Two more pairs of tapered Pietra Pants have come into this world… Well, kind of (read on!)

Now I often say that I’m going to make more of a sewing pattern that I like. And I often do.

Eventually.

But, it’s relatively rare that I actually go and do so right away.

But I was so enamoured by the fact that Closet Case Patterns have actually made a tapered leg pants pattern that flatters me, that I immediately launched into batch sewing another two pairs.

The fact that they are secret pyjamas doesn’t hurt either.

Here is my first pair of Pietra Pants: you can check out all the details of my experience sewing it for this first time on this blog post.

Today’s post is going to be more about the few changes I made since that first pair and a couple of tips. Since having now made three pairs of these view B babies now makes me an expert, right?

Fabric love

Every now and again, you manage to make a fabric/pattern match which is just perfect. You know that feeling. It as though the pattern and fabric were just made for each other and no better pairing is possible.

That’s how I feel about the Pietra Pants in this viscose linen noil from Blackbird Fabrics. It is difficult to describe just how lush this fabric is. It has a textured, almost slubby, feel, it is ridiculously soft, it drapes as though it’s life depended on it and it is surprisingly weighty and substantial. It makes a great weight for spring/summer trousers and may even serve me quite a while into autumn. It was not really what I expected, but it turned out to be even better and more unique.

(Confession: I have since bought it in three more colours!)

It’s difficult for me to imagine a better trousers fabric!

It is also less crinkly and prone to wrinkles than pure linen.

It is also just really kind of, well, adaptable. I feel that a garment made out of this fabic – like these Pietra Pants – can be worn both at the beach and the board room, without looking out of place in either.

So, ummm, yeah. I know we’re not supposed to pick favourites, but, ummm, these camel ones are kind of my favourite. Don’t tell my other Pietra Pants!

My other new pair is made from a narrow striped linen that I picked up from the New Craft House while I was doing my Jeans Master Class there. Because why just sew, if you can also fabric shop at the same time!

Unfortunately, however, I can’t recommend the fabric for this purpose because the weave is so loose that the seams in the thighs all completely frayed the first time I wore these.

So I’ve actually had to bin these babies already 🙁

At least I have the camel ones to console me!

(FYI: If you happened to check out the link above to New Craft House’s website where they clearly state that the fabric is not suited for fitted garments with pull on the seams, they added this information to the description after I let them know what had happened with my Pietra Pants. Just in case you read it and thought I was a total moron for being this and trying to make pants out of it…)

Go long…

In fact, apart from gushing about my new love for viscose linen noil, which I’m always apt to do, I don’t have that much to say about these Pietra Pants because I made them pretty much exactly the same as my first pair.

I added 1.5 inches length to the bottom part of the leg, using the lengthen/shorten line, as I wanted these to be more full length than the slightly cropped length that comes with view B of the Pietra Pants.

Having added that much in (for rough reference, I’m 167cm tall), I still felt as though I only had enough spare length to do a tiny micro-hem (serge, fold over twice as small as possible!).

So, for my next pair, I would still add another inch to the length, so I would then be able to do a proper, more substantial hem to give these a crisper and more weighty look at the ankle.

And some details…

The only other things I have done differently are a few minor cosmetic details.

When I saw Heather Lou wearing her Pietra shorts during the Jeans Master Class, I noticed that she had a line of top-stitching along the pocket edge, although this isn’t included in the instructions. As this is a lovely way to really draw attention to the lovely style lines, I decided to copy.

So these pockets are top-stitched.

Pretty simple stuff.

Also, after reading Mia at Sew North’s astoundingly detailed blog post on her Pietra Pants, I decided to take a little more pride in the insides and went the extra mile of bias binding my inner facing.

Yep, I’ll know it’s there.

Elastic fantastic…

I also need to thank the Pietra Pants for helping me to get over my fear of elastic.

For me, for so long, elastic simply looked ugly. These pants have made me learn that it can be – well, not not-ugly – but sufficiently not ugly to justify its advantages comfort-wise.

I’m a convert!

Compared to my first pair of Pietra Pants, I got a bit braver with the elastic. After reviewing the blog photos for my first pair, I found that they were sitting down a bit lower on my body than was ideal. So I shortened the back elastic on these ones by about an inch, compared to my first pair.

And it feels much better. They are sitting where I want them to and they feel more like they are hugging my lower back. Without feeling too tight.

A little tip in the construction stage, once your elastic is sewn in on one end only, put the pants on (even though the elastic is loose and not really encased at this point. Pull it around your waist to see where you think the other side should meet the other side seam and draw a little mark at this point on your elastic.

When you come to sew the other side, use this point as the guideline for attaching the elastic to the side seam – it’s likely to be more accurate for your body than simply the randomly assigned number calculated for each size.

Top-stitching elastic

When you are top-stitching the elastic in place, here are a couple of tips.

I found it looked better and I was able to keep a nice straight line more if I used a slightly longer stitch length than normal – I topstitched this elastic at 3.0mm

When I was evenly distributing the casing around the enclosed elastic, I also deliberately kept it smooth for the first inch on either side. This creates a nice flat side view at the hip which I vastly prefer.

I also, for some reason, just think that three lines of top-stitching looks prettier than two, so this is what I’ve done. I tell myself that without my glasses, from a distance on a foggy day, it might almost look kind of like sheering?

Another tip I learned from my first pair is that, when you are doing the top-stitching, make sure you always start your lines from the same side. This means that when the little bumps and curves of the gathered parts get trapped under your top-stitching, they will all be working in the same direction.

Ticking all the boxes…

So there’s not really much else to say except that these babies are really ticking all the boxes for me. Comfortable, chic, slightly tailored.

Satisfying my desire to cultivated a more thoughtful wardrobe.

Will go with just about everything.

And, did I mention, that this viscose linen noil feels like liquid fabric gold…

Oh and, finally, a little P.S! If you like to get your blog hits through Bloglovin’, feel free to follow me over there: you can find me here. And you can find me on Instagram here.