“He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” (Alan Lakein, Ben Franklin, Churchill, Bob’s grandmother… I dunno who really said it first, but there it is!) And frankly, I don’t buy it. It’s spontaneity that leads to adventures and discoveries.

What exactly does this have to do with sewing, holidays and the Sis Boom pattern company? Hang on. You’ll see.

This was supposed to be a simple review of a Sis Boom pattern—my choice. And here I’ve gone and turned it into one of my epistles. First let’s talk pattern, then I’ll give you the skinny on my pants.

Back in October or thereabouts, I signed up for the Sis Boom Holiday Blog Tour on impulse without consulting my calendar. So what if I might have other projects due around the same time? So what if I’m a slow sewist? Yeah, so what? I didn’t ask any of those questions; I just put my name in. Oh well! I’m here so I might as well keep flying by the seat of my pants.

I got my copy of Judy’s Fancy Pants pattern from Sis Boom, at no charge, and with carte blanche to write whatever I want. (That’s the only way it works for me.) When I opened the file and saw 435 pages, I nearly had a cardiac infarction. No way am I printing that! It’s a good thing I started reading instead of running for the hills because buried deep below the instructions, I found a printing guide for all the sizes—on page 17. Fewer than 30 pages, now that’s more reasonable! The things we do for a free pattern, eh?

I printed. I looked at the printed pattern pieces. I shuffled the pile around from table to desk to bed and back again. That kept me busy for a good 3 weeks. Six days before my stop on the tour is when I taped the pattern together and started to cut out my pieces. Let’s get into how it all went down.

What the pants are supposed to look like

The Cons

• The sheer volume of pages is daunting to someone who’s not familiar with Sis Boom, or know where to look.
• That important bit about which pages to print is buried too deep.
• The pattern pieces could be rearranged to fit on fewer pages. (Yes, I’m nitpicking, but the cost of paper!)

Some Pros

• I love the flared legs. They make me think of the retro 60s and 70s fashions, with bell bottoms. If I make a few of these pants, I can let my afro get nice and puffy.
• The waist is elasticized so it goes up and down easily. That’s important for someone with the tiniest bladder in the world—an aging mini-bladder at that.
• The length options. Let me tell you, I do not enjoy lengthening my patterns. I didn’t have to lengthen this one because it has cut lines all the way up to a 36″ inseam. My inseams are 34 and a 1/2 so I usually take a 35. Happy dance for long-legged ladies!
• This baby was easier to tape together than any other PDF pattern I’ve come across.
• The instructions are fabulous. They are not the most impressive I’ve ever seen, but they are clear and concise. The illustrations are just as good. At no point was I confused as to what I should be doing, at least not in this context. I’m pretty much confused most of the time.

Giveaway

All told, this pattern is outstanding. I can see now why they’re so popular. I think I’ll go check out the website to see what other goodies I can pick up. Speaking of goodies, I have an electronic copy of the Judy’s Fancy Pants pattern to give to one lucky person. Drop down to the bottom of this post and enter the giveaway.

But before you go, siddown! I have to finish my story!

From Fancy to Funked

For reasons too many to explain (they involve cats and doctors), I’ve been staying on one side of town while my fabric stash is missing me on the other side. Just before we parted, I grabbed a couple of large pieces of fabric to make Judy’s Fancy Pants—one length of denim and one of corduroy .

Now to give you a little background, I have been taking medication for a year now and it’s made all my pants shrink 4 sizes. Nothing fits. But even before that happened I had pants issues, because aside from my legs being too long, I’ve always had hefty thighs. RTW (ready to wear) pants were such a pain in my backside, they made me hate shopping. No, no, this is not a pity party. Just setting the stage. So, needless to say, I’m a little short in the pants right now. And that is why I was so over the moon about the idea of making Judy’s pants.

Are you still with me?

I pick the denim for my first pair, because it’s easier to work with than corduroy, and it also doesn’t make that swishy sound when your thighs rub together—you know the one. I take a quick glance at it, fold it on the grainline very carefully, and proceed to cut out the front pieces. So far, so good. I grab the pattern piece for the back, and whadda ya know? No matter how I turn that fabric, there is no way the back is going to fit on there. Just no way.

The situation isn’t too serious yet. I still have that huge piece of corduroy to work with. I take my length of corduroy (geez, it’s annoying typing that word over and over!) and fold that carefully. This time, I start with the back piece, because my mama didn’t raise no fool. I meticulously cut it out, and start to pull the rest of the fabric up onto the cutting mat. Well dammit! Where the hell is the rest of my fabric? (You know, right?)

I tell my mama about how I managed to bring two pieces of fabric and didn’t bother to check the yardage on either one. (Seat of my pants, remember?) I’m sure I hear her asking herself, “How did I raise such a fool?” Instead she just says, “It’s a new style. Go with it!” And I do…

I put the denim front with the corduroy back. With the flared leg, it looks an awful lot like a re-visioned retro style. And I start to fall in love with it. I stitch up my seams… Holy crap! I didn’t think it would be this easy.

Mom says I can call it a new style.

I take my funky pants up off the floor… By this time, I’m hearing “Cantaloop—Flip Fantasia” (the Funky, Funky song) playing in my head. I like that song so it’s all good. I hope you like it too because it’s gonna be stuck there a while… I just have to put on my waistband and hem. But first, a trial fitting to see if I need to take in the back darts a little more. Everything else is as perfect as my first high school crush. (Wonder what happened to him…)

I eagerly shove my right foot in and my left foot in and do the Hokey Pokey. I pull them up to my waist. But why is the waist not on my waist? There it is, stuck on my thighs and refusing to budge. And just like with my high school crush, my world falls apart. I pick up the pieces and examine them for possible ways to salvage my love affair. There has to be a way to save myself from the impending pantless-in-winter situation. Well, there isn’t. At least not one that I can dream up in 2 days. So, “She who fails to plan, loses her funked up pants.”

Off to the UFO purgatory

With a deep sigh, I present to you my half finished funky Judy’s Fancy flared pants, all rolled up to go wait its turn in the UFO* holding cell.

Anyway, who wants to win this pattern courtesy of Sis Boom? What are you willing to do for a free pattern?

Cheers!

* UFO: UnFinished Object

PS. I’ll have another go at this after I alter the pattern, so stay tuned.

PPS. These are the other blogs on this fun SisBoom Holiday Blog Tour. Please pop in and visit them. Some of them have giveaways as well.
Nov 15 – MrsPodge // Nov 17 – Anna’s Heirloom // Nov 22 – Handmade Boy // Nov 29 –  Seam of my Pants // Dec 1 – Sparrow in Flight // Dec 6 – Sunflower Seams // Dec 8 – A Crazy Craft Lady // Dec 13 – Glitter in My Coffee // Dec 15 – Troop to Tots // Dec 17 – Cookie n’ Bees

Judy’s Fancy Pants Giveaway — Sis Boom

Now enjoy a little music…

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Tags: Fancy pants, funked, funky, Giveaway, pattern, Sis Boom