Category: pants

Excited

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There are so many times finding the right pants can be a drag. Style Arc’s Lola Woven Pants were terrific and the fit made me quite excited.

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I really wasn’t sure that I had anything that I could pair with these pants and low and behold, I found this ponte top I made last year – that’s why I was really excited.

This month’s Minerva post is about these pants. They’re made using John Kaldor Polyester Crepe Fabric. The colourway is called Olivia Pink. I simply love the name of this colourway.

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It’s a light-weight fabric. Washing this was quick and the colour is fast.

The pattern recommends ironing after each step which keeps your sewing sharp. This fabric only needs medium heat, if that.

What is perfect with this fabric is that it’s great for travel. Not much ironing needed.

The large print is bright, distracting and fun. PS. This fabric is currently on sale right now. Once it’s sold, it’s sold.

Now for the Lola pants.

The fabric is woven so I was keen to see how these Lola pants would work with a partial elastic waistband.

I learnt a new skill and relearned an existing skill.

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The new skill learnt was sewing a partial elastic waistband. This feature makes these pants look wearable to more places than the gym.

The front waistband is flat so I can wear these pants to a lot more places. I’m looking forward to making these in a plain colour fabric for work pants.

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I used elastic that wasn’t 4cm wide but it was wide enough for what I needed. I would definitely use 4cm wide elastic in my next order.

The existing skill I relearned was sewing in a normal dress zipper. These pants have pockets that give you the option of adding a zipper.

Because I’m testing this pattern for the first time, this was definitely one option from this pattern I was going to follow through with.

The other option you can choose to include is to add elastic on the hem across the back leg piece. I couldn’t see the benefit of this feature for these pants so I hemmed these pants with a row of machine stitching.

Going back to the zipper pockets, here are some progress shots I took so you can see why a bit of hand stitching can make a lot of difference to the finished project.

I will definitely use zipper pockets for future work trousers and trousers made for travel.

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Step 1: pinned in zipper

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Step 2: Checking if the pinning was accurate and seeing that it’s not good enough.

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Step 3: Hand basting these zippers in place so when I machine sew them in, I know they will be sitting in their correct position.

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Step 4: Being happy after you’ve machine sewn in the zipper and it’s read for ironing.

When you sew the pocket bag for these pockets, there needs to be enough zipper tape to sew the pocket bags onto them. I’m glad I spent the time hand basting the zippers in before machine sewing them.

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On the pattern I made my usually sway back adjustment and lowered the centre back curve.

With this fabric, these pants are really light and fold up easily if you’re packing for a quick getaway.

Sewing doesn’t always have to be serious business. It’s good to have a bit of fun and enjoy the finished product.

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Thanks
Minerva!

 

 

 

Romero by Pauline Alice

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There are so many amazing clothes I see many sewists create using African wax prints. I bought a few pieces when I visited the LA fabric district a few years ago. Since then I’ve dabbled on a few projects to see how I can incorporate these prints into clothes for my size and shape. I did buy one piece in NY during the same visit.

So far I’ve used these fabrics for a top, a dress or two and more recently a skirt.

This time I’ve used this fabric for the latest pants pattern by Pauline Alice patterns.

When I’ve bought African wax prints they come in 6 yard lengths. 6 yards is just under 5.5 metres. That’s a lot of fabric for me to use as I tend to make fitted clothes.
With this print, I made a top using New Look 6000.

I’ve worn this top quite a bit because it’s so striking.

Without getting too caught up in the print, this fabric works really well using the Romero pants pattern.

The pattern requires lots of big buttons and again I’ve used buttons from my stash.

The pant leg width is fairly wide for my size but they’re not overly wide.


That’s the beauty of Pauline’s designs. She understands what works for her size and that’s fairly similar to what works for me too. Everyone’s pattern base is different and that’s something I’ve very thankful for.

While I thought this outfit would be very loud, I love how it’s cohesive and doesn’t quite swallow me.

The fun part about this pattern is that when my waist increases or decreases, I’ll simply resew the buttons to fit.

Technically, I’ve done a sway back adjustment and lowered the centre back seam so that it follows my curves. I’ve also lowered the centre front seam because that works for me.

I’ve left the pockets as they were designed. They work just fine.

PS: I only need to undo 3 buttons on these trouser when I dress myself.

I have pattern tested for Pauline Alice patterns from time to time and I’ve enjoyed her designs and the effort she puts into her instructions.

You have to see what Pauline has just launched on her Instagram and website.

Cheers for now.
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Green jeans v8774

~ velosews ~ 14 Comments

While I was working in Adelaide there were quiet times when i just sewed with my travel machine. I took the basics with me and when DH visited, he had more supplies from my sewing room to keep me busy. He’s such a good man.
Jeans are part of my pants journey I am enjoying. I’m now enjoying the detailing and getting the fit right. When I’m out and about, I check out the back pocket stitching on everyone’s rear. It’s just for stitching ideas – truly. I spied one ladies brand new jeans with beautiful stitching but the RTW jeans were clearly splitting at the CB seam. 

Fit adjustments:
1. Sway back adjustment of the centre back seam on the yolk, the waistbank and back pants pattern.
2. Deeper crotch curve
3. Wider back leg length for both legs. My right thigh is wider than my left thigh.

Alterations:
1. Front pocket was extended to the zipper so it also acts as a stay.
2. Belt carriers were sewn at the waist band instead of on the width of the back yolk.

Rivets:
These came from DK Fabrics in Adelaide. They have a slight design on them but they are definitely silver and shiny. So the jeans button is also silver and shiny.
Back pocket stitching:
I’ve used the Vogue template and a close but wide zigzag stitch.

Topstitching:
This was something I improvised. I’ve combined two green threads through one needle for topstitching. I wasn’t able to find topstitching thread while I was away. By the time I came home, I had to continue to use this method of topstitching.
Bling – nil:
I’m sticking with colour rather than bling. I can sing, but I don’t bling.

I love how these fit and hug me. I do expect these jeans will soften and begin to bag over time so I now need to find a couple of tops from my wardrobe that I can team with these. I’ve been on a green binge for a while.