Still Here

June was SO busy. Even with Megan away at camp for a week (so I didn't hear "Mom, I need to go to..." every day), I was still really busy. I know I did some sewing...I finished the dress to wear to Megan's graduation. What else? Oh, two pairs of Sequoia pants! Sunset Lounger pants! A shirt for Rob! A swimsuit! I thought I had posted about that one. Oh, I did! Back in May! Really?! Okay then. Let's go with the Sequoia pants first.

April (I think is when I made these), I had some time when I couldn't work due to my truck being "in the shop" (stuck in the driveway, awaiting parts and good weather to put them on). I found some dark brown corduroy fabric in my stash and thought "I've been wanting dark brown wintery pants". I have some linen blend but they're not good for winter and have no pockets. I have the pair I made without a pattern, but the brown is not dark. The way spring was going, I was pretty sure I could still get some use out of heavier pants.

 I don't know why, but my phone wanted to wash out these pictures so badly. I did side pockets, making sure my phone would fit this time. My phone is a bit smaller than when I made my first two pairs, so that helped. I got some brown snaps from a friend, but they were a little lighter  than I was hoping. And, even though I didn't interface the flaps, and I used a plain cotton for the inside of the flap, I couldn't get the snaps to work. The prong wasn't long enough.

 Before I was even done, I saw that these were basically going to be like wearing a Swiffer.

 For the waistband, I followed most of the instructions, but I didn't stitch down the elastic. I don't think it has very much stretch when you do that.

I cut these a little bigger than the grey pair, because those were fairly close fitting and this is a much thicker fabric. However, once done, it was clear they were too big. I took in the waist elastic, but that resulted in a lot of bunching. Like when a little kid has to borrow someone's pants and they pull the drawstring really tight. So I took the pockets half off and took in the side seams. That helped. They are still pretty loose. Very comfy though. And indeed, it was a very cold, wet spring, so I did get a fair bit of use out of these. I didn't do the little straps because I knew I wouldn't roll these up into capris.

I wanted to make a new pair of dark blue pants from a proper pattern. While I was pleased with my first pair , since making the Sequoia pants a few times, I knew I could do better. I was cleaning up my dining room and found a tag from Value Village and on the back, I wrote "Blue sheet". I totally forgot I had already got some fabric! And I had just been looking at Fabricland! I dug through the basket in my laundry room where I throw the sheets instead of folding them and bingo! The tag says Queen size, $5.49. It was a a fitted sheet, so I had to cut the elastic off and cut open the corner seams. It's 60% cotton, 40% polyester. It has a sort of brushed feel to it. As I was working, it looked like some of the pieces were a different shade. Not sure if there had been some fading, or it was a light thing. No one has mentioned it though...

 I chose a nice print for the inside of the pocket flaps, and the facing on the front pockets. I didn't have blue snaps so I used black.

 I fused the fly interfacing without thinking it through and to sandwich the interfacing between the layers meant my mock fly went to the opposite side than usual.

I find I get a bit of pulling along the seams. Not sure why. I opted for a simple waistband with elastic inside. I did want to do a drawstring but I think I forgot. I did do the leg straps so I can roll these up on hot days. Wear them long when I get to a school for a job, and roll them up later in the day! They're really comfy, I love the pockets. Smart casual. Great for work!!