A Tale of Two Pants

Hello, lovelies! Today I have a couple of pants to share with you, not in the best presentation, however. Pardon the blouse, a quick grab from the closet that doesn't work and no longer fits well but my photographer was available and I went with it. Bad camera angle too. Hey, they can't all be Avedon days. 

This is the Picasso Pant from The Sewing Workshop and I really like it. So without further ado...

It has an elasticated waistband that is flat across the tummy. There are two tucks in the front where the flatness begins and seams down the center legs, front and back. Each leg ends in a shaped band.  This is a very easy pattern and goes together quickly. The crotch is long which is usually the case in a wider shaped pant. 

Here you can see the tucks which I pushed open for you. This leads to one of my suggestions about this pattern. I found between the waistband and the tucks that their release ended up below my tummy and they were therefore way to long for my five foot frame. Next time I make these I will either just leave them as a gather or make the tucks a mere half inch long (preferred).

 

The front band flattens right out when worn. 

Fabrics:

First the corduroy: This is a lovely 100% cotton 21 wale cord from Kauffman. I got it at my LQS and it is so soft and yummy. Long story short, I mistakenly put bleach in the wash when I prewashed it. It did not shrink at all but came out looking like it had gone back in time to the Sixties. I was stricken. I spent the next two days playing with paints and stencils and researching dyes. In the end it was just "!@#@!&?!!&  it" and I went with what I had. I proceeded to make the pants carefully placing the now carefully and intentionaly (yeah, right) discharge dyed cord in specific areas, mostly close to the bands. I consider it an artistic liberty and will stick with that story. The fabric is so soft and nice. 

The next fabric is also from the LQS and they are getting some great garment fabris in there. I forget who makes it but it is a yarn dyed linen that is a canvas weight. I really fell in love with it. It took four trips before I plunked down my  cash but by then I knew it was solid and pants were its future. It is far bulkier than the soft cord and frankly the back waist gathers are fuller because of that but I love the drape this stiffer fabric gives to pants. I put the sharpie in the picture so you could get an idea of the size of the weave. It really is awesome fabric and unique and pricey AND IT RAVELS LIKE CRAZY. 

Construction:

Anyone can make these pants. They are really quite easy. Because of the ravelling nature of both fabrics I stitched each seam, then serged together and pressed to the side. Then the seams were topstitched as well. That did emphasize the shaping of those bottom bands which I like. On my first pair, the cords, I automatically took an inch out of the leg and in inch out of the bands. These pants are meant to be cropped. I really did not want them cropped but they are a bit. In the linen pair I made them as sold and for me, at five feet, they came out grazing my ankles which is exactly what I wanted. So, be careful and be sure of your desired leg length before you cut into your fabric. To reiterate, five foot me is at grazing ankle length with no adjustments to the pattern. 

In conclusion:

I really like this pattern and will definitely make some linen versions for summer. I can see these working nicely with a tucked in tank top. I highly recommend this pattern for even a beginner. Linda Lee's instructions, as my experience with her patterns has always shown, are impeccable, easy to follow and very clear. I would watch that front tuck and if you are short, shorten that tuck as well. Also know this pattern is sold quite cropped for more average height people. The gray version grazes the ankle on a five foot tall person. Highly recommend............Bunny

Oh, if you are not watching her, Lee has a live Facebook show on the Sewing Workshop page every Tuesday at 11:00 am. Lots of great sewing info, fair amount of selling, but great fun as well. It is replayed on youtube after..............Bunny