Pants!

The Simplicity 2896 pants are done!

And here they are with the jacket from the same pattern that started it all. I love these pants! They are cute, comfortable, and they come all the way up to my waist! I cut out a straight size 18 and made no design changes or adjustments. The fit was great right out of the envelope. I had a feeling this pattern was going to work for me when I took the pattern pieces out of the envelope and saw the huge dart on the back piece. This pattern is made for ladies with a sway back like me! It's the first pattern that I haven't had to make an adjustment to the back waist.

I used a light taupe poly rayon "linen" fabric from Hancock Fabrics. The fabric worked pretty well. I love the weight and the drape, but I will have to be careful what color underwear I wear under these because a bright color is going to show through. If the fabric were just a little bit darker I'm sure this would not be a problem.

The pattern itself was pretty good. I love the large dart in the back and the straight, wide cut to the legs. The pants are have a waist facing- no waistband. You could leave off the carriers and have a nice smooth pair of dress pants. I did find that the pattern piece for the carriers was about 1/8 of an inch too short. I wasn't able to cut all four carriers out of one piece, however, I had cut it out of doubled fabric so I had an extra. I did not like the fly instructions. I ended up using instructions from a different pattern to get the zipper put in. Other than that, everything went together easily. I think I'd like to make these again- the shorts version- if I can find some suitable fabric.

And now that these are done, I've started my next project, a Safari Dress!

I'm using New Look 6815. I started with the orange dress at the top of the picture. I'll be adding the topstitching and the upper pockets from the khaki top. The back of the pattern is plain. It has one pattern piece cut on the fold with two darts. I've already made a muslin in which I split the back through the darts to make princess seams. I also added a yoke to the back. I'm ready to cut my fashion fabric, a linen-look khaki cotton. I just hope I have enough!

I'll be alternating working on the safari dress and Summertime Pink. The smocking is almost done, in fact it should be complete this weekend. I expect construction to go pretty quick. Hopefully I'll have two more finished projects before long!