A review of Simplicity Pattern 1622
This pattern is part of the Khaliah Ali collection, a plus-sized collection that I’ve made patterns from before. I chose to make the pants because I’m still on this quest to find/make pants that fit well. Not perfectly, just well.
As I explained Here and Here I’m a size 20 in the stores. But in patterns I made previously the 20 didn’t fit, and the 24 was pretty tight. I broke down and pulled out a tape measure (actually bought a tape measure, then pulled it out!), and it turns out according to Simplicity, I’m a 28…the max size they make. Talk about devastated. I spent several days in a funk. The day I bought the pattern and Jo-ann’s, I also bought some fabric that was “outside my comfort zone.” When I got home I just felt like it wasn’t fabric that I “loved.” So between the two, the pair of pants was slow to get going.
Here is a picture of me laying out the pattern piece on the fabric:
Laying out Pattern
And here is the fabric on the serger:
On the Serger
You can see it has it’s drawbacks. It has an optical illusion effect when it moves. Not great for avoiding attention to the rear end!
Here is a picture of the seams lining up:
Lining up Seams
I didn’t put a lot of effort into hemming. In fact, the pants were finished except for hemming for 6 weeks before I touched them again. And then it was just to get it over with, and move on to a new pair of pants.
I used the “blindhem stitch” but did it wrong:
Not thinking clearly
But don’t care, since I am starting to hate these pants. Keep in mind I paid like $10/yard and got 4 yards. So huge waste of money. Plus the pattern which I only got for 40% discount.
Here’s the finished product:
Finished!
In the end there are several issues.
1- The waist is TOO HIGH. I have to roll the waistband down three times to get the waist to a reasonable height.
2- The crotch is too low if I don’t hike up the pants (causing the waist to be too high, see above).
3- The legs are too short with the crotch in the proper location.
Unfortunately I didn’t wear them before I tried another pair of pants from the same pattern. I would have known to alter the waist and leg length.
But I went back to the drawing board and started with a knit fabric.
Here are the pattern pieces being cut out (ignore the boxes in the background, still unpacking from the move):
Laying out Pattern
And here they are cut out:
Cut Out
Here I’m matching up the front seam:
Matching Up Seams
And here I’m hemming the pants. I used the serger, then rolled the edge under, then rolled it under again.
Hemming and Hawing
Here is the finished product:
Finished
I love these pants. There are still the same issues as the other pants. They are too short when I pull them up to where the crotch should go…and then waist is too high. The pant legs are flared a bit, it seams to me, which I’m not sure how I feel about.
I’ve been using these pants as PJ bottoms, lounge pants, etc. And they are perfect for the task. The other pair I wore to work and was self-conscious the whole day. I might wear them around the house for lounging as well, but over all it was a waist of fabric and money. The fabric is this silky polyester. Not a great choice for pants, but I was looking for something that would flow nicely with the little bit of flare.
In the end I plan on making one more attempt with this pattern. I’m going to lower the waist and lengthen the leg. I’ll post the results here as well.
Other Craft Projects:
- Plus Size Capris – Take Two!
- Kids lounge pants Galore! Simplicity New Look 6237
- Plus sized Floor length tshirt dress – Butterick pattern 3039
- Chef’s Pants for Hubby – and how to blind hem stitch
- Sheri’s Portrait Dress Butterick B5930
- Mouse Wrist Rest
- Car trash bag
- Plus sized lounge or pj pants
- Plus Sized Patterns and Vanity Sizing.
- New Look 6237 Children’s Pants and Shirt – Today the Shirt!
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