Palazzo pants

I started writing this post in July.  Yep, last July.  Just a little behind. 😉

I worked on drafting these pants, and went through three different versions.  Some were drafting fails, though still wearable.

Stuff happens. *shrug*

These pants were a drafting work-in-process.

The first brown pair…the side seams were off kilter.  Totally my fault for not lining up the pattern pieces to make sure they were hitting at the right spot.  I still made it work, but yeah…they are wonky.

This pattern has a doubled up waistband and then the rest is unlined.  I use this method for my skirt pattern.  It is a similar concept to a yoga waist without the bulk.  It helps to hold in the tum tum.  Of course, these are a little loose, so not a whole lot of holding in.  I wanted a looser fit, relaxed pant, so not a lot of negative ease in this pattern.

They are slip on, made out of knits or a woven with lycra.  The first brown knit pair is a really heavy, almost ponte knit.  I don’t think it was a ponte, though.

This second pair has the side seams drafted correctly.  Yay!  It all went together super great until I put on the waistband on the wrong side.  I only had enough fabric for the outside of the waistband, so of course the lining ended up on the outside.  I love seam ripping serged seams…*said no one EVER*.

The third pair was the real winner.  The fabric is a heavy bottom-weight with some lycra.  It has a great drape, and is still stretchy enough to pull up and over my hips.  The length was perfect, which happens when you try them on with the shoes you want to wear before hemming them.  They look a little long in the grass, but on a flat surface they were just right.

After wearing them since last July, the fabric does tend to droop a bit at the waist.  I need to figure out just how tight to make the waistband, and possibly adding some elastic to keep it up.  I think elastic might be the ticket.  I need to make a few more pairs of these, since my office is pretty much just me these days.  I need some work appropriate comfy pants, and these fit the bill.

I wrote up a post on the tube top here.