I have dubbed these pants my “yacht pants”. Or maybe I could call them “country club pants” or “all inclusive resort pants”. For some reason they seem like the kind of thing women wear in these settings. Unfortunately, these are not places that I frequent. I’m not saying it’s unfortunate that I’m not going to these places; it’s unfortunate that these pants don’t fit well into my lifestyle and wardrobe because that means I won’t get much use out of them.
When I bought this beautiful cotton-linen blend fabric off the remnant table, I had it in my mind that it would make the perfect pair of summery pants. My workplace isn’t air conditioned, so I was trying to figure out what I could wear that would be professional looking and light. For me at least, these pants are not it. I think I just might not have the kind of life that off-white pants fit into. I’m not super sad about that. I still love this fabric though, so I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t make something that I would wear more with it. I think now that a jacket or skirt would have been a better choice for my wardrobe and lifestyle. Perhaps I could re-purpose this project into a skirt still. What do you think?
Design/Pattern: Simplicity 1808, view C (Wanna know something funny? I bought this pattern because I wanted to make the jacket, but soon I’ll have made everything in this set of patterns except the jacket.)
Materials: off-white cotton linen blend, medium weight
Techniques:
- finished seam allowances with a zig-zag stitch before I started construction; this was a great idea as I felt like I flew through the construction with this step out of the way
- pleats
- partial elastic waistband
Alterations/Changes: These are loose-fitting pants so I didn’t have to do much fitting, but there were a few changes that I made to help the fit.
- petite adjustment so that the waistband didn’t sit too high (folded pattern piece horizontally above crotch curve to shorten)
- straightened the line between the waist and hips so that there was less volume across my hips, which aren’t as curvy as the pattern
While these pants probably won’t see much wear, I am glad I made them. Every time I make something that doesn’t fit into my wardrobe I get a better idea of my personal style strengths. Right now light colored, loose fitting pants don’t work. In the future I will know that, as much as I might like this look on someone else, it just isn’t my style. And that’s okay.