MPWM Birchgrove edition
Calendar Dates
New calendar year and return of the project focused MPWM.
We will be making the Birchgrove pattern to coincide with the Curvy Coven Muna&Broad month because although most of us are making solo we also like being in community, more important than ever is these dystopian times. I adore Jess and Leila, they are my style mavens and I am super excited to get going on this project.
What is different with this MPWM?
With the book as our companion plus previous practice, I’m thinking we have the basics covered. This MPWM we will delve into grading and, for those of us feeling adventurous, pattern hacking to turn the Birchgroves into an equivalent of the Row Gala pants (nice review of these pants here on Substack).
GOAL Setting
The goal is to be wearing finished pants by the FIRST WEEK of APRIL.
We start on the weekend of February 14th/15th with an analysis of the Birchgrove design and pattern. Here is my 1/5th scale model.
Looking at the cut at the crotch you can readily appreciate that it is cut on the vertical grain which is different to the styles we have covered to date.
This MPWM will be a great opportunity to dive into the topic of scooping, everybody’s fave crotch seam adjustment. Looking at this pattern I am fairly confident we will all be scooping.
A couple of years ago, fresh from releasing the definitive video series on pants fitting, I proposed to Stacey Taylor we should make a video explaining scooping. Stacey made the video but ended up nixing it, hesitant that it was too much of a hot button topic in the sewing community (as surreal as that sounds). 1
Last year in the Substack, we chatted a lot about crotch point positioning and nobody seemed like they were hanging onto their smelling salts or felt the need to send me irrational messages complaining about woke academia so I think we are good to go. It’s 2026 and we wear big pants. We got this.
Calendar Dates and Times
Weekend February 14th/15th
Weekend February 28th/29th
Weekend March 14th/15th
Weekend April 11th/12th
TIMES Eastern Standard USA/Canada time
Saturday 7PM
Sunday 10AM
Please mark dates and times in your calendar and I will send out reminders with zoom links.
Let me know if you have any questions!
ciao for now
xoxo
Ruth
Looking forward to this MPWM. I just received my book and have started reading through it.
I do want to make the bias pants so I’m wondering what type of fabric you recommend for both the toile and the actual pants. I’d like to get started looking — I’ll probably have to order on line.
Hi Ruth - The primary topic that interests me as we dive into this new session is about your statement that the Birchgrove crotch is cut on the vertical grain. I looked back at the Shop Pants pattern and, to me, it looks like the back crotch seam is more angled away from the vertical grain than the front, especially in the 00-18 range. How a straighter crotch seam will affect the drape of the pant leg will be interesting to explore. Looking forward to this next project! Nan