Open Studio Shop pants pattern review

I've been planning to make these pants for a very long time. 

I was debating between the Shop pants, the Worker Trousers by Modern Sewing Co and the Adams pants. 

I understand that each of the three has some very different features but overall they fit a similar kind of mold to me.  So I picked these because I liked the slightly tighter fit, the front pocket angles and the cool back leg feature.  Comparing the three now, I'm still glad I chose these, and I don't think I would make the others.  Eventually, tired of a queue of pants, I changed all my fabric plans for these and pulled out some iced dyed cotton canvas that I dyed years ago thinking of making a Sienna maker jacket (which I really should still make...)

There are a lot of blogs about the size chart for these.  There are blogs! How exciting!  However it did make sizing feel like a minefield.  I presumed that I'm now working off the new size chart as there were issues which have since been rectified, but I also saw that very precise sewists are still not entirely happy with the final measurements of the pants chart.  So I both committed to the chart, and worried they wouldn't really fit.  I made a size 2 going up to size 4 at the waist, which was kind of a pain as crossing the size lines also affected multiple bits like pockets and darts.  In my previous notes I had put down size 2 as a better fit, and I think, if I reread all the blogs, a size 2 would have gotten me a more fitted final result.  This is what happens when you take too long to actually make something.

Sewing these took a long time because I went on holiday, didn't manage to finish them prior to the holiday and then just didn't think they would work out for me which undermined my post-vacation sewjo.  I thought the ice dye might make them look like clown pants.  Eventually I got irritated with my delays and here they are.  I thought the fly instructions were terrible and I had a lot of nitpicky opinions about abbreviations used in the pattern instructions.  My real complaint is the waist.  I actually took in the pants at the waist, they were so big, and because of that, with heaps of easing HARD, I got the pants into the waistband.  The 4 part waistband was confusing, it was impossible to tell which way was up, luckily the instructions have drawings that help with that, but I possibly mixed up right and left.  I did NOT cut the waistband short so my advice is to cut it extra long!  

Finally done, and they do fit, but they are very loose at the waist. No need to size up to 6 at the waist after all.  I'm a 27 waist and 37 hips.  I think this fits the vibe of the pants as being laid back, chill and relaxed fit.  For some reason I am not very enthused about them.  

 

I wonder if I would fit into them as desired if I sized down completely by one size. The bum is just so baggy and they are roomy everywhere.  The front crotch of the pants is super roomy - good for people who have a tummy as it hides it nicely, so these are great if you want to expand during the day from a good meal.  

 I do think the ice dyeing works on these and doesn't make them look like clown pants, but I'm not sure it's exactly my style (though I adore how the dye came out!)  They just feel sort of silly on me.   

Road Trip Pattern Co. Cascadia joggers

 I was thinking about patterns for doing outdoor activities, and specifically the Topo pants.  I'm hesitant about the Topos, because though Leila is a prolific and sponsored Instagrammer with loyal followers, she has no background in drafting.  This often leads, online, to a huge following of people with nothing negative or realistic to say about a pattern. 

Around that time the Road Trip Pattern Co made its way onto my Insta feed, as things do.  I was initially taken by the Granite pants, which seem similar to the Topos, but I got overwhelmed by the number of cool trouser patterns I haven't made before, and eventually had to make a choice and chose to make the Cascades as they are kind of unique.  I made size 4, which fits my hips but is a bit big at the waist. 

I went into the process with a very muslin sort of approach.  I wanted to kind of test this new pattern company.  I used a scrap of stretch wool which is obviously not on the list of suggested materials - probably a bit less stretchy than a stretch softshell type fabric.  I used a very very stretchy rib for the cuffs and waistband, since it matched the pants so nicely.  I did not pay very good attention to all of the waistband instructions, for instance to use power mesh, so it's not surprising the waist feels loose, especially since I had sized up a bit at the waist. 

The pants came together ok.  I was displeased with the pocket situation 

You do a certain amount of folding of pocket bits to create the overlap, and I did not find that this was precise or had precise markings I could follow.  The result is that it's easy to have the pockets not line up with the design lines on the back pant. (Or with each other, but that probably is less visible.) 

My waistband was completely ridiculous, it's way too loose.  This is often what happens when I go into a pattern thinking it's a practice version - I don't try hard enough, and it becomes a Real practice version, ie destined straight for the op shop.  It makes me rate the pattern rather low, when I think a lot of the issues were on my side, not the pattern's side.  

 

Waistband loose and pants thus falling off my bum, unsurprising having used a rib for the waistband and not following the instructions.  However, the waistband also starts really low on the bum - it would be reassuring if it started higher and there were overall more bum space. 

The articulated knees are baggy and definitely give these pants a casual, just off the trail look.  I would not wear them for hanging out in a city. 

I also notice really distinct drag lines below the knees, and think I would benefit from a valgus adjustment at the knee, which I generally don't do.  I wonder if these were a bit bigger that would matter less - and whether I should thus have sized up from the thigh down.   

Overall I do not think this is a particularly refined pattern.  You need to match your stretch fabric for the waistband/cuffs to the pants fabric, which often leads to really homemade looking results.  The articulated knees also make me feel really dumb since they are constantly poked out.

I would have to make some changes if I made these again. I would probably size up from the knee down and figure out that adjustment.  Obviously I would choose more appropriate fabrics and I would add 1"  to the centre back tapering out to the side seams for slightly better bum coverage.  I don't feel an urge to make these any time soon, but generally all it takes is the right fabric for me to reassess a pattern with a new enthusiasm.