Sewing Bee Round 4 (Final Round): The Pants Challenge

So I made it to the final round! I was so excited. Never could I have imagined I would go this far. But my excitement completely turned to trepidation when I learned the final challenge was to sew a pair of pants. Not just a pair of pants but one sewn with waistband, zipper, closure, pockets and hem using non-stretch woven. I have never sewn a pair of pants. My previous attempts were limited to unfinished muslins that were eventually set aside. I knew I was in trouble. But then I realized I had nothing to lose. I was at the end of the challenge and even though my chances of winning were really nil, I still win if I am able to overcome this aversion to pants fitting and sewing. 

After browsing the website for possible patterns, I decided on Vogue 8774. I have more use for jeans than trousers so I thought this was a good way to start. 

Pants fabric is one type of fabric I do not have in my stash so I made a quick trip to our local Jo-Ann store. I found a dark indigo denim fabric made of 100% cotton. It was a bit heavy, being 11 oz, and I thought that was perfect for the winter season. 

The pattern has been reviewed several times already at the Pattern Review website so I am not going into a lot of details here anymore. Just a few points that might be helpful:

1) I would recommend to serge finish all edges before proceeding with construction. There are no references to finishing the raw edges as one goes along so it is easy to overlook this. 

2) If the fabric is thick (like mine was) an alternative method to the construction of belt carrier would be advisable. I struggled with turning the loop inspite of my loop turner. 

After several muslin fittings, I finally got the courage to cut into my real fabric and sew the real thing. 

The fit still needs some more tweaking but I am quite happy with my first attempt at pants sewing. 

Hopefully the next one I sew will be in a more relaxed atmosphere. The Sewing Bee was a  fun experience but I'm relieved it's over.