Here’s one of the August patterns for Seamwork – the Ani trousers or pants. I like a tapered trouser and I liked the look of the line drawing on these, with the welt pockets at the back and the pleated front. They remind me somewhat of the Alexandria pants from Named, which I like a lot, but a more structured version than that pattern with its elasticated waist.

I made most of these Ani trousers before I left on vacation some weeks ago and finished them up today, noting that the waistband was somewhat more…snug… than I recall. I measured my waist and…yes, the holiday and subsequent social activities took their toll, so you will note the waistband is slightly strained. Still, I’m not too bothered – it will fit better after I get back to my normal routine, plus the fabric I used is a non-stretch twill, which will relax with wear, so it’s almost good that’s it’s a little tight right now.

Speaking of the fabric, I seem to have a habit of picking things that are hard (for me at least) to photograph. This is a really lovely forest green gabardine twill from See You at Six with a copper metallic gridline that gives a lovely subtle shine to the fabric. I think the close-up above gives you a better idea of the colour contrast, but it’s certainly hard to capture. I got my fabric from Jumping June but it looks like Bolt in Portland still has some in stock if you like the look of it. I *ahem* would like to mention my pattern-matching across the front. I’m very proud of that! I didn’t have enough to match the sides, but meh, you can’t have everything!

Back to the pattern drawing first, and you can see what I was talking about earlier. The Ani trousers are high-waisted, cropped pants with pleats at the front, side slash pockets and back welt pockets and darts. It’s definitely a more advanced pattern for Seamwork and I really enjoyed getting stuck in. My own impression is that the trousers have a slighly more cocoon shape than is apparent on the line drawing. They are definitely not cocoon trousers per se, but they do have a touch of volume at the hips. I wasn’t sure about it at the trying-on stage and thought I might have to slim down the hips a little, but by the time I’d pressed the pleats well and finished everything up, I was happy with the silhouette and left it as is.

I made the misses 16, which is my go-to size for Seamwork. I mentioned this before, when I made the Dorian trousers, but the trouser block for Seamwork’s misses range is perfect for me. I go on about my long crotch, but it really does fit me well, and I mention it really to indicate that many people will therefore find the crotch a little long. If you aren’t someone who often has to lengthen a crotch, I would check the fit.

I’m not complaining though – far from it! My long crotch is loving it! I didn’t make any alterations to this pattern apart from leaving the hem longer. My legs are already proportionally short and I thought the recommended hem wasn’t quite right for me, so instead of turning at 1/4″ and then 1″, I serged the bottom and just turned once, by about 1/2″. I am 5’6″, compared to the 5’8″ Seamwork drafts for, so that gives you an idea of how cropped the trousers are intended to be.

Construction

Great instructions as always and – even better – Haley made a full video class for this one! It wasn’t available when I was doing most of the construction, which was a shame, but the written instructions are very clear too. I’ll be honest and say the welt pockets are not my best work. Well, actually the pockets aren’t too bad, but my bar tacks were pretty abysmal. I’m not sure why as it was great on the belt loops, but there you are. You win some, you lose some. I may redo them… but probably not.

Here are some other notes:

• Don’t be me and staystitch everything at 1/2″. The correct distance, as per the instructions, is 1/4″. This is not the first time I’ve done it, and it’s because I’m working on the premise of a 5/8″ seam allowance without thinking hard enough, but the waistband is sewn on at 3/8″ seam allowance meaning you can see all the staystitching at the end. Urgh. Not the end of the world, but a bit annoying.
• I altered the width of the belt loops. They were so wide! Could be a cool design feature, but looked weird with this fabric, so I halved them to a more “regular” size. The waistband itself is a little wider than normal too and I really love it, actually. Great width for my proportions.
• Pay attention to the direction the belt loops are sewn on and on which piece of the waistband, because it flip flops. Ask me how I know. I ripped those things off 4 times. FOUR TIMES.
• The top is finished with a hook and eye in the instructions. This is a nice sleek finish, but it ain’t holding my post vacation belly in these pants (especially with my dodgy hand sewing), so I finished the waistband with a lovely matching vintage button instead. I like it and feel much more secure.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how these turned out and I’m interested to see how they wear in. I’ll try to remember to come back and update as and when they relax a bit. Let me know if you have any questions. Bye for now!