I decided that if I ended up having time, I would make myself another pair of pants based on the Sew U pattern to take on my upcoming trip to Vietnam. And I had time! Woo hoo!

As I mentioned, in my last post, I had an epiphany about zipper installation . . . after I finished this pair of pants. But I feel like I’m really getting into the swing of garment construction and I’m eager to try my hand at more customization at some point in the future. Welted pockets, anyone?

So, here I am, hamming it up in the new pants while my husband plays fashion photographer.



This is 100% cotton fabric that I got for about $10 a yard on my recent trip to San Francisco to meet up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in 17 years. We met at the Ghirardelli in Union Square, and Britex is right around the corner. Yes, it’s going to wrinkle, but I just don’t dig the feel of a polyester/cotton blend. I can live with wrinkles.

And while I’m talking Britex, can I just say that I love going to this store? I had maybe 20 minutes before I had to meet my friend, so I go up to the first employee I see when I walk in the door and say, “I’m looking for a washable bottom weight for a pair of casual pants.” “Second floor,” she said. I find an employee on the second floor and repeat my quest, and she tours me through what they have, I make a selection, check my note on how much I need, and am early to meet my friend. They are just so frakkin’ helpful in there. Okay, back to the pants.

So, what else is new with this pair? No contrasting topstitching, because I wanted these to look a little less casual than the others. But to make them not just plain khaki, I did a couple of things. One is that I used a contrasting fabric for the insides of the pockets and the waistband facing. I can not begin to tell you how much I adore this little treatment. Those of you with a keen eye may recognize this fabric as Heather Bailey’s Fresh Cut.


In the photo above you can see how there is no overlap in the zipper, but I prefer if you focus on the pretty facing!



And I guess I should say that the reason this pair of pants even HAS pockets that I can treat this way, is that I put *real* pockets in the front instead of the patch pockets, which are the only options given in the Sew U book.

Here’s what I did: I went to JoAnn’s last weekend and bought a Built by Wendy Simplicity pattern (#3850 for those interested) on sale for $1.99. This pattern has *real* pockets. I tested the pocket construction with muslin once to make sure I liked it, then I altered the pieces so they would fit my pattern pieces. I also made the pockets MUCH deeper — I can’t stand shallow pockets. (I have learned something there as well. Remind me to share that tip with you one of these days!)

The other thing I did was that instead of getting 9 matching buttons — 8 for the pockets and 1 for the waistband — I used 9 buttons that don’t match. They kind of coordinate. And the waistband button is one from my vintage collection. I think it’s pretty fun!



I’m super happy with the way these turned out, and now that I have finished photographing them, I’m going to road test them in the next day or two before taking them on the trip. Sweet!

I’m thinking the next pair of pants I make from this pattern might be in denim with a little spandex? Possibly with the original, narrower leg cut. Hmmm…..I wonder what welted back pockets would look like in denim?