WIP: Vogue 1366 | Pants Front

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.