Wearable, neutral-colored, comfortable pants... these are a staple for me.
Neither of these pairs of pants are particularly exciting, but they are total wardrobe staples for me, so I am pretty pumped about them! Both of these were made back in December, but I am just getting to posting them now because Sew Twists and Ties had me so busy last month!
The origins of these two pairs of pants: we traveled for the holidays, a little road trip to Massachusetts and then Long Island and back. The night before I left I had a minor panic attack because many of my winter pants are fitting me not very well these days; they are all squeezing me and feeling quite uncomfortable in the waist. I needed something comfortable, but presentable for our trip.
I whipped out a couple of patterns that I had already sewn (the Sew House Seven Free Range Slacks and Style Arc Beth Pants, previous versions here and here), tore through my stash for appropriate fabrics, and had at it.
The (impossible to see in my photos because I don't know how to photograph black) details for each pair:
Free Range Slacks: size 16, slim legged view (rolled up here), slightly stretchy cotton twill fabric, waistband faced with soft double gauze
Beth Pant: size 16, angled seamlines on the waistband and hip removed, "jeggings" fabric that has a matte, denim-like outer and stretchy, bengaline-like inside, shortened at hem by 1 1/4 inches.
The verdict for each pair:
The Free Range Slacks are cute, though the twill I used may been a teensy bit too heavy for this pattern. There's definitely more volume than I hoped for. I dried them on hot to shrink them up a bit, which helped, but they're still a bit poofy in the waist region, as you can see. Also, that twill gathers lint like nobody's business, which is not good.
My Beth pants are exactly what I wanted: almost legging-like pants that are super comfy. I like how they're smooth at the top so shirts lay nicely. I likely won't wear them with the French tuck like I did here.
It feels so good to feel comfortable in my pants! I've been wearing both pants a lot since making them... you might remember the Beth Pants from my Flor Cardigan and Nottingham Top posts, and I paired the Free Range Slacks with my Torrens Box Top.