Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Named Patterns: Astrid Wrapped Pants

It seems like forever ago that I sewed Named Patterns' Shane top. At the time, I loved the finished top for it's style and excellent drafting. However, everything about the sewing experience was pretty awful and annoying, from the instructions to the taping AND tracing, to only getting two sizes.





However, Named has changed all that, and I am so pleased to say that the Astrid Wrapped Pants were as much of a joy to sew as they are to wear. Hooray!

I think the style is very fun and a bit different. The legs really are quite elephantine, so it's a good thing that the waist is nice and trim, and sits a bit high. I think it's more flattering that way.






I bought the digital copy of the pattern and printed it out at a copy shop, which adds to the cost, but gives you a very sturdy pattern to work from. This is a size 10 at the waist graded to a 14 at the hips. The fit is spot on for their measurement chart, which is good to know since you are only working with a 3/8" seam allowance. Aside from grading, I made no changes to the pattern. Named drafts for a taller model and these pants were designed to be worn with heels. I actually shortened them just a bit when hemming.




If I make them again, I will adjust the crotch length and shape just a bit. There is something not 100% right about it on me. Nothing major, just needs a little tweaking.

And I would consider carefully before interfacing both front wrap pieces and their facings, as the instructions suggest. I didn't consider that the wrap part of the pants - right on the tummy - ends up having 4 layers of fabric, plus 2 full and 2 partial layers of interfacing. So, you end up with the front of these pants having more body than I think is ideal considering how supremely drapey the rest of the pants are.

Wrap and tie

When I've looked at other versions of these pants on line, including the ones on the Named website, you can see that the front doesn't sit perfectly flat on the underlap area. It's not a deal breaker; it just isn't 100% perfect.






Speaking of drapey fabric, this is from my little stash of fabrics from Carolyn.  Its a poly woven that is substantial enough for these flowy, drapey trousers. It's ravel-prone, so I finished all the seam allowances with my serger. It feels lovely to wear and was just right for this project.  And the abstract print, I think, is dressy and fun.





** UPDATE:  I actually went back and made some changes to the trousers after two wears, which is highly unusual for me. First, on the aesthetic side, as much as I like a wide leg, I really felt that these were a bit excessive considering that I hemmed them for flats. In heels the proportions would likely be better, but heels are just not part of my life at the moment.


Elephantine legs

And on the technical side, the fabric I used is ravel prone, as I mentioned. This was not a problem overall since I finished all the seam allowances with my serger. However, I trimmed the seam allowance back to reduce bulk on the inside of the hems (ie: where you fold the hem up), and those trimmed back seam allowances completely frayed right thru the seams. So, the seams at the ankle beneath the hem stitching was totally shredded. So, thank goodness the legs were wide enough that I could take them in by an inch on both the inseam and outseam, removing 4" of circumference. All of the pictures in this post are from after I made the changes.

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