Laura Tackles Pants, the Easy Version
I've made several pairs of pants, but I tend to stick to elastic waists and avoid fitted styles with flys and waistbands and all that jazz. I've done it, but it just takes longer and I'm impatient. That said, I really do want to add a few of those to my wardrobe, and they're on the list, but not just yet. I had abdominal surgery a few weeks ago, and I'm still a little swollen and sore, so fitting is not something that's possible (or comfortable) right now, so elastic waists it is! I've been meaning to make a woven pair of True Bias Hudson Pants for at least a year or two now, and figured this is the time for me to do so!
I followed the instructions on the True Bias blog to convert from a knit fabric to a woven (namely, sizing up two sizes and adding depth to the pockets), and I left off the ankle bands, plus shortened them a tad, because I wanted to have enough fabric left over to make a matching tank. You will never see me wear them together, which was my original intention (sneaky jumpsuit, anyone?), as it's pretty intense overall. Anyways, here are the details:
Pattern: True Bias Hudson Pants
Size: 10 (sized up two from where I fell on the size chart, for woven fabric)
Modifications: woven fabric instead of knit, shorter, no ankle bands, added back pockets
Fabric: mid-heavy weight linen from Stonemountain and Daughter
After I cut them out, I then measured a pair of elastic waist shorts from Madewell that I've been wearing a ton lately, and the hips measured 41" instead of the 43" from the finished measurements table for size 10. To make up for this, I sewed the side seams at a 3/4" seam allowance instead of 3/8", but even still, I think I would like them a bit more fitted (just for personal preference). The worst though is when a gathered waist pair of pants is too tight across the hips, with pocket-gaping, and bunching by the waistband, so I would rather err on the side of too loose. With the slightly heavier fabric, I think it's ok, but next time I make this pattern (there are two more versions planned), I'll do a size 8 instead of 10. Because I might want to tighten up the elastic later, I followed Karen Templer's method for attaching an elastic waistband, which I'm going to adopt from now on - it's just a cleaner finish, I think. I also added back patch pockets, as I find it easier to throw my phone in a back pocket instead of a front pocket. I didn't attempt to pattern match the pockets at all, but the fabric is so busy, you can barely see them anyway!
I followed the instructions on the True Bias blog to convert from a knit fabric to a woven (namely, sizing up two sizes and adding depth to the pockets), and I left off the ankle bands, plus shortened them a tad, because I wanted to have enough fabric left over to make a matching tank. You will never see me wear them together, which was my original intention (sneaky jumpsuit, anyone?), as it's pretty intense overall. Anyways, here are the details:
Pattern: True Bias Hudson Pants
Size: 10 (sized up two from where I fell on the size chart, for woven fabric)
Modifications: woven fabric instead of knit, shorter, no ankle bands, added back pockets
Fabric: mid-heavy weight linen from Stonemountain and Daughter
After I cut them out, I then measured a pair of elastic waist shorts from Madewell that I've been wearing a ton lately, and the hips measured 41" instead of the 43" from the finished measurements table for size 10. To make up for this, I sewed the side seams at a 3/4" seam allowance instead of 3/8", but even still, I think I would like them a bit more fitted (just for personal preference). The worst though is when a gathered waist pair of pants is too tight across the hips, with pocket-gaping, and bunching by the waistband, so I would rather err on the side of too loose. With the slightly heavier fabric, I think it's ok, but next time I make this pattern (there are two more versions planned), I'll do a size 8 instead of 10. Because I might want to tighten up the elastic later, I followed Karen Templer's method for attaching an elastic waistband, which I'm going to adopt from now on - it's just a cleaner finish, I think. I also added back patch pockets, as I find it easier to throw my phone in a back pocket instead of a front pocket. I didn't attempt to pattern match the pockets at all, but the fabric is so busy, you can barely see them anyway!
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