Helene Jeans
Let me get this out of the way first thing - this pattern did not work for me. It literally defeated my ass. I put it in the naughty bin, never to be seen again!
Top Down Center Out
I wanted to try out the Top Down Center Out (TDCO) fitting method by Ithaca Maven for the first time on a pair of hard pants. The Crooked Hem has done an excellent job explaining this method in depth, please check out their youtube tutorials and blog.
The Helene Jeans pattern is having a bit of a moment right now. They look so cute on others and have the perfect vintage look I’m craving. I was won over! I was determined and excited to test out TDCO on this pattern.
This pattern isn’t well documented for bigger folks
I always start my projects out with research. I consult the instagram sewing community, peruse the hashtags, and look for blog posts. I specifically look for folks with similar body size and shapes as me. I want to see the pattern in action. I want to know what their fitting issues were, how they fixed it, so on and so forth. The pattern is graded to fit 00-22 (hip 34”-51”) and 14-32 (hip 43”-61”).
So all should be well, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, the marketing photos for the pattern include 0 larger bodied people. I found a few bigger folks via the instagram hashtag, but nearly all are straighter smaller figures.
With the lack of larger bodied people excited about this pattern, I should’ve known these wouldn’t work for me. But I was optimistic and naive and had to test it out for myself! Sometimes we learn the hard, expensive, and frustrating way. :)
TDCO frustrated me, but I may try it again
TDCO wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. I had a very difficult time figuring out the fit with just one pant leg… which is the whole thing. Using one leg didn’t show me several adjustments I ended up needing, or that maybe this pattern wouldn’t work for me. It was so annoying to do in my limited space, without two mirrors. I hate toiling in general and this experience gave me a bad attitude!
I started with size 22. TDCO led me to:
Waistband - shorten 1/2”
Yoke - take 1/4” off top
Front - remove 1/2” wedge at CF tapered to 1/4” at side seam
Notes after fitting final fabric:
Yoke - remove 1” wedge at CB tapered to nothing at side seam
Back - take 1” wedge out at waist taper to nothing down side seam
I want to mention that I used a bedsheet for a toile, and my final fabric was a 10.5oz denim with a tiny percentage of stretch. I’m fully aware that these two things may factor into my sewing failure. Big shrug!
The front looks okay, but the back is an absolute travesty to my beautiful derriere. These are meant to be loose fitting and have some pooling under the butt, but I don’t feel good about how they look on me. I think I need more room around the inner thigh so I don’t get “hungry crotch” lol.
For reference, here’s how the Adams Pants look on me.
There is pooling on the Adams too, but it feels gentler and looks a lot better to me. The Adams back rise is straight and the shaping comes from the side and dart, whereas the Helenes side seams are straight (selvedge) which makes the back rise curve outward a little bit, and the shaping comes from the yoke. Look, I’m not smart or experienced enough to know why this isn’t working for me, just some speculation and visual learning.
Thanks to the wonderful sewing community on instagram who encouraged, inquired, and sparked discussion on this project. There were lively convos around intended fit vs. actual fit on curvy bodies!
I can’t recommend this pattern for curvier people. I’m wondering if this pattern was tested on people in the upper range of the sizing? The fit is off and I would have to completely redraft from thigh to waistband for it to work for me. IMHO not worth the headache. Personally I would save my time, money, and creative energy for a hard pants pattern that has lots of documentation for curvy people.
Lastly, this is not a diss to the pattern or pattern maker. Obviously it works really well for some people, and that’s why I wanted to try it :)
Nailed the topstitching tho!