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.
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.
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!
Those trousers look really good, you have got the fit spot on and your fabric choice has given me food for thought. Perhaps I too could try something more interesting than my usual black gabardine🤔.
Last year I sorted my overwhelming pattern stash into categories which includes a box of forgotten patterns I want to make now. I wish I had been more disciplined when buying “bargains” in sales as with a tweak here and there to patterns repeating my favoured shapes I could half the number. Unfortunately I still struggle to control my addiction of buying new fabrics and patterns….
Thank you Jane! I understand what you mean about pattern buying. I often find that I have bought duplicates. I’m trying to keep better track of what I already have.