Hudson Pants
This weekend I managed to stay away from painting the main floor walls using the excuse that the floors were being done and I didn’t want to bother the flooring guys with my painting. They didn’t work all weekend, and I really could have went through my stuff and started de-cluttering… but I really wanted to sew. So I did and in the end I was one happy lady! Creating something always makes me feel good.
I’ve had a pattern for Hudson Pants for a while now and I have even attempted making them once, but my lack of understanding fitting issues and going straight for woven fabric did not produce a wearable pair of pants. I threw my first pair away, crumbled the pattern and left it at that. Then over the past couple weeks I kept seeing similar pants everywhere. I just love the look of a comfy jogger that can be dressed up or down! And if I can get away wearing an elastic waistband at work, it was worth giving the pattern another try. I mean, “sweatpants” at work? Sign me up!
This time I made all the adjustments straight to the pattern before cutting into the fabric. I now know what adjustments are likely to be needed for my pants. The usual ones are – deeper seat, increased back seat length, longer pant leg and shorter front seam length. I triple measured myself, compared the measurements to the pattern, made adjustments and off I went cutting into my fabric.
My first pair turned out pretty well! It was a wearable muslin that I decided not to photograph. They look just like a pair of joggers you would expect to look like. They did turn out on the roomier side, which I don’t mind for sweat pants, but I wanted my fashionable joggers to be rather slim. I transferred all my adjustments to the pattern and decided it was time to cut into this cotton/poly twill I got at my local Fabricland.
The fabric has about 25% stretch, so it is not as stretchy as the pattern instructions recommend. So I had to make sure my pattern would still have enough ease. Because the fabric is not really stretchy, I also had to make my calf bands wider so that I can get my leg into my pants. Finally, I cut the pocket trim piece on bias so it curved nicer along the pocket opening.
The pants came together very fast! Once I knew how the pattern worked and didn’t have to worry about the fit, it barely took much time to make these. I omitted the drawstring cord just because I didn’t have one in my stash and I doubt I would use it. I also used the longest straight stitch on my machine to finish the elastic waistband, I just like the look of straight stich better than zig zag. The waistband looks great and wears great!
I will likely mainly wear these rolled up on my calves as I find even though I added a couple inches to the length, the pants are still a little short. But it doesn’t bother me at all. After I made them I promptly wore them out to go for a coffee with a friend. They were comfy and made me feel so stylish! Now how many joggers would be too many? Cause I am really wanting to make them in every color!
Love,
Anya