Burda maternity pants

[scarletthread]

http://community.webshots.com/album/572316404bZxCdD?vhost=community

This is my first attempt at pants and I need an honest critique.  Warning - I am 8 months along, so if a baby belly is not for you, then please don't peek.  The album I am linking to has 4 pics of a pants muslin.  These are navy w/ a pink pinstripe, and the panel is swimsuit lycra.  Thought such a stripe might help w/ establishing grain lines.  I hope to make a few pairs of shorts to finish out the summer.

I need to modify the panel potion as I redrafted it to have a higher waistline.  There are several inches that I have pinned out resulting in weird puckering in the side view pics.  I am aware of that one and think I know how to fix it.

I have also added an inch in the crotch length (front and back) before cutting.  Hard to tell with the belly, but does it look like I need it in the front??

Also how do I modify the back on the next draft to avoid it looking so strained across the rear?  Its not bad, but I think it could use a tweak.

Any other helpful advice??  This is my first attempt at pants, so I really want to learn from them, but fitting as I am gaining weight is a bit challenging.

Naomi

[marciae]

I think they look darn goodl.!!!  About tweaking - I'm not sure as your bod is definitely going to be continually changing from now until about 4 months after delivery.  If it were me - I'd go with what you've done - looks better than a lot I've seen!

[Lady Jenn]

I think that you are wearing them too high up on you.  If you were to pull them down a touch, then they would fit better through the stomach area.  The panel is normally fitted from the bottom of your tummy up to about the belly button.

They look fine in the back!

[zora]

I think they look fabulous in the back but the panel sits too high in the front.

[Terri]

HI Naomi,

I agree I think they look great! But, for maternity wear, I always found that it was they way they felt that was more critical than how it looked.

I also tend to disagree about the front. For ME, i had to alter the draft of my pants patterns for them to come up and over the top of the belly, so that the top of them sat right under my bust. I couldn't stand the feeling of the waistband near my belly button, and wearing it under the belly didn't feel right either.

As for you side puckers... ease them in? small gathers? pleats? does it matter if you are wearing something out over the top?

And as for the fit of the actual pant... bravo! they 'look' good (ie, all your stripes appear to be hanging well, and there are no vertical creases etc), so worn with a nice maternity jacket out and over the top, I think it will be a smashing outfit.

I wore my maternity shorts/pants until the first child was about 12months old. i had to roll over the excess then, but i was wearing baggy tshirts with them anyhow. i didn't care (I had PND, so getting dressed was a real achievement) and I was busy managing a new baby.

[Madrona]

I agree I think they look great! But, for maternity wear, I always found that it was they way they felt that was more critical than how it looked.

I also tend to disagree about the front. For ME, i had to alter the draft of my pants patterns for them to come up and over the top of the belly, so that the top of them sat right under my bust. I couldn't stand the feeling of the waistband near my belly button, and wearing it under the belly didn't feel right either.

Wow - I could've written all of this.  I loved the 'support' feeling that the lycra gave my belly when I wore it all over the belly.  Anything belly button or below automatically slid down under my belly and hung out around my bladder.  Sooo not comfortable. 

Naomi, I think your pants look fantastic.  And I think YOU look fantastic - are you seriously 8 months?  That is awesome.  At 8 months I looked like a dump truck.

[cindyintampa]

Amazing fit for the first try on a pair of pants.  It is hard to tell if the front crotch is too long.  If you can post a photo with a straight on front shot it would be easier to figure out.  I would add 1/2 inch total to the back side seam, tapering to nothing below the crotch to give a little more ease in the seat.

[ejvc]

Hi Naomi,

I think they look pretty good.  I recall that my panel went a bit lower so that the trouser fabric started below the belly, which gave a flatter look to the front of the trousers, so I'd say yes, reduce the crotch length on the trouser in front and add the same amount to the panel.  My panels were made of a thick cotton/lycra knit with a four-way stretch which I liked very much.  But frankly I'd wear the ones you made anyway!

Oh -- another tip -- why not make the panel flesh-toned so then you can wear light-coloured tops over your shorts?

Elizabeth

[Terri]

Great idea about a flesh coloured panel!