V1729 Transit Pants in Striped Denim

 

So, I did that thing again where I got lazy and bought a pattern instead of taking one of my existing ones and hacking it to get the one fun design feature I'm attracted to on any given week. Yeah. V1729 is a sewing pattern version of Rachel Comey's Transit pants, which boast a unique but uncomplicated ankle pleat detail that I could simply copy on any pair of straight-leg pants. But sometimes you see an Ebay listing for a product you know is out of circulation and the collector (or FOMO) in you thinks it's worth it. I think it was; I justify it with the thought that I would have never gotten around to hacking my old patterns anyway, and not ended up with cool new pants.

In Complete Stitches Apex Pouch (stylized APEXpouch), the Solution to Scrap Hoarding

So, I like to think I've gotten better at determining accurate yardage per project. Yes, patterns list an amount to purchase, but they normally (yet wisely) estimate more than you'll actually need. Still, I think figuring out how to get away with less is a learnable skill, not even through creating more efficient cutting layouts, just knowing intuitively beforehand. Minimizing waste gives me some peace of mind.

The keyword is "minimizing" here, not "eliminating." With a few of the pants I made this year, I've been able to reduce some yardage but there's always a little leftover because my legs are always shorter than what any pattern will draft for. I was getting a little bothered by the neatly rectangular scraps I'd accumulated with no plans to use them, but then! I found a perfectly-shaped bag pattern in the Apex Pouch by In Complete Stitches. The design is just right for using up those larger scraps I wouldn't want to cut up for patchwork pieces, and outer pockets' geometry lends itself to colorblocking well. A great application for using smaller scraps and combining different fabrics. Finally, that it's a bag pattern means my bottom weight twills and denims would be useful for maintaining strength and structure.

Pantstravaganza: Modern Sewing Co. Worker Trousers and My Own Pants Sloper

So, I've bought hard into the wide leg trend this past year, and constructing pants in general has become a bit addictive to me. But I can't keep doing the same wide leg silhouette over and over again. I need some variety and some versatility through a straight tapered leg pant. It pairs easier with the other parts of my wardrobe than the wide leg, much how like I used to wear black skinny jeans with everything but we've been there, were there for years and we are not going back there, dammit.

And so! I have two new pairs of pants to show you! I revisited my pants sloper because it's worth analyzing after learning things from using other patterns. And the other pair, I chose Modern Sewing Co.'s Worker Trousers. They have similar styling to a classic pair of jeans, plus I was intrigued by the fit seeing as they don't have back waist darts or a yoke. They seemed like a good way to experiment with the barrel leg look; if I ended up not liking it I could easily take in the side seams. Now having made the trousers I think I can get a lot use from this pattern. The pattern itself, I'm half-and-half on if I'd recommend to others.

Visible Machine Hemming: There's probably a more efficient way to do it, but (shrug)

One thing I hadn't gotten the hang of until recently is having a clean finish on my hems when I do it by machine. I've gotten plenty of practice sewing pants over some months and with the extra practice comes a raising of the bottom line for what I consider acceptable quality. In this post I'll discuss what I'd been doing wrong, and what I've done to rectify the method and get that neat hem.

Fibre Mood Yushu Tee

Officially summer will be here soon, which gives me a great excuse to bust out some quick muscle tees. Sun's out guns out, as the kids say. I've made two of Fibre Mood's Yushu, a generously loose and boxy tank top or long dress. Knife pleats at the shoulder seams bring volume in and the shoulders themselves are designed with shoulder pads inserted, which I ended up omitting. The bulk of the sewing is simple as it's mostly comprised of a front, back, and neckband with no shaping or darts. About as easy as making (and wearing!) any t-shirt, I'd say.

Fibre Mood Beryl (Shirt)Dress

Serving you high femme lumberjack, today I have for you the Beryl dress from Fibre Mood's Fall 2023 issue in a slubby, small-scale, red-and-black plaid. Surprising no one, I picked a pattern that is essentially another collared button-up shirt, but with some fun pleating and a unique blouson top silhouette.

There's a neat juxtaposition between its elegant pencil skirt and oversized, almost slouchy shirt bodice and dolman sleeves. Altogether the dress is both appropriately chic as well as casual enough to be streetwear. My evidence for the latter being that everybody and their mother (and myself) seem compelled towards styling the dress with a beanie and combat boots or sneakers — a compulsion only strengthened by choosing a plaid check fabric that evokes the image of that one trusty, 10-year-old flannel overshirt everybody has in their wardrobe. It's just like that shirt but pretty'd up.

SILK CHIFFON NIGHTMARE BLOUSE FROM HELL

Let it be known that I do not fear working with delicate fabrics. They require more finesse than a brute like me would typically employ, but I know I can force myself to be careful and patient through excessive pinning and sewing slowly. Perfectly doable. Not scary. Even less scary knowing I'm using the same shirt pattern I've used so many times I could make it in my sleep, so I won't talk about it in too much detail to avoid being redundant. Instead, I'm going to spend most of this post grousing about this awful chiffon and what it forced me to do to make it work. Get ready.

Ann Tilley Magic Pants + Peppermint Wide Leg Pants: The Sequels

Hey, guess who got over her fatigue immediately after expressing she was tired of making pants? This gal! And I didn't even choose an exciting new pattern, nope, it's the Peppermint Pants and Magic Pants again. Now with a minimal but nonzero number of adjustments, which I felt were useful to list and elaborate upon. And so I will.