Well, I finally finished these pants that I'd started here. In a moment, I'm going to tell you about these extremely annoying pants and I how I should always stick with my TNT pattern, but know -- I had to try something different. Oh well, you live and you learn.  But anyway, let's talk about this bomb ass top first!

I really love the idea of juxtaposing menswear with feminine details. Windowpane plaid is such a classic and conservative pattern that I wanted to give it a little more oomph with a trendy detail, like this slit sleeve style.

To create this look, I used (OOP) McCall's 6650 as my base. I cut the size 14, I could've gone a little smaller though. I changed the neckline to pleats. BTW, my fabric is this beautiful viscose suiting that I picked up from Fine Fabrics in Atlanta.

I modified the sleeve, here is my Slit Sleeve Tutorial. I used the cuff and just turned it around to match the slit opening.

The top has a back placket opening...

...with 2 buttons and a hook and eye.

Being that this is the season of the sleeve, this is another great one to have in my arsenal. I have a couple more ideas of how I want to work this one into a design.

Now, back to these pants...  Just to remind you, this is (OOP) Vogue 1366. My fabric is Buttercup Yellow Stretch Wool Twill from Mood Fabrics.com.  I cut the size 14 and I lengthened these by 6 inches. I made a couple of changes since my work-in-progress post. I ended up removing my beautiful front pockets because of pocket show-through. I couldn't unsee them. Sometimes it's completely unavoidable, be I knew that I would be haunted by that every single time I wear these. So they had to go. I also had to make a slight high-hip adjustment. And that threw the grainline off a bit. So I had to redo the pintuck on that leg by putting the pants on and pinning them down the center front while wearing them. I basically became a contortionist.

For the back pockets, I bypassed the instructions and used my own method. Here is my Horizontal Single Welt Pocket Tutorial.

I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.

If you're pretty straight or rectangular, this pattern would probably work better for you out of the envelope. I felt like I was wearing a pair of men's trousers because they were huge in the waist. My waist is about 12" smaller than my hip measurement. So they had to be taken in a lot in the sides and the center back. I do like the waistband and how they look on the inside. Such a professional finish. And those belt loops, one at the center back and 2 more at the sides. They're basically useless. I tried a belt on and it instantly rode up in the front. So they're there simply for decoration.

I'm going to wear these pants, because I worked pretty damn hard on them. But going forward, for a flared or wide leg style, I'm going to stick to my beloved Vogue 9032.

Here is a quick tutorial of how I created my slit sleeve with a cuff.

My base pattern is (OOP) McCall's 6650. But you can modify any sleeve to achieve this detail.

To begin, you have to create a two-part sleeve, which is not to be confused with a two-piece sleeve that's used in tailored garments. Now you'd think the easiest way to do this would be to just fold the sleeve in half to determine the center, but you'd be sorely wrong.

At the top of the armscye, you'll notice that there is a shoulder point match circle. This is where your sleeve matches the shoulder seam of your bodice. If you were to just cut your sleeve straight down the middle, your slit would be behind your shoulder seam. 

At the shoulder match point, draw a vertical line parallel to the grainline from the top of the armscye to the bottom of the sleeve. This where you'll cut your sleeve in half. You can modify your pattern if you like or trace it onto paper.

Now, trace each sleeve part onto paper and add your seam allowance. 

Make sure to add your notches so you'll know the front and back.

Since the inside of the sleeve will inevitably show, I wanted it to be "clean". So, I suggest lining it.

Cut 2 of each in fashion fabric. Cut 2 of each in lining fabric (I used a poly chiffon).

Sew the lining to the matching sleeve part, press and understitch. Do the same thing for all of the pieces.

With your sleeve part and lining still opened flat, stitch the front and back pieces together at the seam, 5/8" from the top of the armscye. Then open it out and press. This is more of a "flat lining" method, similar to underlining. Baste the lining to the fashion fabric. And set the sleeve. I set my sleeve flat.

And I added a cuff to the bottom.

There are different design details to add to the bottom, from a cuff, to elastic or ties. The choice is yours.

So this morning, I worked with my favorite local magazine here -- B-Metro Magazine. If you've been following for a while, you know that I've built a solid relationship with them over the years and I love blogging events for them. 

Today was my second year in a row blogging the Brookwood Baptist Health Mammothon. 

It's a fun and supportive way to encourage women to come out and get their annual mammograms in a party-like atmosphere.

So obviously, I needed something pink to wear! I'm not the "pinkist" gal out there. That's simply a color that's not overflowing in my wardrobe, so I had to put some thought into. I knew that if I'm going to wear pink that it needed to be in the fuchsia family and balanced out with a darker color. 

I visited Fine Fabrics in Atlanta, Ga on Sunday and these were two of the fabrics I brought back and whipped up Vogue 1522 on yesterday.

Let's start with the top.  I cut the size medium and added an inch to the length.

In order to save myself the aggravation that you sometimes have with silk crepe de chine "crawling" while laying out pattern pieces, and trying to cut -- now add keeping stripes straight... I traced out my front and back bodice pieces to create the full piece to be cut on a single layer instead of on the fold. That way, I made sure that my stripes were perfectly horizontal and not askew.

The front and back pieces are sewn together... 

and finished with binding.

The flounce is sewn to the sleeve wrong sides together. Then the binding is pinned on and sewn.

Then edge stitched and it looks like this:

The sleeves are set flat. I would've probably done that anyway, but the instructions suggested it. 

I finished the sleeve flounce with a narrow hem.

The top has side slits and a 5/8" hem.

I cut the pants in the medium also. But I had to add about 6" of length. These pants would've been A LOT shorter than they are on the model... a serious capri length. Even if you're a lot shorter than my 5'9", you may want to carefully measure the inseam.

Once the pockets were on, these pants went together so quickly! 

A step to make sure that you don't skip is stabilizing the machine buttonholes where the drawstring will come through. I used a 1" square pieces of fusible. 

Sewing Tip: Always save your interfacing scraps for situations like this! 

I absolutely love both pieces. But these pants are super cute and comfy that I know I'm going to make them again, real soon. These are the type of pants that I like to reach for when running errands. I spend enough time in the gym in workout gear and I prefer to look a lot more polished when I'm out and about.

This was the perfect look for my event!

Here is a little more about the event that was completely "mammoglam"!

My Vogue 1439 blazer matched perfectly!

I'm currently working on (oop) Vogue 1366. Based on what I read when I searched for pattern reviews, it seems as if a few people struggled with the pattern. The pattern is a "Vogue Average",  and that means it's advanced. This is a pants pattern with 13 pattern pieces. If you've never sewn pants before, that's a lot. Nowhere near the norm. Pants are challenging enough with getting the fit right. But these pants have a lot of details, so I thought I'd document the construction process. So, I'm going to start with the front. As you can see, the front legs have pintucks. The pintucks are created by pressing a crease into the pants (on the designated line) and stitching 1/8" from the edge.

The pocket lining has a facing. The pocket is sewn in lining fabric and the side front is sewn on in the fashion fabric. 

When the pockets were finished, this is how they look. I serged to finish.

Here is the front.

Serge all of the edges. Make sure you have fresh needles in your serger. And by the time you get to the pockets and all of the layers, you know right then whether or not it's time to change the blade in your serger. If it's not sharp, your machine may choke. Just a warning...  Next up is the zipper. I decided to change the construction slightly and do my zipper the way I always do my zippers. I followed the instructions and stitch the front sections together and trimmed off the left front as indicated on the pattern tissue. And I sewed my left fly as indicated, but I also serged the edge.

I clipped below the curve and on each side (not instructed) and pressed each side open on the fold lines.

Now here is where I went rogue: I lined my zipper up with the left fly along the serged edge, right side up and pinned in place.

Using my zipper foot, I stitched about 1/4" away from the zipper teeth, back tacking at the beginning and the end.

I pinned the zipper/fly to the left side of the front leg, 1/8" from the zipper teeth.

And I stitched using a zipper foot.

Open everything out flat to make sure the front legs are even and the center fronts are aligned. Pin the other side of the zipper tape to the right front extension.

While keeping the left fly out of the way, stitch the the zipper close to the teeth. Back tacking at the beginning and end.

BTW, I created a front fly template years ago. I use it for all of the pants and jeans I make.

Using my template, I traced around the right front fly as a topstitching guide. And make sure that you pin the left fly out of the way. I always use Frixion pens. Note: The ink disappears when you iron over it. But ALWAYS test first on a scrap of fabric.

Flawless topstitching! More to come...

Fabric: Buttercup Yellow Stretch Wool Twill

Lining: Stretch lining fabric from my stash.