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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!