Between my Style Arc Barb pants and these babies (with a sprinkling of the Jutland shorts I made for my husband), I am considering my sewing dare from Gillian done and dusted!
These are the cigarette pants from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual, the first garment I've made from the book. Gertie's cigarette pants are close-fitting, high-waisted pants made from stretch material, with a waist facing and an invisible zipper up the back.
I have been in desperate need of some me-made basic black pants to wear with all my me-made tops. You can probably tell from my blog photos that simple, slim-leg black pants are a staple in my wardrobe. Right now I have a pair from Ann Taylor Loft that I have worn almost to death in the past year or so.
The cigarette pants are quite quick and easy to put together- no difficult techniques. I serged all my seams and tacked down the waistband in several place- both side seams and at each dart- so that it wouldn't pop up. I skipped the pockets, because I never use them and find they add bulk where I don't need it.
I tried to go for pedal pushers by shortening the pants according the instructions in the book, but even shortening them by 4 inches took them only to ankle-ish length. Clearly made for a leggier model than me! I omitted the front slant pockets for this pair because I don't really use them and I worried they would bunch up on my hips.
I might make a couple small changes if I make these pants again. I'd move the zipper from the back to the side, both for ease of zipping and because I have a fear of splitting the zip down the butt. I might also narrow the legs more from the knee down for a slimmer fit down there- they're not as snug on me as they are on the models in the book. Judging by these photos, I need to de-slim the thighs a bit, though, to do something about those wrinkles on the back thigh:
I think the fit is pretty good, relatively speaking, though! Definitely drafted for a lady with some hips. I think I might need to adjust the hip curve a teeny bit for my next one- it's bunching a little bit high on my hip. I think it's drafted for someone whose hips are widest at a point a little bit higher than mine (mine are widest lower down, nearer my thighs).
My fabric is some stretch cotton sateen I bought from the Imagine Gnats shop (affiliate link) a few months ago- good stuff! Stretchy with a nice sheen.
I'm wearing the pants here with my Seamwork Astoria cropped sweater to show off the top of the pants, but I would likely not wear this combination in real life. I'd wear a longer top to cover up the pooch a bit. I was actually wearing them in my previous post, too, paired with a Maya top:
