Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Another Warm Garment - Fleece Pants


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These pants were inspired by the really nice warm fleece top I made at Thanksgiving. I found more of the same fabric, and bought enough to make pants, which were intended to be pajama/lounging pants, but which turned out looking good enough to wear in public if necessary, although around the house is where they will most likely be seen.

As you will see in the next photos, I did an unusual hem treatment. I wanted to have elastic at the hem so that if I did wear them as pajama pants, I could pull them down over my always-cold feet. I made them extra long, and put the elastic in loosely, and when I turn the elastic up, the pant hems appear normal. I am so pleased with this, as I don't think there's much that's flattering about elastic-bottomed pants.


Here's a close up of the hem in it's normal position.

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And with the pant leg raised to show the elastic.

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And here you can see the actual length of the pantleg, with my toe pointed, and just peeking out the bottom.

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Here's a Side View,

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And a Back View.

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I used my TNT Burda pant pattern, with my wide-leg pattern add-on. This leg falls straight down from the widest point of the hip, and I like it very much. I made these with a drawstring waist, adding a 2" high yoke-like casing at the top. This style always fits me better than just cutting the top of the pant higher to accommodate it, although for very thin, drapey fabrics I like that better.

The little patch pocket was definitely an afterthought, as I realized when I tried them on after hemming, that I had nowhere to put my MP3 player or a cellphone, and that would never do. So, a fast, quick patch pocket was my solution.

I think these are a real success, as they're not only warm and comfy, they look pretty good as well. What more can you ask for?

6 comments:

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Liana - these are sooooo kewl! If I wasn't so darn hot at night, I would definitely make me a pair!

Anonymous said...

With the price of oil so high a pair of fleece pants and a top for lounging should definitely be on my list! YOurs look great. I happen to have a large amount of black fleece from a rummage sale several years ago. Can you post a picture of how you handled the waist band? Did you use elastic too?

Elaray said...

Your pants are so innovative. They look very comfortable, too.

Anonymous said...

I love these patnts!! I would definitely live in them ( at home)!!!

Anonymous said...

Liana, I was about to cut out Kwik Sew 3277 when I read this article. I immediately added an inch to the hem to accomodate elastic as well as some side pockets. It is just a pair of house/lounge pants but often these wide legged pants tend to trip me on the stairs. I get my sandals stuck on the hem of the left or right leg and start heading for a fall so thanks so much for doing this and giving me the idea to fix these pants once and for all!!!. These are my 3rd pair from KS3277. They fit very well,
btw, so do yours.

Linda L said...

Liana, what a great idea! I love these. Glad I was catching up on my reading and came to your site. These are really neat. You are so creative!