I can’t understate how much I was looking forward to making pants.  Pants (and maybe jackets) are the real superstars of the sewing world! Pants are also a big hole in my wardrobe, as I have 4 pairs of pants currently and two are probably ten years old and ready to fall apart. These new Pietra pants by Closet Case Patterns aren’t quite robust enough to replace jeans (the cotton is just too thin), but they cover my legs and I can sit down in them. For the win!  I made View A in the cropped length.

The instructions for the elastic waistband were great. You sew one side of the elastic into the waistband. Then you sew the waistband down to about 70% across. Then you reach in and pull the elastic to the other side, sew it down and finish sewing the waistband. For Christmas I had made a pair of shorts for my nephew using a different method and this was definitely easier.  I also like the two lines of stitching on top of the elastic. This elastic is going nowhere.

The most fun was doing the Hong Kong seam on the inner facing. I used a bias tape my mom had given me that had a date on it of 1976.  Also I used the Singer’s original zipper foot to stitch-in-the-ditch.  I have a stitch-in-the-ditch foot, but I’ve found the zipper foot lets me get closer to the bias tape.  Ratcheting down the presser foot tension makes the zipper foot really hug the tape.

This finished facing really tickles me. I still have a lot of yards left so it will be seen again.

I made a size 14, which fit very tightly on 3 yards of fabric 45″ wide. The instructions say 3 yards for the cropped and 3.25 yards for the full-length pants. I thought I could miraculously squeeze full-length pants out of 3 yards I pinned it down and it turned out they weren’t lying. I had to re-cut 4 pieces to the cropped length and they just fit.

In the end I’m happy with the cropped. It’s not a style I usually wear, but it’s definitely California-compliant and they show off a cute pair of shoes. -rp