Hacking Pants With Simplicity 8701

I decided to try hacking pants with Simplicity 8701 as the pattern. This is considered a “design hacking pattern”. Honestly, you can “hack” or make any pattern your own by whatever alterations you chose to make. I actually liked the style of the pattern on the envelope cover. That is considered the base pattern.

Pattern Details

This pair is what I consider to be a wearable muslin. I used a quilting cotton that has a very wide width. I like the view that the model on the pattern envelope is wearing. It’s a rather simple style with a wide, straight leg.

Line drawing for hacking with Simplicity 8701

With no back yoke, just a simple waistband, I figure that these will be easy to fit. That was partially true. I think I should have chosen a slightly smaller size (just for the upper back piece). These are a bit big in the back and the last thing I want is my pants falling down!

My Alterations

To keep the back waist from gapping or falling I made a quick fix to this pair. I used 3/8″ elastic inside the back waistband. That means I did have to open up just that part of the finished pants. I kept pulling the elastic until I felt it was tight enough. There is a fly front on the pants so keep that in mind.

In order to prevent having to do this in the future, I will make the back waist smaller. There are darts in the back that I can make wider which will take up some excess. Also, making adjustments to the back pattern pieces or sizing down in that area will help. The pants are a good fit in the waist, so no need to over adjust anything there.

Hacking Pants With Simplicity 8701

The biggest issue I have with the pants I made is their lack of pockets. I LOVE having pockets in my clothing (even if I don’t use them). There are only two small front pockets that are included with the pattern.

Next time, I will add cargo-type pockets to the sides of the pants. Back pockets will be a plus as well.

The pockets Im thinking of are like the pockets in these Kerry Cargo pants here. A slightly narrower leg will be good as well.

Conclusion

Hacking pants with Simplicity 8701 is great to start with if you’ve never done it before. They have instructions for different hacking techniques/designs that you may be interested in. But in all honesty, you can change any pattern you like as long as you are willing to give it a try! I would rate this as easy (they really are easy to sew) and great for the enthusiastic beginner.

Seamwork Ani Pants

When I thinking of what I need most for my Fall/Winter wardrobe, pants (specifically dress pants) come to mind. So when I got the August issue of Seamwork Magazine (you can check out my referral link here) I decided to give the Seamwork Ani Pants a try.

The pants have pleats in the front, tapered legs, zipper fly, and welt pockets in the back. This is a bit different style for me, but I wanted to see how I would like the fit. Front-pleated pants are not something I usually go for, so this was also a style discovery experiment for me as well.

The process

As I usually do when making a new pattern (especially a pants pattern), I made a muslin to check the fit and sizing. These are PDF patterns, by the way. This one was actually very straightforward to put together and didn’t take long at all.

I do like this part of the process because I can decide if I really want to continue or let it go. Generally, I continue. And I can work out all (or at least most) of my fit issues during the process of making a mockup.

Tip:

When doing the muslin or mockup of your pattern, try to use a fabric similar to the weight to the fashion fabric you’re going to use. It’ll make getting a good fit a bit easier in the long run.

The Pants

For my Seamwork Ani pants, I used a fabric I had in my stash. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but it’s some kind of polyester blend suiting (I’m pretty sure). I had a piece of this fabric in one of my favorite colors for Fall – burgundy/wine.

The Results

I am happy I made them. Honestly, this is not my favorite style of pant for me (I prefer a flat-front). But, I’m generally happy with how these turned out. If I made them again, I would shorten the front crotch seam some more (I shortened it about 2″ already). But, wonky welts and all, they turned out pretty good.

As a side note, the fabric I used for this top is the same fabric I used for the pocket lining (save those large pieces). I think the whole look of these pants looks better on me with the longer top.

But if there’s ever something you want to know how it’s going to work on you, either shop for that item (you can just try it on and not buy) or go ahead and make it!

Since I need to work on my welt pocket making and fitting skills, I was happy to give this pattern a try. It’s quite easy to make. I would say the skill level would be for an advanced beginner to intermediate sewer.

That’s it for this review. The pattern is a good one if this style is to your liking.

Until next time…

Pants fitting books:

Pants For Real People

*This post may contain affiliate links

The Perfect Pinstripe Pant

I’ve been wanting to make myself a classically tailored pair of pants for a while now. When I saw that this brown and pink pinstripe wool blend suiting was available, I knew that this would make the perfect pinstripe pant.

*I was sent this fabric by Minerva.com to make something and write about it.

The Project

For this project, I used a pattern I’ve had in my pattern collection for a while. It’s Simplicity 2562. I’ve found myself going through my pattern stash lately (maybe it’s because of the pandemic). It’s been a terrific way to jog my memory about what I actually have.

Do you ever go through your pattern stash?

You should. You might be surprised to find some hidden gems right in your own collection! And let’s face it, while buying more is fun, it’s not always necessary. I’m sure that I have a style of pattern for just about anything I would want to make.

This is a stretch wool blend that is washable (cold water, dried on low heat). The pattern I chose is a wide leg pant that I made some alterations to. I made a muslin for fitting since it’s been quite a while since I last made this pattern. I did narrow the leg somewhat. The cuffs weren’t added (there’s an option for that in the pattern itself).

It’s interesting that every time I make dress pants (not jeans), I rarely have to make adjustments. I did not need to adjust the seat or crotch seam. Everything fit fine there. I just altered the legs as mentioned above. Here’s the old post I wrote about this in 2011 (don’t laugh… actually, go ahead. I did!). My skill, ability and confidence have certainly grown since then.

This is a good fabric for the weather here in Maryland. During the Fall season, we can go from warm days to cold days and nights pretty readily. This fabric is not too thick or too light. I love how this wool blend moves with me. It’s not stiff and it’s very comfortable to wear.

Woman seated wearing Simplicity 2562 pinstripe pants

The Fabric

Even though we haven’t been going out, I have been focused on adding classic pieces to my wardrobe. Something like this can be easily worn for a small holiday gathering or whenever I want to wear something other than sweatpants.

The thing that really intrigued me about this fabric was the color combination. Pink and brown aren’t what I’d normally think of when considering pinstripes. But this works! The brown is a grayish brown so the stripes a rather subtle. In fact, I think it’s hard to tell the that there’s pink in the pattern until you inspect it up close. While I don’t have a picture here, I lined the pockets with some pink fabric I found in my stash.

Woman wearing Simplicity 2562 with pink shirt

Because the fabric does have the stripes, I wanted to use a pants pattern without too many design details. This pattern allows the fabric to be the star.

*Here’s a link to Minerva.com so you can check it out for yourselves here.

It might be worth your while to go through your own pattern stash to see if you have something that you might want to try. If you’re anything like me, you will find plenty of options!