People who are sewists will know that pants are notoriously difficult to fit, and people who don’t make their own clothes will also know how soul destroying it is to go jeans shopping. I have had the StyleArc Thea pants on my list since last year when the pattern came out, and was also inspired by Meg’s version here. StyleArc drafts for exactly my height (yay!) so it also means that I don’t need to make length adjustments to their patterns, unless I have a preference for something longer.
I thought these would be good starter pants – they have an elasticated waist, so don’t require too much fitting, and the wide leg means that you don’t have to do too much hip adjusting. I also go nuts for a paperbag waist (I think Dr T taught me that).
I bought some blue chambray online from Habby and Lace last year, and cut these out a couple of weeks ago.I cut a straight 16, no adjustments. The first few steps of making them up were quite easy. But then, like all Style Arc patterns, the lack of instructions baffled me. I got to the part about making the elastic waist channel and struggled with it for hours! I couldn’t work out which way I needed to fold the waist down, and where the elastic should go. I finally got the elastic in, but then I realised that the fabric belt that I’d made wouldn’t go through the belt loops made from the pockets at the top! I am just using a skinny black belt in them instead. I really wish that StyleArc’s instructions were more comprehensive – they have some really amazing patterns which are very current, but I am put off by trying more given how little hand-holding there is in their write ups. I imagine that adding a couple more sentences for the waist step would have solved a lot of my construction problems.
Comfort level 5000
Overall, these were a bit of a struggle, but I think I might try them again. I’ve already worn them once and they are really comfortable and excellent for wearing when the wind is blowing in Cape Town. I have some black linen that I bought to make the Peppermint Jumpsuit, but I am wondering if it might work just as well in another pair of these pants.
Bonus kitteh #1
Saying goodbye to the view…
In other news, we are in the middle of moving flats. This has brought me face to face with just how much sewing related stuff I have – tools, books, equipment, and piles of fabric. I have decided to be on a fabric buying hiatus during January, and hopefully I can keep it going in February as well. I have so many beautiful things in my stash and I’m hoping that not shopping will help to motivate me to actually use what I have. Moving the stash brought me face to face with just how much fabric I’ve collected and not used – I’ve still got a whole lot of fabric from a trip to Australia in mid-2016! The other thing about not buying too much fabric at once is that I’m hoping to sew things that I can keep for a long time. A lot of the fabrics that I chose when I first started sewing were quirky cotton type prints. Although I still love some of them, others are just not exactly what current-me would choose. I really like this fox print, for example, but it might not be something that I want to wear forever:
I am hoping to have some time to set up my sewing space in the new place soon, and will post some pictures to show you!
Bonus Kitteh #2
Gin and Tunic 