I love to dress up and wear pretty things just as much as I love to lounge around and be completely comfortable. I've certainly been known to wear my comfy clothes (i.e. leggings or sweatpants) to the grocery store. So, it's great to have a super cool, casual pair like the Hudson to add to my wardrobe.
The gorgeous mottled blue fabric is leftover from my Zippered Sweatshirt. It's a Japanese knit that I bought at The Fabric Store in LA. I only bought 2.5 to 3 yards and had barely enough leftover to make these pants. I actually had to piece together a little bit at the ankle to make it work! But you can hardly notice and I'm making that little triangle a design feature. :) For the contrast fabric, I picked up a basic navy knit from Joann's. I really love how the contrast looks on the pockets and cuffs. It's a great design detail.
I also bought the navy cording for the waistband at Joann's. I bought a 1/2 inch cord as the pattern instructed but I think it's a little too big. So, if you're thinking of using something smaller you'll be just fine. I really wish I had some gold caps to put on the ends of the cord to cover up the raw edge. Have you ever used something like that? I have end caps for jewelry making but they have a little loop at the end.
These pants were pretty easy to make. I followed along with the sew along as well as reading the pdf instructions. The only step that threw me was the waistband (see the sewalong step here). I was surprised that the topstitching was done after the elastic was inserted. I had assumed that the topstitching would create a casing for the elastic. But you actually stitch through the elastic when you do the topstitching, which holds it nicely in place. It's a little fussy to get all the fabric evenly spread around the elastic but the end result is really nice.
I made a size 10 and the fit is very nice; not too loose, not too tight. I did not change the length of these because I didn't have enough fabric and you can see that they hit above my ankle a little bit. I was determined to eek out every bit of usage on this fabric as I could! The instructions have some good fit advice. Just follow it and you shouldn't be surprised.
I'm showing off a couple of other new things in today's post. First, a new haircut! It's super short! I like it but won't mind when it grows half an inch or so. :) I've done double takes in the mirror more than once over the last week.
And the second new thing is the charming blue rolling cart. I've been eyeing this IKEA cart ever since it was released and finally broke down and bought it. I'm hoping that it will help keep my sewing projects a little more organized, or at least, off the floor. I'm also quite proud that I put this baby together in about 30 minutes. I really love it (the color is so delightful, plus it rolls!) and my den has not looked this tidy in ages.
So, final word on the pants – they're great! I do wish that the temperatures would cool down so that I can wear them without becoming a sweaty mess but I'm sure I'll be making this pattern again before long. I've seen versions in a lot of different fabrics so I know they'll be versatile and will likely become a wardrobe staple.
