Finally.

It has been a busy, busy weekend.  I worked on my legging pattern struggling to get my adjustments on to the pattern.  I have pattern paper and I taped and glued and added and subtracted, but there were some things I struggled to get.  The pattern did not have a ouside leg seams and that lack of seam meant that some of the changes I needed to make were impossible without cutting a side seam into it.  I was left with paper sections and bits that fell apart and I just sat and cried quietly to myself.  I basically had nothing.  

A commenter said it would just be easier to draft a new pattern and I figured that is where I was going to have to go.  I debated about buying the pattern for leggings from Helen's Closet, but purchased her design line may be, the patterns are as yet untried.  I have no idea of what her patterns general fit is.  I wanted to do a little research to see what reviewers have said about the general fit of the line.  I didn't find anything much.  Too new perhaps, but what I did find was maybe even better.

One of the problems I would face with the leggings from Helens Closet was that they too, did not have an outside leg seam which meant that my biggest problem would be repeated.  No way to easily add the full difference of changes I needed without cutting in a seam. I dropped that idea in frustration.  I decided to take a break on pintrest, and look at pretty embroidery, but up came a picture of a lady of size in some leggings and that took me to DIBY.com, which had their legging pattern free right now.  With side seams.  I can do free.  Me likely free and it gave me a framework to start the whole thing around.  

I don't know that I am quite ready to draft all on my own just yet.  It is kind of like with knitting, I had to do it a few times first to understand not just what I needed different, but also to understand the limits of what could be done to make it all work well.     

Looks kind of stubby and wide doesn't it.  But I am stubby and wide and that is what it is.  It isn't going to change anytime soon.  But what you see here hasn't happened in forever.  There is only one kind of paper here and each pattern piece is cut to the measurments of what I need.  I can go in and pretty much cut this puppy out.  I am not a hundred percent sure about how long the back rise needs to be and I am not a hundred percent about where the waist width will end up but those are parts that I have room to cut big and can size down once I get a try on.  This pattern has a good wide adaptable waistband to play with that will give me the chance to make what I need to happen, happen.

Plus first up is some bike shorts/ bloomers.  When I was pulling out fabric this morning, I found a nice wide piece of a very light stretchy jersey, too light for tights that are pants, but very suitable for under skirts to prevent chafing and for coverage on windy days and bending over while doing things.  I am going to make a test pair from this for fit and then I can make any changes I need before cutting new fabric.  It was on the fabric for shirts pile, a remnant I felt was too big to not come home with me.  The wide meter sized piece ought to be just right for a first go at leggings.  

Anyway, I am cutting and sewing as you read this.  Cross your fingers.  Leggings are in production.  Finally.

PS

There was frost on the cars this morning.  Yesterday's raging wild wind brought fall.  Almost overnight we are in sweater weather and I for one am looking forward to it.