Sewing Fly Front Pants -- Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?

I realized that, over my many years of sewing, I haven't made very many fly front pants.  I don't think it's because I hate them, though.  I hadn't given them enough consideration to feel one way or another about them.

Burda 9860

For boys' pants, I've used  Kwik Sew 3399 to make a pair of trousers for my oldest son.  And I used Burda 9860 right around the same time, about 2006. Sadly, the pictures of these are lost, but the links go to the reviews I wrote for them on PatternReview.com.  The Kwik Sew instructions were excellent and I recall referring back to them when I made the Burda pants.  Logical, since Burdas are famous for their rather, um, sparse, instructions. And it was good that I had those Kwik Sew instructions.  Because without them, I probably ouldn't have realized that the Burda pattern had mysteriously omitted the pattern piece for the zipper shield.

Kwik Sew 3399

 I pulled out that Kwik Sew pattern again, and reread the instructions for installing the fly zipper.  They were just as easy as I remembered them to be.  I didn't have any trouble installing it, and these were my very first ones.  Many people have applauded Kwik Sew's instructions, and I think the reputation is well-deserved.

I've only sewn one pair of Men's fly front pants.  It was a Vogue pattern and I truly did hate that pattern.  All the lines seemed to be off somehow, and nothing about it looked right.  It was years ago and so I doubt that pattern is in print anymore.  And I don't remember it's number, anyway.  But absolutely nothing about the fly front sticks in my mind, so I'm going to assume that there was at least  nothing wrong with it.






Women's fly fronts, now that's a little bit of a different story.  My first women's fly front pants were made from a now out-of-print Kwik Sew pattern way back in 2006.  The pictures of these were also lost but you can read the review of the pattern on PatternReview.com if you're interested. 

More recently, I just made Jalie 2908 Stretch Jeans for the Mini Wardrobe contest on Pattern Review.  Jalie's fly front instructions are a little different from Kwik Sew's.  I remember while I was making them that the instructions seemed ever-so-slightly more complicated, but I found that I really liked the technique.  And the fly didn't stand open when I sat down, which I really liked.  To me, it had just one flaw:  the zipper teeth seemed to be positioned way closer to center front than in RTW.  So there's not much more than a quarter inch of fabric covering the teeth, and I didn't like that.  This may not be the pattern.  As I said, I haven't done that many fly fronts, so it might be operator error.  But I like the way RTW conceals the zipper way underneath the outside fly cover.  I resolved to figure out how to do that.  I figured it couldn't possibly be that hard.

Fast forward a couple of weeks.  This morning it was 12F degrees in our little corner of the world.  Brrrrr.  I decided it was a good day to pull out my wool melton trousers.

It wasn't until I had been wearing them half the day that I realized it had just what I was looking for in a fly front.  I was astonished.  Going back to read the original review, I saw that apparently I wasn't impressed with the instructions for the fly front, but I gotta tell ya, I am definitely impressed with the results.  The pattern is New Look 6709, and yes, I'm sorry, it is yet another OOP.  I've been buying patterns for a looooong time.  And I think I've only thrown, given, or sold away less than a dozen in all those years.

So now that I've spent some time considering the issue, do I hate 'em or love 'em? Hmmmm.  I think I like them enough to really work out a technique that works for me.  And then I suspect I'm going to love 'em.  Because I still wear jeans most days of the week and finding my size has been getting harder lately.  Making my own will solve that problem and give me the satisfaction of making even more of my clothes than I already do.

So what about you?  Fly front pants.  Do you love 'em or hate 'em, even if you don't make 'em?

Girls' Burda Coat -- Long Review and Lots of Pictures!

Whew!  So it's finally finished.  After two weeks of working very carefully on this thing, I think I can finally call it finished.  I have so many things to be pleased about.

First, I got it finished and it looks beautiful, inside and out.  Second, it fits.  A little too well perhaps, for there is very little room for Daughter to grow.  On the other hand, that means I get to make another one next year.  Third, I finished it in time to enter it into the Pattern Review Sewing for Children contest.  After missing the deadline for the LBD contest, this is a big deal to me.  And fourth and most important, Daughter loves it.  I say again.  I am pleased.

Let's start with the pattern.  This is a Burda magazine pattern, 12/2012 #156.  I downloaded it from the BurdaStyle site, taped all the pages together, and ended up with the awesomest little girl coat pattern ever.  Never mind that I had to add seam allowances.  It's a great pattern.

Burda suggests wool tweed with velvet collar and piping.  I did mine in a wool plain weave flannel that I bought from Miss Fairchild of Pattern Review either earlier this year or last year.  I used three different fabrics: a rose, a gray, and a plaid.  All pretty much the same weight, though the plaid is a touch lighter than the other two.  It's lined with a spruce green polyester silky fabric bought from JoAnn's as stash lining fabric God-only-knows when.


The instructions, like all Burda instructions, were vaguely incomprehensible.  After reading through them once, I decided logic would have to serve me well on this project.  Having never made a coat quite like this before, it's a good thing I learned logic while learning how to write in Java and C++.  Because I had to logic my way through the Whole. Darn. Thing.

The first thing I love about this pattern is the pockets, complete with pocket flaps.  No fake pockets for my Daughter, these are the real deal.  Set into the waist seam, the pockets should have been easy.  I had to make three tries, though, to get them in just right.  I'm glad I kept working at it because in the end they turned out beautifully.


Getting the piping (it's not actually real piping because it has no cord but I'm gong to call it piping anyway) to curve around the edges of the pocket flaps was a real challenge, but add some steam and heat to wool fabric and it's putty in your hands, so to speak.

And I think the idea of two-piece sleeves in a little girl's coat is just plain cool.  So grown up and everything.  I doubt Daughter cares that her coat has two-piece sleeves, but I positively adore it.  The sleeves gave me a bit of trouble, too, as I didn't realize until I had fought to line up the sleeve cap, decided it was a lost cause, and bound the whole thing  that the side seam was not supposed to match up with the sleeve seam.  Duh.

Did I mention that I bound all the seam allowances.  Every last one, excepting the pockets (which on second thought maybe I should have) and the seam joining the fabric to the lining.  I simply cut some pretty quilting cotton I had lying around, folded and pressed it into binding and sewed it on all the seam allowances.  It's not even bias cut, just straight grain.  Didn't matter, since I didn't need any stretch anyway.



Binding the waist seam did give me a bit of trouble with all that bulk when I tried to put the bottom buttonhole in.  I ended up having to scrunch it out of the way while still keeping the facing in place to sew the buttonhole.  That was tense, but I got it in the end.

I also bound the facing edges.  I always like to see bound facings whenever it's practical.

And the back has this nice pleat which increases the bottom width for active girls who like to run around on the playground.

I got these really cool buttons at JoAnn's last year. I love metal buttons, so I grab the classy ones whenever I see them.  Daughter picked these out of many to choose from.

And the hems got a semi-decorative stitch for the binding, but I hand sewed the hem in place.  I used Steam-a-Seam first to keep the darn thing in place before I stitched.  Marvelous stuff, that Steam-a-Seam.  I've got to remember to use it more often.

So I had this thing all finished a couple of days ago when Daughter mentioned she'd like to wear her purple leopard print jacket with the hood underneath it.  Um, leopard print and plaid?  I don't think so.  Turns out she just wanted to have the hood.  So I sorted through my trusty pattern collection until I found a hood that I thought would work.  New Look 6853 has long been out of print, I think, but I used this pattern for Youngest Son's pants for a long time.  There is a jacket pattern in there too, and whaddayaknow, it has a hood.

So I used this pattern to create a hood in the plaid fabric that sits under the collar.












The hood buttons on and off.  The only problem is the buttons catch on her braid.   I'm thinking I can make another hood in the gray fabric I used for the piping.   Maybe I could make a placket that covers the buttons.  And then Daughter could change her hood to suit her mood.  I wonder if she'd like that idea?

So there it is.    This is a great pattern.  Everything goes together beautifully and even the sleeve cap wasn't hard to ease into the armscye.  It was alot of work.  And worth every minute.  I look forward to doing it again next year.

New Look 6659 --Men's Vest Review and Pics

Let me start by saying that this post has a Companion Post, with pictures of the lining, the buttons, and the back.

I've used this pattern a number of times, and I've been pretty much pleased with the result every time.

I made one of the ladies' versions a couple of years ago out of a beautiful black and charcoal stretch jacquard and I still wear it pretty often.

Shortly after that, I made the men's version for my two oldest sons, both out of tropical wool suitings (both gray but one was a plain weave and the other was a twill).

And shortly after that, I was asked to make one for my son's friend, which I did, out of a warm, brown wool tricotine stretch suiting.

The point to all this rambling?

I've made this pattern for four different people so far.  And a fifth is coming up, because my husband is also wanting a vest, and I like this pattern.

My second oldest son wore his original gray so often, I'm surprised it hasn't fallen apart.  Amazingly, it has held up beautifully.  While the acetate lining shows some wear and tear, the wool shell looks as great as the day I made it.  He asked for a new one, of the same type of fabric, but this time in brown.

I have a stash of wool fabrics of different weights and in a range of earth tones and a separate stash of lining fabrics, so Josh was able to find a fabric and a lining he liked in minutes.  And of course, I've long since traced and altered the pattern to fit, so it was quick and easy to pull everything out and start cutting.

Taking into account his request for real pockets instead of the dummies that always seem to be included in vest patterns, I spent a little time trying out different pocket opening sizes and positions.  His hands are pretty big so I settled on a 5 inch pocket opening.

I added a back tie with a vest buckle, which Josh's gray version doesn't have.  Definitely an improvement.



 Sewing the vest itself only took a couple of days of working on it for a few hours.






I really like this pattern.  It fits well, all the pattern pieces match up, and there are no unpleasant surprises.  Add a nice dress shirt, a classy tie, and a pair a well fitting trousers for a look any man can be proud of :o)

The Men's Vest -- Finished!

ETA:
Finally, the Companion Post is up, with pictures of my son wearing this really cool vest.



I got the men's vest finished last week.  Sadly, not until the day after the Menswear Contest on Pattern Review ended.  But Second Oldest Son has a new vest, and that's what really matters.









Since I muffed up the inside vest pocket, I wasn't  terribly excited about entering it anyway, but it isn't an obvious error.  As a matter of fact, I don't think Second Oldest even noticed.

The purple lining is actually really cool.  Lends it a certain classiness that it wouldn't otherwise possess.

And the adjustable back tie lets him draw in the waist when he wears it with only the top button buttoned, which he often does, so that the back doesn't stick out funny.

Not to mention these neat gear buttons that I bought from Twin Roses.  These are solid brass and really high quality buttons.






I'll see if I can get him to pose for some pictures soon.  Hopefully I can get him and my Oldest Son in some pictures together.  I made Oldest Son a vest from this pattern last year, and his looks pretty good, too.

Men's Vest

I got the pieces for my Second Son's vest cut out and interfaced last night.  The brown is tropical weight wool and the lining is a poly brocade shirting.  It's a pretty neat fabric -- either side could be the right side.  I chose to use the side that emphasized the leaves the most as the right side.

He's asked for one inside pocket and one outside pocket.  The inside one will be a plain welt pocket -- that's what I did on his last one and it seemed to work out just fine for him.  I will interface the lining all around the pocket area this time, which I didn't do last time.


He's also asked me to add a belt in the back with a vest buckle so he can adjust the fit to his liking.  I have vest buckles in nickel and brass -- this chocolate color will look better with brass buckles, I think.

I'd like to get at least the darts sewn today, and if I can get to more than that, I'll consider it a bonus.  I'd also like to get a picture taken of Oldest Son in his new dress shirt so I can post it to Pattern Review and get my entry for the Menswear Contest taken care of.

PR Menswear Contest Day 6 -- Men's Vest

Oldest Son's shirt is finished, but he wore it to work today so no picture yet.

Second Oldest has picked out his fabrics -- both shell and lining -- for a new vest.  I've already sewn this pattern, so it should be a pretty basic project.

The fabrics are from Fabric.com last year.  The lining is a cotton/poly blend in burgundy with a woven pattern of leaves -- a really nice fabric actually.  The shell is just a plain weave 100% wool suiting.  Nice quality but no frills really.  I wish it was easier to get plain weave tropical wool suitings.  For whatever reason, all my guys prefer plain weave to twill weave.

The pattern is New Look 6659.  I know lots of folks aren't tickled pink with unisex patterns, but I actually found this one to be kind of nice.

I've made View C for myself already and I like it a whole lot.  And I've made the men's version for both Oldest Son and Second Oldest.

The only difference is that both of them like real pockets, both inside and out, instead of those lame fake pockets that vests always seem to have.

I don't get the fake pocket thing.  Remember when men carried pocket watches all the time?  I mean, hello?  A fake pocket just doesn't cut it.

Girls' Dresses 1 of 3 Finished -- The Jumper

The first of the three girl's dresses I was hoping to get finished this week is this jumper that buttons at both shoulders.  I worked on this one during the FNSI.  Cut, assembled, and finished on Friday.  Yay!!

I used the top of New Look  8578 for this dress, and instead of making an a-line skirt, I cut a length of fabric, ran it through the ruffler, and attached it to the top.  No real scientific method to the madness, though.  I really just eyeballed how long the bodice should be and then just made up the difference in the shoulder-to-hem measurement with the skirt.  I think it would have been better to make the bodice a bit longer so that the skirt started at the hipline instead of the waistline -- probably because the skirt isn't as full as I'd like.

The fabric is RJR's Spring Promise quilting cotton -- this is my fashion rebellion series making winter dresses out of spring fabrics.  I really love this fabric -- I think it was the nicest of the the Spring Promise collection of a couple of years ago but for some reason I only had one yard of it.  Not nearly enough to make a really full skirt for this dress, so I had to make do with what I had.  I think it would be much prettier with a fuller skirt.

Of course, those red glitter shoes can make up for alot of other lacks.  Aren't those just awesome?

We saw those at Kmart one day and Daughter just absolutely had to have them.  Can't say that I blame her.  If I could figure out how to get away with red glitter shoes at my age, I'd be right there with her.  After all, Judy Garland pulled it off, right?

Sewing For Kids Boys Pants

I spent the last couple of days sewing pants for my youngest son. The pattern is an ancient New Look 6853 that I bought a number of years ago, but it is now out of print and the number 6853 is assigned to a women's pattern.

The gray ones are a nice heavyweight stretch twill, perfect for winter.   The olive green are a slightly lighter weight, but a very nice 100% cotton twill.  I drafted and added some expanding cargo pockets to the green ones, which I'm sure my son will love.

Click the pic to see the pocket better

This pants pattern is delightfully simple if you want a pattern that is pretty quick to pop together and you have kids that like an elastic waist.  The front pockets aren't super deep, but they are adequate for a few matchbox cars or army guys.

I have two more versions of these pants cut out for my son, a pair in black and a pair in brown.  I hope to get them finished before the day is done.  Then he'll have four new pairs of pants and I can get started on making something for me :-)

Assymetrical Front Close Vest

This is a really nice vest that is so perfect to wear to the office, and the assymetrical front closure is more interesting that the ordinary one.  This is made in a heavyweight poly/rayon/lycra jacquard--the outside is black and charcoal and the lining is the same fabric in black on black.  The zigzag pattern is composed of surprisingly detailed ferns. Normally I wouldn't recommend using a fashion fabric of this weight as a lining, but I specifically chose this to make to vest heavy and substantial.  The pattern is New Look 6659.