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

Changing Up RTW and Wardrobe Planning

Lately I’ve been planning on (or at least thinking about) what I want for the upcoming Fall/Autumn season. summer sewing is now complete. Not all the things I wanted to make got done, but I’m ok with that. Several tops did get made this season. So this post is about how I’m changing up some RTW and how I’m wardrobe planning.

Plans

Now I want to focus on making some pants. One pattern that I’m about to start is this one from Seamwork (you can sign up for the online magazine using my link, if you like).

These are a tapered pant which is a little different style for me. But I’ve already gotten the PDF put together, so now it’s time to make the mock-up and take it from there.

I’ll decide on some other types/styles of pants as time goes on. And I really want to make a classic black dress.

Changing up RTW pjs

As for changing up some ready-to-wear (RTW), I made some changes to some short pjs I bought from the Nordstrom anniversary sale.

Here is the original I bought:

Because they were so short , but so comfortable, I wanted to keep them. I needed to make them a bit longer for my own comfort level. So, I added about a 4″ insert into the shorts. Here’s what I did:

I cut the bottom hem/band off of each leg with a bit of seam allowance (1/2″)
I cut 4-4″ strips of the fabric I wanted insert
Using a narrow seam allowance, I attached those to each leg
I had to “remake” the crotch because the shorts were so short, there wasn’t much room
Then I reattached the bottom hem

The original shorts are knit fabric. The insert is a woven fabric.

Here is the result:

Now I have a truly unique pair of pajamas! And they fit the way I want. Sometimes we have to use our sewing powers to make RTW fit the way we want! 😂 ✂️

You can keep this process in mind to change up something you might have in your own closets.

Until next time…

*This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission when you purchase through these links.

Style Arc Preston Knit Sweater

This was one of those patterns that as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it. This Style Arc Preston sweater is made from a heather gray knit blend (I cannot, for the life of me, remember what it is). But the fabric is most likely a ponte knit. It doesn’t have a tremendous amount of stretch, but it has enough and it keeps its shape.

The Pattern

I was intrigued by this Style Arc Preston knit sweater because it has a sweatshirt look but with pockets. The raglan sleeve design makes it an easy wearing and comfy top. I see this as being something that’s very versatile.

Heather gray Style Arc Preston knit sweater front

Because I’m at home most of the time, it’s important to have something comfortable to wear.

As far as sewing this, it went together fairly easily. The only thing that I did have some issues with was the pocket construction. The pockets seem to be a bit smaller than they’re supposed to be. You can read about the pattern here. If you’ve ever used Style Arc patterns, they don’t have a lot of explanations/instructions with their patterns. But, the illustrations are very clear.

The comfort and style of the pattern reminds me of the toaster sweater I made a while back. I definitely see this as a pattern to make again. One thing that I really like about Style Arc is that I don’t have many if any fitting issues. I can base my pattern size off of the sizing chart.

Also, what I have is a PDF pattern. I think there may have been shipping issues for paper patterns due to the pandemic. I put the pattern pieces together in less than 30 minutes. Because I wanted this as a weekend project, I didn’t care about it being a PDF.

Relaxing in my Style Arc Preston knit sweater

This is a great weekend project and great to wear on the weekend (or any other day)!

I hope you all are well. I appreciate you.

Let me know in the comments what projects you’re working on.

I have many more Fall sewing projects to make!