More joggers and T shirts

Well the Pattern Review Sewing Bee is over - and once again I didn't win anything!

In the aftermath of disappointment I needed an easy happy make so I could feel good about my sewing again.  No matter how many times I tell myself that it doesn't matter that I didn't win,  I never really listen to myself.

But I needed to move on.  and what I need most right now is some more easy wearing clothes....what I really want is something in a bright print, I feel like my winter wardrobe is just so blah.  However finding fabric that is bright in the warm materials that I want to wear at this time of year is elusive.  And so once again we have black pants and a grey and maroon striped top...

The Pants - This fabric is an offcut that I picked up at Sewfisticated for $1.99/ yard.  It's a beautiful fabric - a black wool with a faint herringbone pattern in blue.  It's quite a heavy weight so I knew it'd be nice and warm, but also just a smidge scratchy so I also knew it would have to be lined.  My biggest problem with the fabric is just the lack of it.  There was just over 1 yard of it  and it was only 45" wide so there was not much fabric to play with.  As the fabric was patterned I had to make sure the pattern was going the right way so I couldn't cut it on the cross grain which is my standard way to make pants out of a small offcut of fabric.

So the first decision was to make slim fitting pants rather than my preferred flares. I  would normally also cut some length off the rise to give the the length I need however this time I decided to add length to the rise.

One of my biggest issues with pants is the fact that I have to constantly hitch them up.  A lot of this comes from the fact that my waist (at belly button) is just about the same circumference as my hips so there's no flare to keep the pants in place they just slide down.  I thought that maybe if I were to make them high enough and bring them right up to my natural waist I could cinch them in more and they might stay in place better.  So I added an extra 2" to the rise of the pants. 

Once all these things were taken into account, to get my pattern cut out of the material I had I had to cut about 3" off the bottom of the pants...I decided to give it a try - I planned to add a cuff to the bottom anyway I'd just make it a longer cuff....

I used the same basic pattern that I had used for the Joggers for the sewing bee just made a minor modification to the pockets and changed the rise. 

Once I had my main fabric cut I rummaged around my scraps pile for some left over rayon - I wanted something light to line these pants and Rayon is my lining of choice.  I found some royal blue with enough yardage and cut out the same pattern but without the pockets.

I then found some black ribbing to use as the cuffs and waistband.  The waistband is a simple elastic band. 1.5" wide ribbing and 1" elastic.

So my final feeling on these pants!  well they are warm and comfortable which is good, but they're a bit too big around the hips and despite the high waist they still slide down.  So not 100% perfect.....and they could definitely do with an extra inch or two in the length.

The Top.  I wanted to use up some more of my stash fabrics so pulled out this beautiful maroon and grey stripe sweater knit.  I decided to use the raglan pattern with the angled side seams that I've used numerous times before and really like the shape of.  I like how it's fitted around the bust but skims over all the bulgy bits beneath!

This was a really easy make.  The only slightly difficult bit was when I decided to line it with another grey jersey fabric.  I like my tops warm and lining is a easy solution.  It just basically meant making the shirt twice in the two different fabrics then joining them together to add the neckband and do the hems. 

The neckband I cut on the cross grain which reduces the amount of stretch, but its enough to get it over my head and that's all that's necessary. The hems are simply double turned and stitched with a small zip zag.  I did contemplate finishing the neckband neatly inside which would have made the shirt reversible but I decided I would never really wear a plain grey tshirt so decided not too (It wasn't lazyness really!)

I really like this shirt - It's warm and comfortable, the colour is a bit more boring than I had hoped but at least it's not plain.  However I learned that I should not make this pattern out of a stripe.  I did attempt to line up my stripes but between the angled raglan sleeves and the angled side seams its just about impossible to match anything, so in the end I just gave up and didn't bother matching anything!