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I am a big fan of flared pants coming back. I loved wearing them in the early 2000s, and even though I loved the skinny jeans trend, I am happy for the return of the flares. I have also been digging the relaxed flare look where the pants are tight-ish around the thigh, relax around the knee and flare out slightly at the bottom. The flare on these styles is not as dramatic but is still very much a flare. I wanted to try modifying the Ash jeans pattern by Megan Nielsen to have this look. Here are the modifications I made to the pattern pieces: You will need front (5) and back (6) pattern pieces. 1. Find the knee. The knee is not marked on the pattern, but it is the narrowest point on the leg. Draw a line perpendicular to the grain line. 2. Place a piece of paper underneath the pattern piece. Add 3/8” (1cm) to each side at the knee. Remove 3/4” (1.9cm) from each side at the hem. 3. Draw a new side seam and inseam by connecting the new knee and hem points. You may want to slightly curve the lines above the knee. 4. Repeat the same steps for the back, and you are done! I am thinking of playing around with room at the knee and flare a bit more, but I love how these pair look!

Ever since I realized that pocket facings are not only for fancy pants, my sweatpants game has changed. I love a nice deep pocket, but I hate the added bulk when said pocket is made out of french terry or sweatshirt fabric. Adding a facing to the back of the pocket is the way to go. The pockets are nice and light, yet as deep as I want them. And I get to use scraps of fabric I have lying around. Here are the steps on how to add a facing to your pockets: 1. Trace the pocket pattern piece onto a separate piece of paper. 2. Draw a line parallel to the pocket opening side. The line can be anywhere 2-2.5" (5-6.5cm) away from the side seam. It's your choice on how deep you want the facing to be. 3. Cut out the pocket facing pattern piece. Transfer the pocket opening notches and the grainline from the pocket bag pattern piece. The notches will help identify where the pocket facing goes on the pocket piece. Cut two pieces of the pocket facing from the main fabric. If you want to add a facing to both sides of the pocket bag (you can do what you want!), then cut out 4 pieces. Now onto sewing: 4. Finish the vertical side of the pocket facing that goes inside the pocket (not the pocket opening side). This step is optional if you are using knit fabrics since they don't fray. You can use a serger or a zig-zag stitch here. 5. Matching pocket opening notches and with the wrong side of the pocket facing facing the right side of the pocket bag, attach the pocket facing to the pocket bag. I usually use a straight stitch to attach the facing, but you can use zig-zag stitch as well. Baste the pocket opening sides together. This part is optional and you can use pins to hold it together since you are likely attaching the pockets to the pants legs next. 6. I like to attach the faced pocket bag to the back pant leg since this is the part visible when I use the pocket, but you make the rules here! Let me know if you have questions!

When drafting the Libeth pants, I made sure to add some extra width in the thigh, but it still may not be enough. I find that even if the pattern fits well, with some fabrics like Tencel twill, I need just a bit more room in the thigh. Do you find that? So strange. The thigh is a little tight in this pair, but is perfectly fine in this one! HOW MUCH TO ADD Start by measuring your thigh, about 2” (10 cm) below the crotch. This should be the widest part of your thigh. Compare this measurement to the finished thigh measurement for your chosen size. You should have about 3/4” (1.9 cm)* ease in the thigh. This means that your thigh measurement should be at least 3/4” (1.9 cm) smaller than the finished thigh circumference. If your thigh circumference is larger than the finished thigh measurement and your fabric does not have any stretch, I recommend making a thigh adjustment. * 3/4" (1.9cm) is not a hard a fast number. As you can see in the two examples above, I was able to get away with just 1/2" (1.3 cm) ease in the thigh in the beige viscose-linen pair of Lisbeth pants, but it was a tad tight in the pink viscose pair of pants. Next, let’s figure out how much to add to the pattern at the thigh: (your thigh measurement + 0.75” (1.9 cm) ease* – finished thigh measurement for your chosen size) / 4 *We divide this by 4 because the amount will be added to the inseam and side seam on both front and back legs. ADJUST THE PATTERN You will need – front and back leg pattern pieces, scrap paper, a pen and a ruler. We'll start with the back leg. 1. At the crotch, measure 2” (5 cm) down and draw a horizontal line through the entire pant leg. A quick way to make sure the line is truly horizontal is to draw it perpendicular to the grainline 2. Place a mark on the line the required distance from the side seam and the inseam. The required distance is the number you calculated above. 3. Start drawing a slightly curved line down from the mark, blending the line into the side seam at the knee notch. Repeat for the inseam. 4. At the side seam, continue drawing the line upward, blending it into the side seam at the top. 5. At the crotch seam, continue drawing the line upward. At the crotch level, pivot and blend it into the crotch curve. This will slightly extend the crotch curve, which will also help accommodate the wider thigh. 6. Repeat the above steps for the front leg. CHECK THE PATTERN Next, we need to check the new side seams to make sure they match on both front and back legs. 1. Place the front leg on top of the front pocket bag, lining up the side seams. Use pins to pin the two pattern pieces together. Draw in the stitching line on the yoke and back leg at the yoke attachment seam. At the side seam, line up the yoke and the back leg along the yoke attachment seam. The yoke won’t lie flat since there is some shaping through that seam, and that is okay. It only needs to lie flat right at the side seam. Pin the two pattern pieces together. 2. Check the side seam on the front and back legs to make sure they are the same length. Since there were no changes below the knee notch, you only need to check the side seam above it. Adjust as needed. 3. Check the inseam on the front and back legs to make sure they are the same length. Since there were no changes below the knee notch, you only need to check the side seam above it. Adjust as needed. Of course, there are a few methods on how to adjust the thigh, some are more involved, and some are considered more “proper”. I believe there are many ways to do the same thing, and some methods are better suited for specific situations. I find this fast and dirty method works well for the minor adjustments I need! Let me know if you have any questions. Xoxo,Anya