Fabric and pattern purchases that I bought from my local fabric shop this week. My LFS ships, and they can be your local fabric store too! I bought all of this from Seams Sewing & Mercantile.
This week, I picked up the Free Range Slacks from Sew House Seven. I’ve seen these made up *so* many times and wanted to try them for myself. The pattern is very versatile – it features a wide leg slightly cropped elastic waist pant with front slash pockets and a narrow leg pant slightly cropped pant with front slash and back patch pockets. The most distinctive feature though is the side panel – this offers a lot of design possibilities. It pushes the front pockets forward and creates nice design lines too. I also like that. I would also, if you’re using a contrast fabric, consider applying the back patch pocket (s) the same contrast as your side panels too.
Of course working with a striped or print fabric is obvious here – you can turn the side panel stripes sideways – you can also create the contrast color block “track pants” so popular the last few years – and continuing this year. Try a dark fabric for the pants and contrast light one for the side panel or do the opposite – a light fabric for the pants and dark for the contrast panel. Considering using the wrong side of the fabric for the contrast panel (if it is different) for a tone-on-tone look.
I also picked up stripe denim/tencel fabric to use for these pants – and hopefully leftover a boxy top (or pieces to do so). With the pinstripes these should be “dressier” than usual pants – not that I need that. I go very few places where dress-up clothing is required (I can’t think of any) and in fact, I go very few places outside of sports facilities for my kids, the library, coffee shops and breweries! I do not lament this at all. My days spent driving around to clients up to 100 miles away were a large waste of time (when we could have been using Zoom all along.) Business travel is NOT glamourous at all. I can sit at my desk, enjoy my own coffee, my plants and my comfy chair and get the same (or more) work done with less expense and hassle. Hence no need for fancy pants, but a definite need for FUN ones that have a contrast side panel 😉
I have sewn other things from Sew House Seven and like the construction and instructions.
I also had to pick up replacement fabric for a pair of wide leg pants from Ann Normandy Sewing Patterns that I’m already halfway done sewing – and really mortally screwed them up. The pants feature a flat felled inset godet on each leg and I did them on the wrong side of one leg!! Also I think the pants which I cut last fall, are one size too small and therefore I just decided to remake the entire thing in a size up. I know, I know. But It’s important to say even those of us with decades of experience screw up and sometimes it’s not fixable. These are “hard pants” with a fixed waistband – and therefore, they are not as size-flexible if you go up a size after you cut the fabric! In this case, you can, as well, use contrast fabric for the gussets/godets in the pants here too. There’s an inner leg and an outer leg gusset on the pants which gives them a flattering flare to the leg. Just be sure to REALLY mark the right and wrong sides so you don’t screw this up!