Gen Made That

I am declaring this year 2023, The Year of the Pants. The year I conquer the pants.

Don’t get me wrong, I have made trousers before but in my head those dont count for some reason. I made a pair of loungewear pants in 2021 and they were great, massively oversized with pockets of course and super comfortable with an amazing elasticated waist. Then I thought to myself, oh I can make anything and I attempted to make a pair of fitted trousers with a zipper and a waistband and everything. Spoiler alert- that didnt work. It was a really challenging project and to top it all off, it didnt fit. It turned out to be too small and i was so heartbroken and discouraged that I gave up on the idea of making proper trousers for a while.

Fast forward to the end of 2022, I am quite literally tripping over my fabric stash and i have an extensive collection of trousers patterns I have collected since I started my sewing journey and I come across a sewing challenge on Instagram run by Nicole Merritts a creator on the platform. I thought to myself perfect! This is a great entry into the year of the pants. The challenge appears pretty simple; participants should post a pair of pants they are making or planning on making with the hashtag #sewfancypants2023 and they will be entered in a giveaway at the end of the month. During the month, she’ll be sharing tips and resources which I am thoroughly looking forward to because I think so far in my sewing journey, pants are the most challenging garment I have come across.

So with the Sew Fancy Pants Challenge as an introduction into the art of pant making, I am striving to make a number of proper trousers this year. I’m gonna aim for 4, that’s 1 per quarter. The only criteria for my year of the pants is that at least 2 of these pants have to include a front fly zipper and at least 1 has to have a welt back pocket. Simple enough right. For now I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

I think this is going to be fun. Everyone sets goals at the beginning of the year, new years resolutions and I know alot of makers and sewists set reSEWlutions so lets say this is one of mine.

I mentioned earlier that I have an extensive collection of patterns already in my stash and I am going to try to do this from the patterns already in my stash. There are quite a few patterns that I am very excited about at the moment and they are in my opinion already favorites of the sewing community. I have included some of them here, as you can see I have a love affair with Vikisews patterns but I also have Just Patterns and the Closetcore Mitchell pants which I bought as soon as it was released based simply on the beautiful coloured sample the model was wearing.

I am really looking forward to this year of sewing. With every new year that comes and goes, I learn so much more and I become alot mote confident in my skill and in my ability. So bring on the year of the pants!!