Burda boys trousers finished

YIPPEE!!

I am FINALLY done with the Burda boys trouser!

This is the most time I have ever spent working on a garment, and I am done.  I am ready to to reveal these trousers, give my review, and move on to my next project.

This post may be a little on the long side because I am going to break down this project from the very beginning, so bear with me (or just skip ahead and look at the pics, whichever you like).

Here is the finished product:

FRONT

BACK

Preparation-This was my first time sewing a Burda magazine pattern and I found tracing the pattern pieces from the pattern sheet very difficult.  Mostly because every line was the same color, and it was a little confusing.  I think I was used to Ottobre magazine, and the way they color-code their lines in order to make tracing easier.

Sizing-I sewed a size 110 for my son, using a black cotton twill fabric purchased from fabric.com.  Out of four circles, this pattern was rated two circles, or "Easy to sew, but more time-consuming."  Ha!  I would definitely agree to that!!  I found these pants easy to sew, it was the new techniques I learned that gave me some trouble.  The only adjustment I made was to add my usual 2 inches to the length of the pants because my son is so tall.  The rest of this pattern was sewn as instructed.

Techniques that were difficult-I definitely had some snags along the way.  My first lesson I learned is that I am not as thorough with my pattern markings as I should be.  This tends to bite me in the butt because I end up having to dig out the original pattern again and figure out what I did wrong.  Well, after I figured out I had missed some markings, I corrected that issue only to get stuck on these techniques:

Fly front/zipper slit
I have inserted a zipper before, but I never had to do a zipper slit.  This is the piece of fabric that sits behind the zipper so that the zipper doesn't get caught on your skin.  I can say that the Burda instructions were not at all helpful here, since I had never sewed one before.  It just seemed like a bunch of confusing jargon I could not wrap my head around.  So...I remembered seeing some instructions in an Ottobre magazine for a fly front finishing with zipper slit.  I used those instructions (along with their visual diagram), and figured this part of the construction out easily after that.

CLOSER LOOK AT FLY FRONT/ZIPPER

Waistband 
Ok, I have also sewn a waistband before, but this one called for an underlap, which I could just not figure out.  I consulted this illustrated sewing manual in order to figure that out, and am glad I did because it was not at all what I guessed it would be!

Belt loops

Darn those belt loops!!  If you have ever had to sew narrow strips of fabric, trim them, and turn them right side out, you know what I'm talking about!!  I have a loop turner I bought a couple of years back that I've only used a few times.  It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I did.  Though it was not pretty.  I had to re-do the strip twice because I kept unraveling the edges of my fabric so badly, but I learned that the trick is to go slowly, and give the fabric time to turn on itself.  

BELT LOOPS AND POCKETS

Rivets

I'm jumping ahead a little bit, but I decided to leave the rivets off.  I ordered them from Amazon.com, and they were so cute, but I have not figured out the best way to put them on without damaging them.  I used the tools in the package, but to no avail.  I even went to Joanns and bought a tool kit to apply jean's rivets, and that didn't work either.  All in all, I decided to give up while I was ahead.  Really, it is great to know when to move on!

Buttonhole

This part was frustrating only because of an error in calculating that I made.  I created a buttonhole quite easily on my sewing machine (it's automatic) with a test strip of fabric, and even lined that buttonhole over the spot I wanted it to be on the pants.  It ended up being off by at least a half inch, and almost went off the side of the pants!!  I started to attempt removing it, but that was a huge fail.  Once you place a buttonhole, they are hard to remove, so I just decided to live with it (my husband didn't even notice the error).

Outcome-I like the way these pants look!  They are sleek, nice and comfy.  I only wish they fit my son a little better.  The waistband is a little too big for him, but that is easily fixed with a belt.  He wanted so badly to choose his own buttons, and he did.  As you can see, he chose a colorful yellow plane!  I kept telling him it would be a little harder to button, but he didn't care.  My little boy has always been fascinated with planes, automobiles, and trains, so I knew better than to dissuade him.

PLANE BUTTON

Overall, I would NOT recommend this pattern for beginners.  Even as an intermediate level sewer, I had some difficulty because I had to "teach myself" a lot of things before I could move on comfortably.  I'm sure if I had to sew this again, it would be much easier.  Also, take note that the legs of these trousers has a slim cut.  If you don't like that, you may not like these.  

Other than that, I am sooo excited about finishing these, and all things considered, I still think they look great!  More than anything, I have (once again) learned a lot of things that I will take with me into my next projects.

Whew!!  What relief I feel right now!  My son will be wearing his pants to school Wednesday, he is so excited!  I think somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought I would never finish it either!!  Thank God I did!

My young prince

I'll be back soon with details from what I have lined up next.  It's a quick project with a special someone in mind..  

Stay sew-filled!