***This blog post was written in March, before the covid-19 outbreak, and has been waiting to be published for more than three months! I plan on making this pattern again soon.
In case you guys didn't know, winter is cold. And when you need to look a little nicer in the winter time, pants are a good option. I know what you're thinking, "Beth, this is obvious." Well, it took me like 7 years to sew myself some dress pants.
I used to have many pairs of pants like this, back when I worked in an office. Only one of those still fits now, and even that is a stretch. I didn't want to spend too much money or effort on a pair of pants I knew I would rarely wear, so I dug up a pattern I already had, McCall's 6711. It must be out of print now, so I'm linking to the Pattern Review entry. This pattern has a top, pants, dress, skirt, and a blazer. That's a lot! I made the dress previously, and when I find the right fabric I think I'll make the top, to go with these pants.
The fabric is a polyester/spandex stretch suiting, from the Spot the Bolt bin at Jo-Ann's. There was just over a yard of it left, so I wasn't sure I could get some pants from it or not. I ended up using a stash stretch woven for the waistband facings.
The pattern calls for a center back zipper. For whatever reason, I decided I knew better and put an invisible zipper in the side seam. It ended up being dumb because there are pockets there, and the zipper running along the pockets pulls it in a weird way.
I like the pattern, it has a nice tapered leg and pockets. Those were basically my only two requirements. It was a pretty easy sew as long as you're comfortable putting in a zipper.
I sewed a size 10 which seemed to fit everywhere except through the seat. I used the smallest possible seam allowance, instead of the 5/8" drafted.
I'm happy enough with these to wear them to church. My top choices are limited since I don't gravitate to fancy/shiny/synthetics. If I had a solid black blazer (made from this same pattern perhaps?) there are a few things lingering in my closet, again from my working days, that would work. For now, I'm pairing it with this thrifted sweater from The Limited.