August Burda Challenge Conquered

Burdastyle 08-2015-125b

And this month, challenge is the appropriate word. Do you ever have projects that fight you all the way?

Side view of pleats

These are the pleat-front pants from the August, 2015 issue of Burdastyle (pants #125b). We're getting ready to take a road trip to Santa Fe at the end of August, and I thought that a pair of loose, light cotton trousers would be a great addition to my travel wardrobe. Shorts and skirts are always on deck for a summer road trip, but sometimes you want a little sun coverage.

How did these pants fight me? Let me count the ways:

1. The fabric, a cotton chambray with a subtle, almost gingham check, shrank up in the wash so that it had more texture and a different hand to what it did in the store (Hart's, natch). It's now a bit searsucker-y, but I decided I liked it fine that way. I tried to be extra gentle with the pressing, though, so as not to unintentionally re-shape the pattern pieces.
2. The pattern called for 2 yards of fabric; which I purchased. And believe me, I needed every inch. This fabric was 60 inches wide, and I had to fiddle mightily to get these palazzo-style legs to fit between the selvedges.
3. I was so proud of myself for only needing to refer to my Sandra Betzina video three times while putting in the fly. Then I snipped through the front of the pants when trimming the seam allowance. Blast and double blast!! I sort of saved things by using some iron-on interfacing on the back of the cut and then zig-zagging it closed. It's not too obvious. Fingers crissed it lasts.
4. I finally got the pants put together with the waist band attached and tried them on. They were ginormous. I ended up taking them in 2 inches at the center back and an inch on each side. That's 4 inches. That's a lot. They're super-baggy in the butt, because I had no clue how to take in that much volume once I got into crotch-curve territory. Hence, no rear views.

Problem #4 actually hurt. I've come to trust Burdastyle and their consistent sizing. I felt so betrayed that I pulled out the pattern sheets and measured the waistband against the original. Sure enough, I'd traced the size I thought I had. Why,  Burda? Why?



Waistband with bling-y button, and a closer view of the fabric. Can you see my zig-zag surgery on the right front?

But the good news is that I do like the pants. I think they'll be cool and comfortable when I'm frolicking among the cacti in the Southwest, and the indigo color will go with most everything. I like the pleats in the front, and I like the nice, big pockets. And I can't see the rear view, so why should I worry?

The other good news is that practice is making me a more resourceful sewist. In earlier times, I would have thrown in the towel after problem #3, and problem #4 would have made me cry.

Will I make them again? If I do, I'll have to go back and re-trace. If I can figure out what size to use - I ain't trusting the size charts, that's for darn sure. Re-tracing though....gee, I don't know.



Side view with hands in pockets

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.