What I've been up to...

Where have I been? Out of town part of the time. I was a bridesmaid at a friend's wedding in Houston. Although we had a lot to do and didn't get enough sleep, we had an amazing time. These are friends from way back in our grade school days in Nigeria - some I've known since 1st grade. It was our first time being all together since we graduated high school - 14 years ago! Here I am on bridesmaid duty (pic taken by a friend on fb)I've been back from Houston for a week now though, so what else have I been up to? Working on this pattern Burda 8755. I received it in a batch of 4 Burda patterns from an ebay purchase. It's a pair of pants with a seam down each back leg that ends in a vent.
In the quest to make this a pattern I can use over and over, I decided to take some time making alterations. First I made the pattern as-is. It ended up tight, with a huge chunk of gaposis in the back waist. My junk definitely did not fit in that trunk.

Sooo... I graded up about a size and a half, and then armed with Nancy Zieman's Pattern Fitting With Confidence, I made the following changes:
- Lengthened the crotch
- Decreased the waist width
My next muslin (long shorts to conserve fabric) was right on with the fit (as in - I forgot to add wearing ease!), but the crotch length in the front was too long. This meant I then had to
-Shorten the crotch by moving length from the front crotch area to the back waistline.
- Add to the side seams for wearing ease

The result follows:

This was made with fabric I was gifted by a PatternReview member from whom I purchased some BWOF magazines. I added cording to the side seams and to the waistline. In hindsight I should have added it to the bottom waistband seam instead since it can't really be seen.
The fit in the back looks decent, and I really like the fact that the seams in the back serve as the darts that would otherwise have been there. I do still have to work on the front crotch length as indicated in this close-up. There is just too much fabric there. After making that adjustment, I may also need to increase the length and width of the front waist darts.
This is the first time I've put so much work into a pattern! I'm hoping it will be easier going forward. I'm a little disappointed that I'm still not quite there, but the light at the end of the tunnel is that once I get the fit right, this will be a fabulous TNT pattern, and I can just change the shape of the legs as I desire.
I already have some khaki-colored twill and some black "Rodeo" bottomweight fabric washed and lined up for two pairs of shorts once I've got the fit right. Then I'll try some pants in lightweight denim.