LaFred Lives On! (Thalia Pants)

Finally, I made it back to the sewing room for an actual sewing project!  :D

I've been drawn to this pattern since the first time I saw it - fits right in with my usual attraction to patterns that look oh-so-smashing on tall, willowy models, and, um, not-so-smashing on someone of my stature. Sometimes I decide I'll make it work anyway.

The end result ~  Slimming?  Not so much.  Comfy?  Absotively!
Dress up or down?  Yes and Yes.   Easy to make?  Another Yes!
All in all....a winner :)

Just for fun, I tried to duplicate the pose this model made.
Can't be done.  Well, not by me anyway.
Go ahead.  I dare you.  Try it.

One of the reasons it took me so long to make this pattern is that I thought it was going to be complex.  You know.  Trousers.  Fitting.  Details.  Then I pulled out the pattern & looked through the instructions, I was surprised at how utterly simple the construction was.   And with the loose fit, it looked like a (relatively) quick & easy project.   And I had reached the point with The Koos Coat that I needed to make a soup & salad meal so that I could take a break from the 7 course preparation...sometimes you just need easy to get the mojo working again!

Other reviews all mentioned the MASSIVE ease around the hips, so I made up a quick muslin in a Medium - my waist & hips actually placed me in between a Med & Lg.   The muslin was still too baggy, so I re-cut it in a Small, which felt fine.

A note about the length - the pattern is SHORT.   REALLY short.  I have short legs, & the length is just about right on me.  Be forewarned before you cut!  

There's not much to say about the pattern instructions or construction - it's really all pretty straightforward; instructions are thorough & easy to understand.    I made some minor changes in the fit around the waist by leaving a smaller SA at the side seams, and also making the pleats a bit smaller - essentially making the waist about 1.5" wider.  The waist is gathered in the back with two pieces of elastic.   Fred made a note to add both elastic pieces at once through the two channels, which I did, using two large-eyed, blunt-nosed needles, like so:

The closure consists of 2 buttons, with buttonholes sewn into pleats on either side of CF.  

You can either sew your buttonholes through both layers of the fabric forming the pleat, as I did, or you can sew separate buttonholes in each fabric layer (for a total of 4).  If you sew the pleats together with the buttonholes, you need to make sureyou can pull the pants on over your hips!  Now, I have wide hips.   (which seem to be getting wider as the years pass.....but I digress.....)   I really really did NOT want to make 4 buttonholes - not because I'm lazy (even though I can be), but because I wanted the neater look that sewing the pleats together would give.  By making the pleats a bit narrower, which resulted in the waistband being bigger, I was able to do the buttonholes the way I wanted & still get the pants on & off easily.

A note about the pattern markings:  don't worry about making all of them  when you cut your fabric.   It's nice to have the option to change your closure placements anyway, for a custom fit.

Vintage buttons from stash.
The waistband seam has an odd, wavy look here -
I think it was the way I was standing.  It's not a badly sewn seam - really, honest!

I wanted the pants a bit on the long side, to be worn with heels (my version of a heel...which is not 4"...or even 3", for that matter).   This leaves them a bit long for flats, but I'll wear them for awhile before making any changes.

With heels

With Flats

Side View

Back View
(My shoulders are NOT that lopsided -
it's a downside of using the camera remote instead of a friend)

Other notes:  I think a drapey fabric is a must for this pattern - I love the feel of the flow as I walk in these pants.  I used a midweight tencel with a very soft hand - perfect for this pattern!  I used Pro-Woven Fusible interfacing from fashionsewingsupply on the waistband - not too crisp, not too wimpy.

A fun, easy project - I would make them again if the right fabric for them jumped out at me :)

BTW, the blouse is Decades of Style Collar Perfection - (pre-blog - it's reviewed here on Pattern Review) - the second thing I made after re-entering the sewing world.  Gosh, it's been almost two years now.....  I struggled a lot with it, because of all of the alterations I attempted.  It came out fine in the end, but I've come a long ways since then.

And now it's time to get back to Koos!   The good news is that I've finally decided how I'm going to do the next step.   I think......