Well, I think it's kind of trendy, anyway. I've been thinking about the whole leggings or no-leggings question since it's been on Stitcher's Guild for a while, and I went so far as to buy a pair of leggings and wear them around the house. I love them for the comfort, but I haven't quite been able to get out of the house in them, and I think that's probably a good thing. I like the general idea though, so I thought maybe I'd try some very narrow pants. This is what I came up with, along with the top from the print knit I got in California.
I haven't quite decided if it's better with or without the belt. I think it needs something, and I thought of pockets or something, but I hate to break up the print, as I think it's very graceful, but perhaps the belt breaks it up anyway?
The top is FSG#1960 once again, but with the funnelneck from Christine Jonsen's Travel Basic #3 added. I also lengthened it by a couple inches, as I think it is imperative that a top worn with these pants must fall below the rear.
Since the pants are a kind of trial pair, I used some old doubleknit fabric I had, and pulled out a couple of simple knit pant patterns. This one (Stretch&Sew #100) has an 11.5" hem circumference. I faced the hem, and then used a twin needle to stitch around once as an edge-stitch, and once at hem length. Together, this gives it a little bit of a band effect, and I remember seeing this kind of finish on Givenchy knit pants in the 1980's. I would think about putting a vent in the hem if I make more of these, which I think I will. I think a fairly high spandex content would be appropriate as well. This fabric has none, and I don't expect it to hold up terribly well, at least in the knees. I'm basically happy with the style though. They could be a little narrower toward the thigh, and that's something I may experiment with. I feel comfortable wearing these however, which is a good change from leggings.