Pants pants pants.

So after the last Papercut Pattern debacle, I am pleased to announce that we have forgiven and forgotten and that my new PP garment, the Guise Pant, and myself have registered for wedding gifts at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I really, really love these pants because, well, #pants and the cut, and the absolutely beautiful, forrest green, lightly felted, faintly striped wool from The Fabric Store that I have made them up in. Oh and, orange paisley pocket liners anyone?!

I made my standard crotch adjustment, and a bit of the back in seam adjustment, and my right hip adjustment as per my Pants for Real People advice, using both their ’tissue fitting’ and ‘fitting while you sew’ methods (c.f. any other pair of pants I have ever talked about since 2015).

Because of the relaxed fit I didn’t need to make as many adjustments to the rest of the pant and having cut a M, I had lots of room left after making my crotch adjustment so didn’t need to add room anywhere else.

This was my first ever fly front trouser and my second set of welted pockets. The fly front was a doddle, but the welted pockets have a gap which they shouldn’t. I measured and cut very accurately but now that I know the gap between the two openings, I know that I need to make the folds that cover the welt deeper. Not a major drama, but I do aim for as close to perfection as I can.

For next time I would also add about 5cms to the leg length as these were pretty short (after my adjustments) and I needed to use cotton tape to hem them long enough. I think, on balance, I would also take a couple of cm out of the back to reduce the bulk, although as the fabric settles I may change my mind on that. And of course, if I was using a drapier fabric this may not be an issue.

The instructions are minimal and I do have a few gripes to note as a first time user of this pattern:

1. No glossary to explain what they mean by terms like edgestitch. Not a biggie,  but a new-to-sewing person would be flying blind
2. There would have been a lot of unfinished edges – for instance the inside back of the waistband which I finished with cotton tape – had I followed the pattern as per the instructions
3. And lastly, when a pattern says Right Leg, as the sewer I assume “my right” like “stage right” not the right leg if I am looking at the garment as if worn by someone else. Now, maybe this is something universally understood by more technical sewers than I, but again #glossary

But, gripes not withstanding, now that I have worked this pattern once, I can see myself making it a number of times in the future in a variety of fabrics. And also, perhaps making a version with a fitted back rather than the elasticated back.

These kinds of musings keep a gal warm at night. Wool pants keep her warm during the day.