yellow pants, the outcome

Well, it has been f-o-r-e-v-e-r since my last post! sorry...I have been staying so busy that I haven't taken the time to talk about it. But I need to document this stuff, since my memory isn't as great as I wish it was!

I did finish the yellow pants. Remember, I cut off the top of the back and created a yoke to sew on instead...the yoke was larger than the area removed from the upper pant, so it was to fill in the space at the sideseam.
It worked.

The new yoke provided a decent fit in the high hip area.
However, I still need a longer back crotch extension to eliminate those wrinkles under the bum! These are the same wrinkles I had on the NAVY PANTS.

Overall, the fit is not bad.

But they aren't perfect.

They are a little tight across the area UNDER my tummy.

In the side view, you can see how they contour the tummy. This isn't always awful...a little contouring keeps the overall silhouette smaller, and since I generally wear my tops untucked, this doesn't always show.

This picture below demonstrates the waist tilt problem. Even after all my finaggling, I still didn't get it just right on these! The center back is a bit low as compared to the side-waist, as is the center front. this is one of those things that is hard to nail until you get all the other elements worked out. The amount of slant of the center back seam can make a difference in whether or not the back waist sits high enough...ditto the front. But I generally don't change the front slant too much.

The SIZE of the tummy also makes a difference as to how high the front waist hits. The larger the tummy, the longer that front seam needs to be to reach the waist. If you have a tummy that changes in size, this front waist drop can be a hard choice to make! Apparently, this was a larger tummy day!

I put pockets in these as is my usual M.O. I like jeans-style pockets that lay flat on the tummy (instead of side seam pockets).

Yes, I can squat down in these.

The back waist DOES pull down a little...but I had already determined that the back seam needs to be longer at each end) crotch point and back waist).

Despite the less-than-perfect fit, I have a good range of movement in these.

These pants look ok from behind, but I wish they had more ease right on the bum cheeks. My bum isn't huge and adding some ease there better balances the larger waist/high hip area.

Below, you can see the waist tilt in back. I'll work on that.

Overall the pants are "OK"...but not great.

I used a zipper from my grandmother's stash. Well, that wasn't a great idea...back then, they didn't have a 'lock' feature on the tab, so when I bend over the pants sometimes unzip. That is unacceptable! :)

Choosing the right settings for drafting pants is so hit-and-miss!

My very best-fitting PMB pants are some that I made using 1" of hip ease, but then had to sew out the excess fullness on the sides.

So, I decided that I should use zero ease.

WEll, that is true, I DO need to use ZERO hip ease....

BUT, one thing I forgot to consider is that when you add hip ease, in addition to more ease at sideseam, the pattern's crotch point is also extended.

When I sewed out the excess fabric (jodphurs) on my previous 'best' pants, I did NOT sew out the longer crotch point, too.

So, when I use ZERO HIP EASE, I also need to use a longer crotch point setting than I used when I added some hip ease!

Duh...

Each pant is a learning experience!