BWOF instructions are stupid.

Well, sew the pants day did NOT happen. It was more like "sew the pants week", and even then, I'm not done. The problems came when I decided to ignore the instructions and insert the zip according to the Sandra Betzina method on Threads. It worked very well—so happy with the result, until it came time to put on the facings. ugh! This method only works when putting on a waistband.

So I went back to the instructions:

WHATT?!?!?!
I need pictures. I'm a graphic designer for goodness sake (I once drew a diagram for a client on how to fold a piece of paper in half)! I don't like to do things more than once and waste time. I was in danger of throwing in the towel (which I didn't want to do either) when I did a google search for a faced fly-front zipper tutorial of some kind.

It turns out that I'm not the only one who had the question (thankfully), and the Sewing Lawyer had posted what looks to be a helpful and possibly confusing (around steps 16 or 17) set of photo instructions.

So, I'm going to try them today on a test piece and see if I can't figure it out.

The worst part is, that my pants, though well-fitting, are made of quite possibly the worst fabric in the world. I'm going to have panty-line no matter what I wear, and EVERY SINGLE TIME I pressed this fabric, it got shine along the seams–even with a press cloth and from the wrong side. If I can figure out the fly, I might chalk this up to a great learning experience and make them again in a better fabric.  I can live with that.


UPDATE: Well, I took a couple of hours on the weekend and went through the step by step photo tutorial. I made a small sample and then instead of ripping out my already-sewn fly, I just unpicked a little bit in order to accommodate the steps from the tutorial. It's done and they fit, but it's still crappy material, and they are more high-waisted and taper-legged than i will ever wear so I'm altering the pattern. This process will come in the form of a new post in the near future.