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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

View A, made in cupro linen & tencel slub in dusty rose from Blackbird Fabrics I am so excited to introduce you to my latest pattern - the Lisbeth pants! These pants are my take on both dressy AND casual pants. I intended on making the Lisbeth pants as a comfortable office wear option, as well as something to lounge around on the weekend. This pattern is so versatile and I hope you like it as much I as do! View B, made in silky linen & viscose in natural from Blackbird Fabrics View A of the Lisbeth pants has a fully functioning zipper fly and a regular hem while sporting a partially elasticated waistband. I would say it is all business in the front and comfort in the back. As for view B, don't be fooled by the faux fly. View B may look like a dressy jogger, but it is all about comfort. It has a faux fly, a fully elasticated waistband with a drawstring, and elastic hems. Both views feature an inverted yoke in the back, which is drafted to provide some shaping, as well as slanted deep front pockets and large patch pockets in the back. The Lisbeth pants are drafted for woven fabrics with no stretch. Twill, linen, hemp, viscose and rayon fabrics will work well with this pattern. You can also use woven fabrics with a slight stretch for extra comfort. I especially like a dressy version of Lisbeth pants in twill with 3% spandex added. The Lisbeth pants also make a great pair of sweatpants when sewn using stretch fabrics! Medium-weight knit fabrics like french terry, sweatshirting will work well with this pattern. I have made many sweatpants over the last few months while working on this pattern and I love wearing them around the house. The faux fly and back yoke make these sweatpants look less casual and I don't feel like a complete slob when wearing them. I will be telling you more about all the sweat pants I made using this pattern next week. Next week I am planning a few blog posts to help you with pattern adjustments and tricky steps when making the Lisbeth pants. If there is anything you need help with, let me know and I will try making it into the blog post. I am so excited for the release of Lisbeth pants and I hope you like them as much as I do! Get Lisbeth Pants xoxo,Anya

You may notice that I have recently added two children's patterns to the shop - the Misha Vest and the River Sleepsack. These patterns were part of Blue Darling Patterns by Anna Zoe which I started shortly after the birth of my daughter Zoe in 2019. It was a fun venture and I loved getting to know the digital patterns world through the lens of kids patterns. Over the past two years I slowly started getting away from designing sewing patterns for children and getting really interested in getting my other designs into the world. These new designs have been my passion and this is the way I see Anna-Zoe Patterns going. At least for now. In the meantime, I find it hard to upkeep the two websites - one for the two children's patterns and one for my adult patterns. Especially since I am not really doing anything to promote the children's side. So I decided to move the two patterns to the Anna-Zoe website and let the Blue Darling website go. Do I find it sad? No, I don't. I have never got really deeply into it and everything I created is still here. But it is a huge weight off my shoulders to have it all in one spot. I am yet to sew the final product photos for the River Sleepsack... The pattern has been tested and proofread, and yet I have been trying to take final product photos for over 6 months now. Every time I sew one up for Zoe, I put her right into it, thinking I will snap a photo later. But later, the sleepsack is no longer "new". I also have made many, many sleepsacks for my friends' kids, which I promptly gave away before taking photos.... At this point, Zoe is out of the sleepsack and sleeps under a blanket, and I finally had enough and decided to just put the pattern out there. It is arguably one of my most used patterns because I have made it so many times over the years, and I imagine I still will as our friends have babies. I promise I WILL take final photos of the next sleepsack I make! But just in case if you get the pattern and make it, maybe send me a picture so I can add it to the listing, ok? xoxo,Anya

I have been thinking about trying my hand at my own patterns for a while. I always had ideas in my head of what I want to wear, and that was one of the reasons I came back to sewing after finishing university. I started drafting patterns for myself a few years ago and I loved being able to sew exactly what I wanted. A few weeks into COVID-19 pandemic I was laid off my full-time job. I have only been back at work for a month after my maternity leave and worked half of it from home. It was surreal, but not entirely unexpected. All in all, I was very lucky and privileged to be ridiculously happy about this turn of events. After all, it gave me an opportunity to jump into the indie pattern scene without distraction. So here we are. I am thrilled to announce the test call for my first pattern for women - Bessie Top. The Bessie Top is my take onto a boxy tee. It has plenty of ease for a boxy look, but still provides for bust shaping through side darts. The top has exaggerated two-piece raglan sleeves, which add interest to the simple design. View A is a woven t-shirt. It has a longer sleeve, which can be rolled up if desired and a high-low hem. The neckline is finished with a bias binding. View B is a button-up shirt with a two-piece collar. The sleeve is slightly shorter on this version, and the hem is straight. The top was drafted with lightweight linen or cotton in mind. Light to medium weight fabrics work well with this pattern. Think linen, cotton (voile, seersucker, poplin, shirting, gauze), hemp, viscose or rayon. Lighter weight fabrics will add more drape, whereas heavier fabrics will result in a more structured garment. At this time I am offering sizes US 0-20. It is my hope to expand my size range, so if you find you need a bigger size please do let me know. I would love to know there is a demand for it! The testing will run from Friday, July 24 to Monday August 10, 2020. You will have two full weekends to sew the pattern. The testing will be done through Facebook, but if you prefer to communicate via email I am okay with that. If you would like to test this pattern, then fill out the application below and I will get back to you before July 24. APPLY Thank you so much for considering testing for me! xoxo,Anya P.S. I have changed up the hem of the two views, so that my shirt has a high-low hem and my top has a straight hem.