It's long been on my list to make these pants again, sizing down.
I made an XXS this time - down from an S.
The model in the photos wears an S, has my measurements, and yet the pants fit her. When I made my first pair (here) they fell off me and were dangerous to wear in public for that reason.
This fabric is a most delicious shade of terra cotta, stretch corduroy. Unfortunately the piece on etsy was 70 cm long, and the piece I measured after washing was 61 cm long. So I made do and cut them as long as the fabric allowed - I'll have some great long shorts for summer (and conveniently enough, summer is on its way). I recall liking the instructions for the fly, and now I have to say after making Persephone pants this fly didn't seem quite as great. I sewed the crotch, and then cut into the seam allowance to fold that SA over separate from the fly. Seems like I also um sewed the fly shut but anyway that was fixed rapidly enough. I overlocked everything and didn't do any french seams. I'm sure when the novelty of the overlocker wears off I'll be french seaming stuff again but I'm not there yet.
I couldn't sew the buttonhole in Arizona, so these fell into the black hole of travelling luggage and emerged in time for summer. I managed to get a buttonhole into them because I've learnt how to use a bartack to just sew my own buttonhole. Trying them on for these photos I think I will hem the bottoms because they end awkwardly right at my knees. The pockets gape a LOT but these feel luxurious! They are a bit stretchy and the pocket bags are silk noil.
In the meantime I thought the fit was fine, so I cut into my secret sweatpants material - from Miss Matabi on etsy, this was described as sweatshirting, with a hard exterior, like it's painted on, and with no stretch. After a full wash and dry cycle, the material does have a (very) little stretch and although the blue exterior is smooth, it's not hard or boardlike. I would maybe have benefited from raising the mid-back a bit where it dips towards my bum, and what I did do was a kind of on-the-fly quadriceps enlargement - I just pulled the pages of my taped pattern apart to add some room in the front of the thighs. I thought that might make the pockets pull less. Plus my massive muscular thighs always benefit from extra space.
The fabric really does have some give and these now match the photos of the designer, despite sizing down 2 sizes from the recommended chart. And excuse me from totally reusing photos of a tank top I have talked about elsewhere, I reckoned after so much effort the pants deserved their own post! This fabric has a fluffy inside which sheds onto everything, but they are otherwise really lovely and cozy.
The side pockets of these stick out quite a bit, and now that I've made them a few times, I'd probably stick with XS in future but I think in the meantime I'll look for pants with more flattering front pockets. Oddly enough, my very first pair, oversized as they are, remain among my favourites...
I made an XXS this time - down from an S.
The model in the photos wears an S, has my measurements, and yet the pants fit her. When I made my first pair (here) they fell off me and were dangerous to wear in public for that reason.
This fabric is a most delicious shade of terra cotta, stretch corduroy. Unfortunately the piece on etsy was 70 cm long, and the piece I measured after washing was 61 cm long. So I made do and cut them as long as the fabric allowed - I'll have some great long shorts for summer (and conveniently enough, summer is on its way). I recall liking the instructions for the fly, and now I have to say after making Persephone pants this fly didn't seem quite as great. I sewed the crotch, and then cut into the seam allowance to fold that SA over separate from the fly. Seems like I also um sewed the fly shut but anyway that was fixed rapidly enough. I overlocked everything and didn't do any french seams. I'm sure when the novelty of the overlocker wears off I'll be french seaming stuff again but I'm not there yet.
I couldn't sew the buttonhole in Arizona, so these fell into the black hole of travelling luggage and emerged in time for summer. I managed to get a buttonhole into them because I've learnt how to use a bartack to just sew my own buttonhole. Trying them on for these photos I think I will hem the bottoms because they end awkwardly right at my knees. The pockets gape a LOT but these feel luxurious! They are a bit stretchy and the pocket bags are silk noil.
In the meantime I thought the fit was fine, so I cut into my secret sweatpants material - from Miss Matabi on etsy, this was described as sweatshirting, with a hard exterior, like it's painted on, and with no stretch. After a full wash and dry cycle, the material does have a (very) little stretch and although the blue exterior is smooth, it's not hard or boardlike. I would maybe have benefited from raising the mid-back a bit where it dips towards my bum, and what I did do was a kind of on-the-fly quadriceps enlargement - I just pulled the pages of my taped pattern apart to add some room in the front of the thighs. I thought that might make the pockets pull less. Plus my massive muscular thighs always benefit from extra space.
The fabric really does have some give and these now match the photos of the designer, despite sizing down 2 sizes from the recommended chart. And excuse me from totally reusing photos of a tank top I have talked about elsewhere, I reckoned after so much effort the pants deserved their own post! This fabric has a fluffy inside which sheds onto everything, but they are otherwise really lovely and cozy.
The side pockets of these stick out quite a bit, and now that I've made them a few times, I'd probably stick with XS in future but I think in the meantime I'll look for pants with more flattering front pockets. Oddly enough, my very first pair, oversized as they are, remain among my favourites...
