Self-drafted pants in heavier weights and closer fit

Friends! Winter is upon us! The last few weeks have been brutal in Pennsylvania, with temps below zero and random snow squalls. You know what’s not great to wear in such weather? Linen pants.

I’ve been making pants from a basic pattern I made last summer and I just can’t go backwards. I love every pair I have made and I can’t recommend it enough. The two versions I made last year were both light weight fabrics. They’re so inappropriate for this weather!

I went to the fabric shop, intending to buy denim not once but twice! Each time, I came back with something nice but not denim. People plan, the universe laughs.

Anyway, I scored some beautiful teal corduroy and a very nice, thick black cotton with 5% stretch. It’s a great sewing perk to have custom fitting jeans for less than store bought! Both of these pants cost about $30 in materials. The last pair of RTW jeans I bought were around $70, and that was a few years ago.

For the corduroy, I sewed the pattern as usual but I reduced the outer side seam by .25″ for a slightly closer fit. I did this on the fly while sewing but it turned out to be a good decision. However, this fabric has absolutely NO STRETCH lengthwise and I should have added length to the leg to compensate. As a result, they tend to ride up at the hem when I sit. Thankfully, my ankles are still covered by my boots so no harm done.

For the black stretch fabric, I took the outer seam in .5″. I think this will be the standard for this pattern. The fit is amazing – they are my new favorite pants!

Since these were heavier fabrics, I installed rivets in addition to a metal jeans button. I made the corduroy pants first – I didn’t trim the rivets so the spike poked through the rivet but you can’t tell unless you look closely.

I adjusted this in for the black pants, trimming the tip down, which looks so much better. No ugly spikes!

This week I finally bought actual denim with 2% stretch. I can’t wait to make a real pair of jeans.

The notion of ‘real jeans’ does pose an interesting quandary – what makes a pair of pants jeans? It is the denim or the cut? Do stretch cotton pants count as jeans? I’m having an existential crisis!

As always, thanks for reading! <3