Saturday, July 25, 2015

Pattern Emporium Harem Pants...rockin' the casbah



I'm a busy blogger this week. But I like these pants so much that I wanted to write them up as soon as I could. They are a blast to sew and wear!


Pattern Emporium is very clever with this design. So many options. Travelling the tree, I made the baggy fit in ITY knit, with a plain elastic waistband, the relaxed pocket, and the lounge pant hem. To achieve the fit I wanted - baggy v.s. slim - I used the size 16, one above my usual size. 

This pattern is thoughtful as well as clever: 
  • It has 2 hemline cutting lines, one for 5'5",  and one about 3" longer for taller gals. I so appreciate this, because at 5'7" I'm forever adding to the length on things. 
  • A vertical line is provided, waist to hem, for cutting and spreading the front and/or back, for more overall width and ease. I used it to add 1" to each piece, and then took the 1" away from the upper side seam - 1" at the top edge and cured down about 8". This was to reduce bulk in the waistband. 
  • And it has the ultimate pocket. It's all one piece, lining and facing. It really makes the pocket fast and easy, particularly for a slippery knit fabric. 


That's all my sewing notes! Precedent setting. This pattern really delivers. I've made two other similar pants, Vogue 8909 Cuffed Knit Pants and the True Bias Hudson pants. The Harem Pants are absolutely my favorites.


I'm wearing these with one of my four Butterick 5954 knit tops. Yes, four now. White, marigold, avocado green, and red. Love in many colors.

Given my tendency to make multiples of things I really enjoy, of course there's another pair of pants, again in ITY knit.




So freaking cute! I wore this pair to Cleveland Clinic yesterday, and even Mr. Doctor told me how stylish they are. Make these pants!

On another front, playtime continues. With a deep bow at the waist to Martha, at Now Sewing. Her post, about using Derwent Inktense Pencils on fabric, got me going. After my visit to the clinic, I was in bed at 7 p.m. and up again at 2 a.m. What better time than the dark middle hours for an experiment...

 Lab equipment: the pencils, a black Micron pen, paper, cotton broadcloth (pre-laundered), and aloe vera gel. Also clean water and paper towels.

There's lots of info online about applying permanent inks to fabric. How to do it, preserve it, and wash it.

Fingers crossed that 24 hours from now, I have a good outcome.






The top of this image is my trial, dark and light color. The pink smudges are my impatient reuse of the gel without cleaning my brush. Good news - the gel really did keep the color from bleeding. And the Micron pen worked really well for the doodling.


The bottom image just shows how much the ink went through the fabric to the paper underneath. I was curious about how much destruction I might do to my bottom surface.


Wishing all a nice weekend - Coco

25 comments:

  1. Your pants are really chic and that pattern is one I would consider making, love your color choices and your top too!

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    1. Thanks, Yvonne! You can tell how much I like this pattern :-)

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  2. Very nice pants! I'm glad your doctor appreciates good fashion:)

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    1. Thanks, Angela. I was really flattered by his comment, particularly as I had on a hospital gown top, not usually my best look.

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  3. What great looking pants, love those colors! They look comfy and stylish! I really like the way the pattern envelope shows the options too. They make it very easy to see how you can change and combine things.

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    1. Thanks, Nancy. This is such a nice pattern, I loved all the options and clear instructions for making choices.

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  4. Oh so dang cute! They make want to go out and buy some knit fabric, at least for a couple of minutes..... ;-)

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    1. LOL...but knits can be nice to wear, once one gets over knit trauma. It took me a while...but now I love them.

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  5. Love the pants. I absolutely love the Durwent intense pencils. I made while hanging in my dining room from an article in quilting arts magazine. Have fun!

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    1. Thanks so much. The pencils are fun and really a different medium for me. Still experimenting...my first one was not so good, because I discovered I used a poly/cotton fabric. Derwent makes it pretty clear the pencils don't work well on poly. I'll give it another go...

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  6. You look so cute in those pant outfits!

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  7. You ARE rocking those! Love the colors & they look great with the top.

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  8. Those pants are awesome and that pattern is brilliant. I love all the options provided. I am so not an Indie person but this pattern I can really respect and see myself making it. Thanks for enlightening me.

    I am anxious to see more of your painting. I am going to check out the pencils right now!

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    1. Thanks, Bunny. Indie patterns can be a challenge...some of the sizing can be funky, the drafting can be poor. But this is a winner. The pencils...really a fun way to make a small mess.

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  9. Fantastic pants and love the shirt too!!

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  10. These are wonderful! I just finished some Marrakesh pants and will try "your" pattern next :-)

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    1. Oh, I hope you try them...would be so cute on you, a great knit pant. I've made them in black ITY as well!

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  11. Yes your new pants are freaking cute!!! The Derwent inktense pencils look like major fun...your doodle letters are downright pretty. It's the 2nd thing I've seen today that is tempting, but I'll be content to see what you make with them. For a while. :)

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    1. Thanks, Judi. I've been acquiring some doodle and zen tangle books lately. It's fun. I hope to do my logo on a shirt or something similar. Oh, go ahead and get some...Derwent is in the UK, should be pretty easy to find at a good price. The set of 12 is enough to start, but the set of 24 was only a little bit more and includes a black outliner pencil that is insoluble, nice to have.

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  12. Thank-you Coco for such an awesome review. I love what you've made. So relaxed and easy. I'm so happy you love the pattern.
    Kate x
    Pattern Emporium

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    1. You're so very welcome! and thank you as well. I really like this pattern - I've made 3 now (the third is black ITY, goes with everything). I live in a sub-tropical climate and love to find versatile patterns that are unique and well-drafted. I truly admire your work on this one.

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  13. Love your new pants, Coco! I'd not heard of Pattern Emporium before. Thanks for telling us about them!

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I love it that you came by...and thank you for your comments! Coco