Ready for summer - wide leg linen pants

I had absolutely no reason to make a pair of summery linen pants since we've had torrential rain and cold weather lately (which is great, because we need all the rain we can get!). But since I'm at home going nowhere with more clothes than I currently need why not make whatever takes your fancy? Plus I know the warm weather is only just around the corner and this time I'll be ready if I ever go back to working in an office, going out with friends or just doing anything other than working from home.

These are Burda 10/2016 #113, which I first made as one of my Burda of the month challenge projects:

After years of wearing skinny pants, it does feel strange but also freeing to wear wide leg pants. Thankfully these aren't too wide - more just a straight leg from the hips down.

A few years ago I was on a mission to perfect pants fitting and used a whole 10m bolt of calico making multiple muslins and I still didn't make a pair I liked. I've realised that wide leg pants like these suit my lumpy legs best the fabric just hangs straight down, but still every time I make pants I continue to make fitting adjustments.

This time I used the crotch curve of the largest size but the leg and waist sizes in my normal size, and I also increased the height of the back rise by adding a wedge and spreading the dart open to keep the crotch curve correct - I didn't do this properly last time and it made the pants gape open at the back. I've read so many resources on pants fitting I can't remember where I learnt this from, but this is what it looks like:

I do love the wide curved waistband - it's quite comfortable and sits over my mum tum because these are high waist pants (well probably at the natural waistline which feels high to me!).

And how nice is this white top? I bought it from an op shop without even trying it on thinking I could salvage the fabric for a refashion but it turns out it fits perfectly and looks smashing with these pants:

The only thing I'm not sure on is the length of these worn with heels - these days I tend to wear flat shoes most of the time so that's the length I hemmed these to. They are perfect when worn with sneakers and flat sandals, so I guess that's what I'll have to wear with these pants

It's not often that I make pants and like how they look, but this pattern is a winner in my books. I've made these two times previously - firstly in 2016 in a white pinstripe cotton that sadly no longer fit and then again in 2018 in paprika linen which I do still wear frequently.

I never thought I'd be wearing and loving a pair of pale pink linen pants but it turns out that pink is a neutral that goes with just about any colour. As much as I love winter and the cold weather, I'm slightly looking forward to summer now so I can start wearing these pants out more than just the quick dash to the supermarket I did today!

Cozy winter dress - Simplicity 8014

It's the middle of winter here in the southern hemisphere, although it doesn't really get that cold in Sydney which means anytime of the year is the right time for a new dress! Especially when it's made from a brushed cotton / flannelette (are they one and the same?)

It's not very often that I make all the versions of a pattern, but Simplicity 8014 is firming up as a favourite pattern for both of its styles of shirt dresses. I've made two versions of view A/B with a full skirt and now I've made view C. Literally I have made view C - even using the same fabric as the illustration!

I wasn't sure how this pattern would turn out because I know with my wide hips and smaller waist that patterns with a waist seam work best and look the most flattering on me. So I cut the pattern out a size larger than I needed below the waist to make sure that it would flow and drape around my widest part rather than strain across my hips and thighs. So it's a little wider than the pattern illustration but still not as wide as the full skirt version of this pattern. 

 

Without a belt it doesn't look too frumpy, but it does have serious night gown vibes so I think I'll stick to wearing a belt with it.

I really like the button tab on the sleeves to wear them folded up - it makes it look a bit more casual. 

And even though I intended this as a casual dress I couldn't help but match the plaids - it makes my eyes twitch when it doesn't work out but thankfully on this dress it did. After pre-washing this fabric it was really off grain so I had to iron it back into shape which I'm glad I did because all those seams match. Not on the shoulder seam though - matching sleeves to the bodice is super super hard!

 

I think I've really got my money's worth out of this pattern, especially since I would have bought it during one a pattern sale. I can definitely see a few more of these dresses in both versions in my future.