Finished - Art Deco Hudson Pants!

As mentioned in my last post I've made myself a pair of fancy stretchy-wear pants - after my beloved declared them to be a little man-repelling he softened his stance and allowed that they 'weren't as terrible' as expected. Praise indeed! It's funny how there's certain types of garments that women love and men don't. I love these, my mum loves these, and my 84 year old great aunt thought they were fab. Yet the husband and brother - decided ambivalence there....

So here is my first version of the True Bias Hudson Pants. I love them. I'm a little surprised by this as they are indeed glorified tracksuit pants and I have a rather strict style policy in terms of wearing stretchy wear anywhere other than exercising or at home, but I have already worn them twice in public and, quite frankly, have been loving myself sick in them. It's a fun, easy pattern and Kelli has done a great job with the drafting.

The fabric is amazing and it is this that elevates my pants to fancy. It's a beautiful ponte from Style Arc that I literally snapped up the moment the email pinged into my inbox (and I've just checked and it's sold out, sorry!). It's double sided - one black, the other woven with this beautiful fan design in a silvery jacquard. In addition to its beautiful design I was tempted by the fabric content - it was a rayon/lycra/poly blend, rather than being all synthetic. Hopefully it wears well! I purchased it with the intent to make up another pair of Elle pants, but when it arrived the design was just too big for tight trousers - it would have been lost. I'd had the Hudson Pants in my sewing queue for a while so the decision was made!

After much analysis of different fits on different ladies I decided to cut a size 6 waistband and a size 8 hips/legs. I also lengthened the legs by an inch, but as it turns out I really didn't need to - I was happy with the length without the ankle bands, so ended up halving the width of the bands. I'm 172cm tall and I quite like these without too much bunching in the ankles - it makes them a bit sleeker and dressier.

I played with the idea of using the reverse fabric for some contrast on the pocket trim, waistband and cuffs but again liked the dressier look without contrast. I chose the size 6 waistband to try to minimise bulk around my ab, and as it turns out I was able to manipulate most of the gathering to be around the back and sides, and have the front of the waistband flat. Not sure how this happened but I'm going with it. I decided not to topstitch the waistband but did stitch the elastic down at the side seams to reduce rolling, and left off the drawstring. I also made my pocket lining in a thinner cotton-lycra fabric to reduce the silhouette of the pocket showing through.

In the interest of science you can see how they fit around the waist - it takes a lot for me to reveal my whitey-white ab to the world.... you can see how much I enjoy that even in a deserted alley....

What I wasn't happy with was the drooping of my pockets - not a flattering look over the hips. Again after much scrutiny of other versions (which is hard because nearly everyone has their hands in their pockets!) I think mine were a bit worse as the fabric is rather drapey. Unfortunately attaching the pocket binding is the very first step in making these, and thus it was a total pain in the arse to try to fix, but I did unpick one side to try to reattach it under a bit more tension. I had used lightening stitch to make these, and it truly took me 30 minutes to unpick that small section of side seam and pocket seam. I couldn't bear to do it on the other side, but did get some improvement by unpicking at the waistband and pulling the pocket edge up a little before restitching the seam. In the future I will definitely be stretching the binding along the pocket edge to stop the pocket droopage and recommend this if your fabric is fairly lightweight and drapey.

I must have done something weird with my ankle bands - it specifically says in the instructions they are slightly smaller than the leg openings for a snugger fit but mine were comically wider, and I ended up taking out at least an inch in width. Very strange..... Maybe it was because I'd added the extra length and so the bands sat lower on my leg at a narrower point. But again others have lengthened their versions and not had this issue so I'm guessing I had a bit of a brain fade when cutting out.

I'm really pleased with my fancy pants. I used pretty much every piece of fabric so couldn't do much in regards to pattern placement and was thrilled that I didn't have a massively inappropriate fan over the lady garden or centre back seam..... I think they will be perfect to wear when we finally get to see the Rolling Stones in a few weeks at Hanging Rock.

I'd also be very keen to try a pair in a woven chambray/lightweight denim. I've seen similar styles around and thought of the Hudsons.... Kelli suggests sizing up a couple of sizes - she's made a pair in rayon.

  

Sources 1/2/3/4

What are your thoughts on such fancy slouchy pants styles?