Red Linen Pants Reveal!

When I sew something new, I really don't need encouragement to wear it. Most of my makes get put into regular rotation the minute they are done.

Ummm, sometimes sooner.

When the weather was so very nice on Memorial Day, I could not wait to wear my new linen pants - my third version of Burda 6/2011-114. And they do look finished, don't they?

At Prospect Park

Well, I guess I can trust you to keep my secret: I didn't have a coordinated or matching hem lace on hand for the lining, and since it was on the inside and no one would be the wiser, I wore them with the lining unhemmed. Shame on me. 

Cuffs

At some point, I decided that these wide legged pants deserved cuffs and a crease. For some reason, I really like trousers with a cuff. It adds a little weight to the hem. And since linen needs pressing, a crease is really not a big deal to add, and I always think it makes trousers look a little more polished.

 

They grew at the thigh a little

Of course, all of these pictures were taken after wearing these pants for most of the day - on the train, in the subway and walking around the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Given how linen tends to progressively wrinkle and grow throughout a wearing, I'm pretty psyched about how these looked so late in the day. They did grow a little at the hip/thigh. But totally acceptable, in my book.

So that's what my bum looks like when I walk...

I usually sew more sleekly fitting clothing, BUT something about these wide legged, easy-breezy pants really appeals for summer wear. And I think I have the height to wear a wide leg without looking like I'm drowning in fabric.

I'm including this picture (below) because it is the only one that Phin took without prodding. So, it deserves to be in this post. 

Phin's green sneakers in the corner

OK, a few more details. The pattern was originally an elastic waist pull-on pant that I've made before. I added a fly using a pattern piece from Simplicity 2700 to create the shield and underlap (deets here). Since I have a 14" difference between my waist and hips (seriously curvy hips, peeps), the fly allows me to get the pants over my hips without having to do a wiggle dance, while not having to have loads of extra fabric at the waist. So, a win. 

 

And quite frankly, I think an elastic waist is really not a bad choice for linen. No matter how much the linen wants to grow, the elastic will keep the waist where it belongs. I made these trousers a little more low rise than previous models. See...

How the waist stood up by the end of the day.

Lining in a light but firm cotton (a little heavier than batiste) really helped with these pants keeping their shape and resisting wrinkles and creases. Another sewist asked me whether I found that lining in cotton batiste made pants stick or caused any problems. I haven't found this to be the case, but lining or underlining in cotton will change the hand of the fabric, particularly if it is drapey. Again, this is not really an issue for these particular trousers, but I wouldn't, for example, use cotton if I was making these from, say, challis or washed silk or any fabric where I wanted drape.

Happy lining and fly for happy pants!

Lining in a canary yellow had exactly the effect that I wanted. It subtly brings out the orange tones in this Santa Claus red linen. And it is plain old fun. So is the remnant of cherries fabric that I used for the fly. 

Ta da!

Anyway, linen pants #2 are already cut and started. So, do stay tuned!