Chambray Summer Sequoia Pants

After my mock-up, I sewed the Itch To Stitch Sequoia Cargo Pants again in a chambray I bought at an estate sale.

The hardest part of sewing these pants is the waistband; I understand what to do, but I am just not competent enough to sew it properly.  A length of elastic is enclosed in ribbing which has to be stretched to fit an interfaced and non-interfaced waistband.

Then it has to be sewn to the pants with enough precision that the topstitching at the bottom of the waistband catches the part of the waistband turned to the wrong side of the pants for a clean finish.

Both times I had to hand stitch the inside as it was not lining up correctly.  My machine also starting squeaking in protest while I was sewing the waistband!!

The photo below shows the side that laid against the feed dogs while sewing. I couldn’t see it until I removed it from the machine. It didn’t match up to the top of the ribbing like it should. Rip!

I would like to make the shorts next.  In the future, I will either hand baste the waistband before sewing, or I will change the waistband to a simpler waistband with an elastic back.  My favorite ready-to-wear shorts have this same waistband, which attracted me to the pattern in the first place.

Because the pants have side straps for securing the rolled up legs, and side cargo pockets, the outside seam is sewn first.  That cuts down the opportunity for making adjustments.  I like to sew that seam last.

Look at how many little parts this pattern has!

I loved making the pockets and flaps.  I omitted the side cargo pockets because I ran out of snaps, and I also have 6 inches less leg than the pattern.

First time installing snaps!  I bought the kind with prongs which have to be pushed through the fabric and then hammered in.  There is a special little metal gadget to help with this, but I found it was easier to use a spool.  I watched this video: How to Install Snaps without Expensive Tools.

It was easy on my practice fabric.  It took a lot of effort to  get the prongs through all the layers on the pants.  Then bang, bang, bang!

I’m happy to be wearing these lightweight summer pants with two recent “I love this fabric” refashions.  They go together perfectly!

Itch to Stitch Sequoia Pants Mock-up

I have made pants and shorts using a heavily altered pattern developed from the first Simplicity pants pattern I sewed.  I decided to buy a new pants pattern, the Itch to Stitch Sequoia Cargo pants, to give another pants pattern a try.  This pattern has many pieces, with pockets with flaps that snap shut, and a lot of details.

I started off with a size 10 in the hips, and had to take about 6 inches off the length and also narrowed the legs. The crotch curve on my base pants pattern was deeper, and I thought it was best to keep the same curve and depth.

comparing the back piece of the Sequoia with my pants sloper on top

This is a simplified trial “patio version” to check the fit and practice some of the techniques before sewing them up in the intended chambray fabric.  I didn’t use snaps in this version, but I practiced inserting them.  I bought snaps with prongs, and used a hammer to pound them in, as seen in this you tube video.

The pants I made previously lacked pocket facings and interfacing, and a curved waistband.  I tried the pattern instructions for the zipper fly, but prefer the perfect fly I sewed on my chambray shorts with the instructions from the Readers Digest  Complete Guide to Sewing book.

The waistband is a little tricky to sew and uses elasticized knit fabric on the top half. I have ready-to-wear shorts that have this same waistband and I love them because they fit even with weight fluctuations.

 For this version, I kept the leg straps but substituted buttons for the snaps.

I tried rolling them up to different lengths.  Because I have full calves, I like this length best.  If I want to go higher, I’d rather wear shorts.

My chambray version is all cut out and ready to be sewn.  Woo – hoo!