Recently I sat down and did some wardrobe planning for my fall clothing. I collected pins (this pinterest board) for inspiration, I wrote down all the clothing that I owned and came up with a list of things that I want to sew to fill in gaps. Naturally, there are more things on the list than I will have time to get to this year, but I am alright with that - I am good at prioritizing... sometimes.
Anyway, that was all to introduce my latest pair of pants! My colours for the fall are shades of burgundy, shades of green/blue, and neutrals. I already have black, navy and maroon pants, so these pants fall in the shades of green category, at a teal-like colour. I actually went to the fabric store to buy more of an olive-green woven material to make a pair of pants, but I didn't find anything that I liked, and fell in love with this fabric (in part because it was $4 per metre). I was testing the chi-town chino pants at the time, and wanted to use that pattern to copy the concept of this pair of pants.
These pants went together really easily. Try two of a pattern naturally goes better than try one. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of them. I like them well enough to wear them, and they are really comfortable, but for some reason they look a bit nineties to me. They also are going to start pilling really soon. I'm glad I finally made a pair of pants with back patch pockets and a button for the front closure. I discovered that I can make buttonholes on my sewing machine without a special foot (they may not be perfect, but they do the trick!), and I even installed the button with my machine.
When I told Alina I was planning on making these pants, she suggested that I might want to use a pattern that was meant for stretch fabrics instead of trying to modify this pattern, and she was definitely right. You don't learn if you don't try though! I used a woven quilting cotton for the pockets and waistband, and while it worked fine for the pockets, the waistband turned out wavy, and I should have added some more interfacing.
Details
Pattern: Chi-town pants by Alina (Free because I was a tester)Material: Teal knit fabric from Fabricville
Modifications: Full seat adjustment, added about 4 inches in length and took them in a lot so they have negative ease.
Learning: Listen to a pattern designer when she suggests a different pattern, she's probably right. On the bright side, I learned to do a button closure and patch pockets, and that sewing a knit to a woven is as difficult as people say. Also, I finally figured out that when the back piece is longer than the front piece when putting together pants, you should ease them into being the same length, not just attach and cut off the extra.
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| Bonus picture of the view from our trip to York Redoubt |
