Encouragement

I recently finished the muslin test garment and it gave me a much needed boost.  They almost fit!  "Almost fit," you say.  Then why are you so happy?  Because they look great! They are see-through white muslin pants, and they are already more flattering than most of my store-bought jeans.  I really needed that little bit of encouragement because I had become convinced that (1) my draft would not resemble my pattern jeans at all, and (2) no pants will ever, ever, ever look good on me.  Seeing the muslin pants gave me exactly the type of positive feedback that I needed to reinvigorate me for the next step of the process.

Fixing the pattern:  The fit problem was an all-around snugness, mostly in the thigh area (what a surprise!).  They were actually so tight that I could not pull them all the way up, and I was worried that the seams would rip!  (Longest stitch length, huh Kenneth?)  To fix this problem, I should have changed the pattern and created an entirely new test garment.  Needless to say, that is not what I did.  Instead, I just moved the seam a quarter-inch outward at the top of the thigh (thus adding 1/2 inch overall to each leg).  That seemed to do the trick for just that area, but it made me realize that the lower thigh was too tight as well.  Ultimately, I decided to just add a quarter inch of width to the outseam from the waist all the way down to just above the knee, both front and back. I also added a quarter inch of height just to make sure that I had enough coverage (the denim will be thicker than the muslin, but it does have some stretch to it).

As of now, I have almost completed my pattern and am about ready to move on to the actual jeans.  Wish me luck!

Also, for anyone out there who is beginning the project anew, there are some recent questions and answers regarding the organza slipping.  Someone suggested that they had luck using paper.  Wish I had asked the question earlier.