Gen Made That

For my first project in the Year of the Pants, I made Just Patterns’ Tatjana Trousers. I recieved this pattern from Makerist as a customer ambasador in exchange for a review and I had attempted to make them once before but that sadly did not work out as planned. I decided when entering this year, 2023 these pants would be one of my first projects. Spoiler alert, I am quite happy with how they turned out.

It occured to me while sewing these pants that it would have been good to document in pictures the process of making these pants, not just for here but also for future reference. I totally forgot to do so, I guess im not used to the idea of blogging and documenting in photos yet. I usually document in video clips for reels, but we live and learn right.

Fabric

To be quite honest, I dont think I am as knowledgable as I should be when it comes to identifying all fabric types. I am aware of what popular patterns feel like and move like but when we start talking about blends and less frequently used or mentioned fabrics I become a little more weary. I am aware of the burn test but that doesnt really halp me with identifying and naming all types of fabrics.

I say all that to say, I am not 100% sure of the composition of this fabric. It is a dark almost navy pinstripe poly wool blend I bought at my local market which is where most of the fabrics in my stash at the moment come from. Nothing is really labeled properly there and so its usally a guess/gamble what you are getting. But i am guessing that this fabric is a poly wool blend for a number of reasons. The weight and the slight itchiness of the fabric suggests wool. It is nice and cosy and a little warm. However, during the sewing process I came close to burning/melting a piece of fabric which makes me think theres some sort of plastic in it. Anyway, it does the job that I need it to do at the moment, which is to make a pair of loose fitting “tailored” trousers. I used about 2.5 meters of fabric and I have quite a bit left over I think I will make a waistcoat to go. I am leaning towards the Veronica waistcoast also from Just Patterns.

Sewing

In my opinion, Delphine the face behind Just Patterns has some of the best sewing patterns out there. The size range is amazing and for the most part, so are the instructions. To top it off, there are resources on her website for all her patterns that are great to follow and she directs yoiu to other sources that can explain difficult steps.

I really took my time in the construction of these pants. I sewed it over the space of 2.5 weeks. I really wanted to take my time and work on this to really enjoy the process. That being said, the instructions for the pockets were an enigma for me. I remember having the same problem when i was constructing my Helena wrap dress also from Just Patterns. It took me so long to figure out how I was supposed to construct these. I dont think I am the only one with this experience. The fly zipper, was supprisingly not the an issue for me. But its not an easy construction, I have to say. It is for this reason and this reason alone that I will say these pants are not the best for a beginner to trousers. I mean if you ommit the welt pocket like I did then maybe a really confident beginner can get through it. Personally, these were a great challenge for me. Pockets aside the rest of the pants were really easy to assemble and the instructions were clear enough for that making this a relatively pleasant sew.

However, as with all my basically all my projects, halfway through this I kinda started to doubt whether or not I had made the right. I decide not to listen to that voice in my head. It is wrong at least 90% of the time.

Final Thoughts

I love them! They are a little oversized and baggy which is what I was going for when I made them and I think it works. I will make them again for sure and tackle that back welt pocket but for a first pair of actual pants, I think not bad at all!! I think these will be SICK in black as a regular everyday pant. I think thats gonna be done sometime in the year, I just need to find the right fabric. The final product I think is pretty great! Its giving Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders vibes though. I think I will use the left over fabric to make a waistcoat. I have the Veronica waistcoat pattern also from Just patterns in my stash but I havent gotten to it yet. I think lets just embrace the look right. By order of the peaky blinders and all.

I think the Year of the Pant is off to a good start. I still have to decide which pants will be number 2. My goal for this year was to try to make a pair of pants every quarter. I think that is totally feasible at the moment. I’m thinking jeans for Q2, why not. I might come to regret that later but we shall see.