Wide leg pants

The minute I saw the Wide Leg Pants, a free pattern created by Emily from In the Folds for Peppermint magazine, I knew I wanted to sew a pair for myself. However I have heard that fitting pants could be a nerve wrecking exercise, so I decided to wait until my nervous system was ready for a shake up.

Although I have been sewing for myself for a couple of years it was not until last winter that I felt confident enough to tackle things that required pattern alterations, something that went beyond blending sizes.

So feeling that I could at least give sewing a pair of pants a try I printed out the pattern and set to work. My measurements put me in size C, so that's what I cut out. I was prepared to make multiple muslins. My first muslin showed that I needed a sway back adjustment... that was it. Beginner's luck?

I shaved 1.5 cm off at the centre back tapering to nothing at the side seams. Looking at the photos of the pants I think I could take off another cm or so as there is still some excess fabric at the back.

I am not cool enough for cropped pants, so I decided to lengthen mine. I was initially going to add 10 cm to the length however changed my mind and only lengthened my pants by 8 cm. I am 170 cm tall for the reference. I think I should have gone with 10 cm... Next time :)

I used cotton/linen fabric from Spotlight. I think this is a very fortunate fabric choice for a pair of pants for warmer months. I used lightweight cotton for pocket lining.

The process itself was not too complicated. Emily provides clear and easy to follow instructions. I would only like to note that depending on your fabric choice you might want to interface pattern pieces 5 and 6 (fly shield and fly).

I interfaced pattern piece 6 (just one) but as I was not too sure which side of pattern piece 5 would end up on the inside I decided to wait and interface this piece when I got to it. You know where this is going, right? Yes, I got so caught up in the process that when I got to constructing the zip fly I completely forgot I wanted to apply interfacing to the fly shield! Oops. It turned out OK but I will remember to do the right thing next time.

While the construction process was not too complicated I did spend a lot of time scratching my head wondering if I have done something wrong when I got to step 17. I just couldn't understand what I was supposed to do. I needed to see this step in more detail. I came across this tutorial which was very helpful, and the rest went without a hiccup.

I have a few jars full of buttons in different sizes, shapes and colours, made from various materials. One would think I had a few suitable options for my pants, right? Wrong! See this button? This was the only button of the right size and colour for my fabric!

Well, my first go at sewing a pair of grown up pants was nowhere near as scary and complicated as I thought it would be. I really want to sew this pattern again, I just need to find suitable fabric. What would you recommend?

The tee I am wearing in these photos is a mash up of two other great free patterns. In fact, it first appeared on the blog with another free pattern Emily created for Peppermint magazine, the Vintage Inspired Pleated Skirt. You can find the blog post here.

At a glance:

Pattern: Wide Leg Pants by In the Folds for Peppermint magazine
Size: C
Alterations and modifications: 1.5 cm sway back adjustment, pants lengthened by 8 cm
Fabric: linen/cotton blend from Spotlight.