I made these in the hopes that they would encourage Spring along. No joy yet, though if today is anything to go by, the April showers part is well underway.
Pattern: #122 from Burda 1/13. This is a reallllly basic slim-leg pants pattern, perfect for woven fabric, and one I’ve noticed that they repeat in different guises frequently. So if you missed that issue, chances are they’ll have it again soon – this month’s issue has a model very similar and also includes shorts and capri-length pants.
These pants actually started out as a different pair cut from a vintage pattern I bought online a while ago. They seemed similar but have pockets and so decided to give them a go. In my experience, the sizes I buy for vintage patterns have been exactly on the money, fit-wise, so I didn’t bother to make a muslin first. Yikes! Although the waist (I guess you could call it that) and the hip both fit ok, the crotch depth was a bit long. I noticed this when pinning but figured it would be ok, it didn’t seem too long. However, I did not take into account just how deep the waistband was. The two together meant that the pants came up to my boobs! Holy cow! Thankfully, it turning out so big meant that I definitely had enough to cut the Burda pattern out of the existing pant legs.
Fabric: About 2m of Tilda cotton from the inimitable Rubanesque. Did you know they’re hiring at the moment? Get your CV in!
I had already interfaced the waistband from the previous pants so I just used that instead; it fit perfectly.
I had to make a few tiny tweaks to the fit of the hips but otherwise, it came together easily. I went on a bit of a perfection-fest with the top-stitching. Usually in wool pants and skirts, I hand-stitch the waistband down on the inside. It does give a nice finish but my main motivation for doing it is more that I am afraid of my top-stitching not being very good. I have been following the Archer sew-a-long over at Grainline Studios. Her discussion of top-stitching made me realise that this is something that’s never going to go away and that the sooner I figure out a way that works for me, the better.
So! I tried out a few different feet to try out various visual guides. I became quite confuddled about sewing at 1/16″. It got to the point where I wasn’t actually sure what I was striving for. Before taking out my attempt for the fourth or fifth time, I decided to measure. Turns out what I had been attempting was more along the lines of 1/32″. Insane! Impossible to handle and barely distinguishable from any sort of distance. I went back to my usual presser foot and, using a combination of moving the needle position and the 1/8″ guide on the foot, achieved a reliable 1/16″. Hallelujah!
It’s nice to be able to learn something from a project I’ve already made before. I hemmed the pants to 27″ leg and they’re pretty much a perfect length. For my last pair, I was forced into making them shorter due to fabric constraints, so this was satisfying. The fabric is really soft and comfortable and I’m looking forward to wearing these alot over the next few months.
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