Frankenpants: Papercut Anima & The Great Jersey crop

Y'all...usually when I want something I just buy it.  I don't have the patience to try to draft things and I don't have the faith that I'll like my result.

These pants are an exception.  Here's a link to see them live.  I came really close to buying them...and then I thought seriously, this is So Simple.  There are tutorials online for drafting harem pants.  It also requires basically no skill, doesn't matter if it's not perfect, and I have many colours of jersey sitting around waiting to be used. Maybe not buttery smooth The Great jersey, but you know, whatever. I can always buy them later. Plus I'm not even going to wear them outside the house!  (That's a total lie, since this is New Zealand where anything goes.)

Not to mention that the website has all the measurements on it.
In case you care: rise is 16 5/8", leg opening is 8 3/4" and the inseam is 20 1/4" on the size 1 which is probably a size bigger than I would choose. I have a pair of Anima pants that I made awhile ago to give me an idea of what I'm starting with. The pockets are harvested from the Metamorphic dress pattern, because it was close at hand.

It has to go well, right?
Here's the post that inspired me, though there are others.

I wasn't sure how much to keep the initial crotch curve, versus creating the U shape of a lot of harem pants (these included.) I erred more on the side of keeping my original pattern.  The result looks a bit less like the Jersey Crops. Also, I think the measurement for the ankle opening is a diameter. I widened the ankles on mine and then stopped when I saw that the width of the back piece was already about 6 inches, which means my final result was 12" and the pattern should have been 17".  It's obvious that mine are tighter at the ankles.  The drop is less obvious.  And the fabric is linen, which doesn't have quite the body of the Jersey Crops. 

I can't say they are the Least Bit flattering, but they are magical in 2 ways:
1. I no longer feel like I need to buy the Jersey Crops - it's clear to me they would also not be that flattering, so why waste the money?
2. They are really comfortable and I can even do yoga in them!

I realised at some point they were going to be a bit see through, which they are, if you are looking closely, which you're NOT, right?

Anyway here's for one isolation success (in which I totally rock the delicious combo of bright purple pants and a bright pink cashmere sweater, a recent epic $15 secondhand shop score.)

A Review: True Bias Hudson Pants

My sewing friend Tessa went crazy over Hudson pants.  I tried to talk her into making Anima pants since I am basically a specialist in them (see here, here and here) but something about the Hudsons had stuck in her brain.  So of course like the lemming I am, I decided that I had to do a comparison test and see why Hudsons have gained a cult following.

Size 4.  (I'm 5'4" and 27-37)
Fabric is Charley Harper organic cotton from Ugh Spotlight, and the bands are a merino wool ribbing blend by Helmut Lang which I bought at The Fabric Store last year, snagging the last 30 cm piece.  That's why I went with such a dull main colour - I wanted something to go with these bands, and the organic cotton is so soft and snuggly.

Well, making the pants is nothing special.
I skipped the drawstring.

Overall, I found the fit very different from the Anima pants.

The Anima: is very long; I remove 10 cm usually.  It has a fake fly (wtf?) and the pockets are the usual fold over types which can bag out.  They are pretty high waisted and are otherwise loose around the bum and hips.  In the Anima I've been making the XXS though it took a few tries to settle on that and stick with it.  I have permanently removed a 1 cm wedge from the front waist which makes them slope down so the waist isn't quite so high, but I'd call the fit easy - they go pretty close to the natural waist.

The Hudson: has a modern, low waistband which is thicker than the Anima.  It sits low.  I would be tempted to add an inch of raise to the back to accommodate my amazingly muscular bum.  In fact I could add that inch all the way around.  The pockets are lovely and I like the addition of the bands on the pockets, which adds heft.  The pocket construction means they won't flap out.  The fit through the bum and hips is snug.  These are short.  I didn't modify the length at all, and I think I'd prefer another inch of raise...because they are so short that if I bend my knee I feel it pulling down the waistband.

I think the Anima pants are awesome loungepants.  But the Hudson pants actually if you made them in the right material, you could wear out of the house.  I guess that's why they've become so popular.  I like them despite my dedication to Papercut patterns. 

Chalk and Notch Pony tank and a sewing day!

I am whiling away time in New Zealand waiting for my Australian visa.  It's all pretty good, but my luggage...is in Australia.  So I am knitting.  But it's been over a month and I started to get a little itchy for some sewing.  I wrote up a friend who sews locally and she invited me over for a sewing day - something that she does weekly.

I prepped the Anima pants and the Pony tank.  She offered to show me how her serger worked and of course I was jumping with excitement!!  So a mix of a new pattern and an old pattern seemed about right.

Nothing to say about my Anima pants.  I have made this so many times that I could basically do the changes in my sleep.  What I could add is that the new, updated A0 pattern came out...literally 10 minutes after I got to my friends house...so I spent the next hour cutting and taping.  I make a size XXS, remove 10 cm of the length, remove the fly and the pockets.  And no drawstring.  For this version I went with tulip cuffs.  I added 2 cm width to each cuff and then visualised the tulip shape, cut all four ends together and then just sewed the edges shut before flipping it right side out.  I realised afterwards that I didn't need to add any width, because my overlap was the same amount as the seam allowance would have been.  So the cuffs are loose, but look great.  I love this little feature that makes my SERGED Anima pants the best ones I've ever made.

The Pony tank is basically as advertised.  I cut the size 2 based on my measurements.  There is a lot of commentary about how high the armscye is.  It is high.  I was all proud of not trying this top on before I applied the armbands.  Don't be like me.  I still need to fix them - I took it home and tried really hard to wear it and the armholes just are not working out.  Unfortunately stuff that has been overlocked...is not much fun to undo.  But it will happen soon!

Anima and Virginia pants: a scuba experiment.

I had a length of some scuba fabric from Spotlight and was planning to make a dress with it. But then after kayaking I got to thinking it would be nice to have some scuba kayaking pants.

So I decided to make both the Anima pants and some Virginia leggings and see how they would come out.  I suspected that the Virginia leggings would be too tight, because the scuba fabric tends to have a lot less give compared to other types of fabric. 

I was right. I used the same sizes I have been using lately: XXS in the Anima pants, and XS in the Virginia leggings, with the high waistband and the petite sizing.

Above: are all Anima pants.  Below: are all Virginia leggings.  The leggings honestly I can barely pull them on.  They were a direct to op-shop kind of sew.

But the Anima pants are great, and will definitely be my kayaking pants for the rest of this winter!

You can see the waist of this is loose on the hanger.

Virginia pants are very tight on the hanger!

Papercut Anima pants success, plus bonus upcycled shorts

I have attempted Anima pants a few times.
It's hard to tell what size I was using - probably XS.  They were never as flattering as on everyone else...and I had issues with the waistband elastic and with the finish on my first pair, and with the length on my second pair.

Not to say I dislike my amazing upcycled Anima pants but as I might have mentioned, they definitely won't make it out of my house. Ever. 

I had to trace the pattern anew this time so I started fresh with the XXS.  I shortened it about 2 inches at the bottom, removed the pockets and fly, and angled out 1 cm from the front waistband, tapering to nothing at the side front.

The fabric is a nice, rather light merino mix from the Fabric Store.  It's got terry loops on the back and I made a Renfrew with it too.

Finally, success!  The Anima are an easy pattern and it only took me, um, 4 tries to be really happy with it!

So while I was at it I had a massive skirt originally by Metalicus, which I upcycled into a Plantain.  I had just enough fabric left - plus the great RTW waistband - to make some Anima shorts.  Everything the same - I used the shorts length and attached my ready-made waistband!  They are a bit higher waisted because of this but I'm super pleased - although totally useless in cold winter I always need this kind of shorts in summer for sports/sleep/lounging so they will be put to use.

Upcycled Papercut Anima pants and Simplicity 8228 Madalynne bra

In order to not stand around in just a bra, I figured I'd show these two makes together.

I spend too much time trying to think up things to do with tshirts.  You know the ones I mean - those heavyweight, oversized, shapeless, screen-printed tshirts that we all get too many of for free.  A few of them work to sleep in but they last a long time!  So this pair of Papercut Anima pants was brought about as a trial run to use up some shirts.  Since the pants are sleepwear they are totally allowed to look silly plus I get to wear a bunch of tshirts which I do actually like - I spent six months working with MSF last year - and I've done a bunch of trips with the American Alpine Institute, so both of these shirts have some emotional value to me and I'm happy to make them continuously useful.

The anima pants pattern is my standard one, size XS - I didn't shorten the legs this time, but I have lowered the front waistband by removing a wedge that I tapered out to nothing at the side seam, plus obviously I got rid of the fly and pockets.

In order to use four tshirts for this pattern, I cut each tshirt apart at the sides and across the top, and then I sewed the bottoms together, like this:

Even with this magenta tee, which was a size S ladies cut, I had enough to make an entire pant leg with some room remaining.


I went kind of crazy with the waistband and it was bad, so I had to totally remove something like 5 rows of stitching (I measured my elastic wrong and it was about 5 inches too long...) and then I went for the minimalist waistband with no stitching in it.  The elastic stays in place so I'm content for now.  This version of the anima pants, seeing as it has no pockets, no fly and no string in the waistband - is a pretty minimal version and is easy to make.  It took a few hours including tshirt prep. 

So the bra top!  I bought this as soon as it came out.  After all, lacy bra thingies are so in right now!  I wanted one!  The lace is from merckwaerdigh's etsy store, the cream coloured powermesh is from tailormadeshop.  I used really bad fabric glue to stick the layers together and then the idea of making this bra top faltered.  It was a few months before I came back to it.  There was only one review which mentioned sizing, and the reviewer used her normal bra size rather than following the size chart, so I did that too and cut a 32C.  I marked each pattern piece with the side that should be along the scallops and I found cutting out easy.  Sewing was easy and quick too - just a couple of hours.  I found the instructions to be adequate and not confusing at any point.  However because of my crappy glue, I had to then zigzag all free edges (luckily this is invisible in the lace) because the mesh was flopping around otherwise.

The band is tight enough to be supportive, which itself, in non-stretch lace, is a problem because although I can get this top on, it's nearly impossible to get off.  The back is much lower than the front.  I was debating just removing 2 cm off the spot where the back narrows to see if that helps, although I suppose it's not too important.  Also,  the cups fit mostly ok, but I think I'll take a wedge off the center front piece for my next try.  The lace is also really itchy.

I have a nice kit from tailormadeshop to make another one of these, which I'll do with those two small changes, but I recommend using stretch lace, and not using powermesh on the band, especially if you have wide shoulders or a muscular back like I do.