still be OK.

Size was chosen using Style Arc's charts and my full hip measurement. A one-leg muslin, top down center out style, was the starting point and indicated that my usual jeans fitting problems would have to be solved. The rise needed to be adjusted (mine is very short), more width needed for thighs, and there was major back waist gaposis.

When I was messing with the rise adjustments there was a lightbulb moment that will help me with all pants fitting going forward. Previously, I always shortened the front and lengthened the back in various ways. Drag lines in the back could be minimized but never truly went away.

This time, it suddenly made sense to shorten all the way around, front and back. That keeps the horizontal balance lines horizontal. After the length of the rise was correct, I could make adjustments to the back to carve out room for the rear. This made a huge positive difference! I ended up extending both the front and back crotch points a bit, scooping where my fullness is (not at the bottom of the curve), and adjusting the side seam to account for the scoop. When these changes were complete, the back waist actually reached up to my waist, without adding to the top or spreading via wedges.

I changed the construction so that they could be sewn up like men's dress pants with a seam in the center back waistband. That center back seam was sewn after the inseams, outseams, and center front; and after the waistband was attached. That way the center back could be contoured to fit and snug up to my waist. They are very comfortable to wear.

This pair is actually the second I made. The first pair resulted in some sewing drama and that story follows.

This denim is from Fashion Fabrics Club. They have a selection of Japanese selvedge denims that I have used before and liked very much, but there was a lesson to be learned with the first cut.

I did not pre wash that first cut.  In the past, I've had several pieces of denim that got abraded in the washing machine when doing the pre wash, leaving faded streaks all over that couldn't be cut around. The fabrics were ruined, and they were from reputable sources and not cheap. So I sewed the first pair up, true fly and topstitching and all, leaving them long and unhemmed. The idea was to hem after washing/shrinking. Except that when finally washed they shrank to capri length! Oh Regret, thy sting is sharp indeed.

But I was so motivated to get Carlisle in my wardrobe (and besides, all the fitting work had already been done) that I immediately turned around and made this second pair. With pre washed fabric. And then went on a denim shopping spree so there will be more. A black pair is up next.