Hello Internet Friends!
It’s been a bit of a ‘June-uary’ here on the west coast, really rainy and cold, but it finally looks like the weather has turned and we are getting some really nice summery sunshine which means I was finally able to snap some blog photos! Today I’m sharing my latest fave pant, the Free Range Slacks by Sew House Seven. Now, if you’ve been following my blog or instagram for a while you’ll know that my all time favourite pant is the Mid Rise Ginger Jeans, and while gingers are still at the top of the list, the free range slacks are a nice ‘jeans alternative’ without being full on ‘trousers’ (I’ve never been much of a trouser girl but things can change!).
I’m also sporting a linen Willow Tank I made years ago and a brand new necklace I picked up in Bali
With summer finally arriving and with working in a lab I wanted to make myself a pair of versatile pants that would be as comfy as the Hudson sweat pants (that I’ve been wearing for pretty much all of the initial Covid lockdown) while not making me over heat in the summer. After seeing Kylie And The Machine do a comparison of three similar pant patterns (Pomona Pants, Millner Trousers, and the Free Range Slacks) I decided that I liked the Free Range Slacks the best, the seemed to give the most shape and overall I really liked the look compared to the other two.
For material I decided to go with a breezy Viscose/Linen blend from Blackbirdfabrics in the Baked Clay colour way. The addition of the viscose to the linen really gives the material a silky feel which gives these pants feel like I’m donning a small luxury every time I put them on. For the pattern I opted for the tapered leg version since a) I think the straight leg looks much better as a cropped pant and with working in a lab I have to wear full length pants, and b) with the tapered version I can easily cuff the pants when I’m not in the lab to give them a more ‘summer’ look. I also opted to include the back pocket as I find I often keep my phone there when i’m working in the lab.
The pockets look uneven here but I can assure you it’s just the way I’m standing :)
For the pattern sizing I opted for a straight size 8 and actually didn’t remove any length 😱 shocking I know since I often have to shorten pants A TON due to #shortgirl problems. This pattern came with a final inseam measurement which I was able to use to gauge how long the final pants would be compared to my own inseam. Since I knew I would be cuffing this pants most of the time I went with the given length although having worn the pants a few times in the lab uncuffed I think I could stand to reduce the length by 1-1.5” as the fabric does tend to pool at my ankles. I also end up cuffing around 4 times instead of the prescribed 3 and find that the cuffs are un rolling as I walk so I think reducing the length a bit will help with that.
I decided to challenge myself a bit with the construction of these pants and go for the flat felled seams. I had previously tried flat felled seams on a pair of Arnite pants (that I just realized that I never blogged) but was unsatisfied with the results as my seams weren’t that even and I had a bunch of loose threads come poking through the first time I washed them. For this project I decided to take the time to use my ruler and small rotary cutter to trim the inner seam allowance exactly to 1/4” and then used wash away wonder tape to fold the un-cut seam allowance around to encase the cut one. This worked out really well for me and I got the nice flat felled seams of my dreams this way! The only part that sucked was using so much wonder tape….so I recently invested in a flat felled foot to see if that could be a viable option for future projects. I’ll update in future with the result.
In terms of the fit of the pants I really like them! They are very comfy while being just that bit more than a sweat pant so they are kind of like disguised pj pants! For future iterations I may lower the front rise of the pants a tad since I am getting a bit of fabric pooling there if I’ve been wearing the pants for a bit. And if I opt to use a drapey fabric like this viscose linen blend again, I’ll be sure to stay stitch the pocket pieces, since they seamed to have bagged out a bit between the cutting and sewing process and they don’t lie as close to the pant as other peoples which is likely due to the nature of this fabric. Speaking of fabric bagging out I’m really glad I followed Kristen’s instagram story advice of adding clear elastic to the back seam of her free range slacks to ensure that there wouldn’t be any saggy bums in my future! I really love the online sewing community! From helpful comparison posts to tips and tricks it’s so great to see everyone’s versions of patterns and pick up helpful nuggets of sewing wisdom!
That’s it for this post! Hope you are all staying safe out there, I’ll be back soon with more summery posts!