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.
Referring to my notes about Top Down Center Out fitting, I cut a size 12 crotch and inseam and a size 14 side seam. Or, a size 12 hip graded to a size 14 waist. They're more spacious in the hip than I was expecting but I decided against taking them in, in the end. I removed about four inches from the length to make the pants just cropped enough so that the hem barely skims the high tops of my sneakers. This is as short as I'm willing to go; any shorter and I'd be exposing too much of my legs to the elements. Can't have that when we're right on the cusp of winter! Without the pleat the pants have a regular straight leg silhouette, neither too wide nor slim, and I traced a version with a full length hem that I may use in the future.
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| Cropped, without pleat. |
I see why these pants are labelled Easy, because there aren't many pieces or extra design features that would complicate. Just the bare minimum of a waistband, pockets, and an easy-to-install side zipper. The instructions even call for the user to finish the raw edges with bias binding; I think this is because the user isn't expected to have a serger, and a Hong Kong finish is the neatest finishing method when one only has a sewing machine. But I did use my serger for all raw edges aside from the flat-felled back crotch seam. A serger is helpful for quickly trimming down the 5/8" wide seam allowances which can get bulky in certain areas.
I made a few changes that rendered the instructions mostly useless. I generally dislike like back and side zippers and instead opted for a front fly. This changes the whole workflow because the instructions have you sew the legs individually, and then connect them at the crotch seam. Whereas I sewed the two fronts together, then the two backs, then connected at the inseam and sides, as I typically do for all pants. That already skips like half the steps on the paper. The rest is all easy to intuit or ignore. (Seriously, don't follow the instructions when they tell you to sew the ankle pleat before the hem. Who at Vogue thought that was a good idea?)
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| My hem is narrower than the 3/4" folded twice, as indicated in the instructions. |
I used my own contoured waistband because I knew the straight waistband provided by the pattern would gape along my back. One minor change was that I made a facing for the pocket bag bottom piece. You're supposed to use your main fabric for the whole piece but I found that too bulky, so most of it is quilting cotton with a little wedge of the main fabric stitched on top. I did my best to pattern match the stripes but things always shift on the transition from a 2D paper to a 3D form.
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| Back pockets are a bit low but they're not especially visible in the first place. |
I tried that technique where you finish the raw edge of the waistband
facing with bias binding because other sewists consider it easier than
folding the edge inside. It is, but I don't think I'm a
convert. I'm resistant to doing it just because I don't like the idea of
incorporating additional materials, even if it does speed things along. I may do it
for when I finish the waistband by stitching in
the ditch and forgoing visible topstitching, as I forwent it here. I can never get it perfect if I do the fold, and it's much easier to catch the facing with your stitches when it can keep its original wide seam allowance. But other than this specific occasion, I'll just stick to what I've been doing all along.
The fabric is a mid weight stretch denim in an alternating stripe pattern. Where the stripes are navy on the right side, they're blue on the wrong side and vice versa. I normally opt for heavier nonstretch denims as I find them easier to work with and nicer to wear, but you can't always be picky when you have very specific wants. Apparently nobody is stocking wide striped denim in a heavy enough weight and the exact color combinations that I was seeking (brown and blue) so this is what I settled for. I'm happy with the compromise. Mostly I'm just pleased that the stripes aren't too wide or loud; when I was a teenager I owned a statement pair of black and white striped skinny jeans a la Beetlejuice, but did not possess the circa 2013 mall goth swagger required to pull them off. As a person who remains a fashion coward to this day, my Vogue pants are subtler and far easier to style.
I think this is a great general-purpose pants pattern to have in your back pocket because it's one that's easy to fit, sew, and it can serve as a blank slate for customization. People who push TDCO fitting (which I don't have strong opinions on as a method) seem to adore this particular pattern for its simplicity. It would be ideal for a first-time pants maker. The only issue is that it's out of print and I've no reason to believe Vogue has plans to digitize it. That's a shame, but only a mild shame! If you can find it secondhand and/or for a reasonable price, I highly recommend. If you can't, then there's no shortage of simple, beginner-friendly pants out there that are just as good.
Notes/Summary:
- Size 14 waist, size 12 hips
- Front zip fly instead of side zipper
- Curved waistband
- Shortened legs about 4"
- Pocket bag bottom cut in two pieces
- Back patch pockets
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