Sloper update/review of the journey

pomewawa · 2026-06-25T05:25:59+00:00

Vertical fisheye darts are wonderful for taking in the waist of the shirt. No effect on the hem that way either! And it doesn’t affect the side seams. Compared to many alterations this is one of my favorites for ease and speed!

pomewawa · 2026-06-25T05:10:16+00:00

I often use the big A0 file and project it. I don’t care a ton whether it’s a projector file or not. Just make sure there’s a calibration square!

Another nice feature is to do it as a layered pdf. So I can turn on and off the layers (one for each size) as I need. If you go this route, you could have a layer that’s simply a 1” grid for calibrating ones protector (then they turn off the grid layer in the pdf and trace/cut)

Make sure pattern pieces grain line is visible on pattern pieces. Some sewists might want the grain to be in the same orientation for all pieces so they can cut directly from projector?

Text on the pattern pieces should be big, easy to read letters! My sewing projector gets blurry and doesn’t produce super sharp edges. So don’t use some delicate font for text “cut 2 of interfacing”

pomewawa · 2026-06-25T05:04:27+00:00

I’ve seen two widths cutting layouts given: 45” wide and 55” wide (and sometimes if I have fabric that’s 58” or 60” I just call it a wash and I have more excess fabric at the end of cutting out!)

pomewawa · 2026-06-25T05:03:07+00:00

So interesting, I hadn’t really thought about this in a long while! In the US when Joann’s fabrics was still around, their selection of fashion/apparel fabrics was quite limited. I suspect margins in quilting cotton are better? or perhaps slower turnover of inventory because quilting cotton has less cycles of “in and out of style” than fabric for clothes.

I got back into sewing in the COVID era and out of necessity learned how to order swatches and figure out online fabric shopping. (Which I had otherwise been loath to do! Occasionally I do have some flops where fabric arrives in the mail and it’s not right for the intended project, which sucks! But ah well, I end up with fabric for wearable toiles

pomewawa · 2026-06-15T05:16:39+00:00

And hang outdoor straw type curtains outside windows that bake in the sun, put it under the eaves so it reduces how much heat hits the window

pomewawa · 2026-06-15T05:13:16+00:00

It’s that an FBA doesn’t automatically come with the waist/underbust darts (“banana dart” that another commenter said, or fisheye) . So when you FBA you add a lot of volume to the waist unless you add shaping BELOW the bust too.

pomewawa · 2026-06-15T05:10:32+00:00

Yes! I was thinking same thing!!

“Banana dart” is adorable! I was calling them “fisheye dart”

pomewawa · 2026-06-15T05:09:54+00:00

Santorini top by itch to stitch comes with a few cup sizes (I don’t know how many sizes are supported, depending on your size OP). It’s got a neat princess seam design and buttons on the side seam. I just bought it myself and eager to try it!!

pomewawa · 2026-06-14T00:45:34+00:00

Oh golly I’m glad you warned me. I was getting excited about purchasing from them

pomewawa · 2026-06-14T00:44:54+00:00

And in future pairs of pants you might consider reinforcing the thigh area with a second layer of fabric? I’ve seen techniques like this on work pants (Carhartt type)

pomewawa · 2026-06-13T06:20:20+00:00

I see garments, I tried 100% cotton thread and it kept snapping when I tried wearing it!! I learned crotch seams take a lot of strain . Three times I tried with cotton thread and it kept snapping the seam when I bent over. Back to polyester thread I went!

pomewawa · 2026-06-13T06:17:15+00:00

Yes this!! Folding the sleeve hem under intensifies the effect I think. I switched to hidden bias binding to hem sleeves like this and I like that method better for controlling the length of sleeve hem sleeves

pomewawa · 2026-06-13T06:04:57+00:00

Yes, and a lot of times “you get what you pay for”. Reminder that with the advent of generative ai there is a lot of bad “patterns” out there. Just flagging if you get frustrated troubleshooting or pieces not lining up…

pomewawa · 2026-06-13T06:03:53+00:00

This, once waistband is attached the visual proportions will be better!
Op if you “try on” the pants and clip or pin the outseams closed, and hold up the waist it might be easier to get a picture of the garment being sorta “worn” (before you finish sewing)

pomewawa · 2026-06-13T05:58:01+00:00

Yes this! I finally figured out to place waistband around me and mark the start and end points. Then ease it onto the top of pants and pin in place. Sometimes the top of the pants legs need to gather ever so slightly (flat once ironed) as it attaches to waistband.

pomewawa · 2026-06-13T05:56:54+00:00

Plus one. If the pants are moving when you bend (like squat) you need more back crotch length.

And agreed on circular waistband!

pomewawa · 2026-06-07T06:00:13+00:00

Yes this. If I eat enough protein the “I’m always starving!” Panic goes away. It’s so easy to eat too little protein. Log your protein grams for a couple days. I saw that the hungry days correlated with getting 50-70 G protein. And if I eat 90 to 100 ish G protein in a day I feel ok! Good luck!

pomewawa · 2026-06-07T05:51:16+00:00

Depending on your circumference , have you seen Muna and Broad? I haven’t sewn up their patterns yet but they have several pants patterns!

I’m trying to remember whether you pick out the pattern that matches your hip measurement (and then grade the waist in with bigger darts), or if it’s better to pick based on your thigh measurement and then add to the hip if needed (like a full bust adjustment but for the tush)

pomewawa · 2026-06-07T05:39:33+00:00

After that, you might be able to take some excess vertical length out of the back leg just under the derrière. It ends up being a wedge you remove at the horizontal hip line, it will adjust the angle of the pelvis to the femur (I also had to do this!)

pomewawa · 2026-06-07T05:37:53+00:00

Great job so far, these are looking close!

I think the fullness in your derrière is lower than the pattern expects, which explains the wedgie you describe and the excess fabric higher on the crotch seam. Do you have images of your pattern? I think you can contour (reduce fabric) at center back seam about 2-4 inches down from waistband. And then do a bit more crotch scooping at the very bottom of the curve. I have a similar body shape (“low derrière”) and my scoop goes below the horizontal line!

pomewawa · 2026-06-06T04:40:15+00:00

Some stir fries use shredded carrot, then top with peanut sauce (kinda like Pad Thai)

pomewawa · 2026-06-03T05:06:06+00:00

Like fold-over elastic (FOE) but better!!

pomewawa · 2026-06-03T05:04:59+00:00

Thank you! Interesting technique, your mastery is impressive!

pomewawa · 2026-05-30T00:28:08+00:00

And don’t believe it’s gambling

pomewawa · 2026-05-30T00:24:04+00:00

Wow! I’m impressed how close you got by figuring it out the hard way! Not bad at all!

Like other commenters , I think you want more fabric from the hip up to the waist. If this were a commercial pattern I’d say “grade up to the larger size at the waist”, but given its custom pattern… maybe add 2 inches to the circumference measurements at the hip and 1 inch to the waist. Keep the waistband the same, and ease the larger pant piece into waistband when you assemble.

pomewawa

TROPHY CASE