Kesha Nicole

I’ve been on The Great Trouser Hunt. In the last couple of months, I’ve been sewing like crazy and have actually made quite a few different items. The vast majority I found rather unflattering on me once made, but alas, such is the plight of a sewer. One of those many makes have been pants/trousers. I’ve been searching rather dutifully for the last year or so for my version of the perfect pants pattern. I think I finally found them! I’d been making item after item and was feeling rather defeated and disappointed with my makes which were primarily from the Big Four patterns (McCall, Vogue, Simplicity, Butterick). I know that pattern alterations are often called for, and it’s one of the many benefits of sewing your own clothes, but I simply have been at my wits end when even the simplest of patterns have been requiring a great deal of alterations. In my quest, I decided to look more at the indie pattern makers, as I’ve found that the fit of their patterns tend to be more refined, as they do way more pattern testing and take into account things like curves and the fact that not everyone is the same cookie cutter size and shape.

PROJECT DETAILS:

TROUSERS – Modified Sammi Woven Pants from Style Arc – I love pockets, and unfortunately the pattern did not come with pockets. I modified the front pattern piece for side front pockets and created two additional pattern pieces. One for the pocket facing and the second pocket lining. It was a simple and quick modification that took a matter of minutes. In all this is a fairly quick and easy sew and is designed for an intermediate sewer. My only issue I ran into was based on the finished measurements, the size I cut was actually still too big. I had to alter my pants a full size down. My next pair of these will be in a full size smaller. The great benefit to this is that Style Arc also provides you with the size above and below the size you purchase too, so you wind up with three sizes to either modify up or down depending on how things are fitting.

FIT – The fit of this pattern is the real winner. These were created in the classic traditional work trouser silhouette, which elongates your legs and provides an instant slimming look. The waist band is curved so that the back waist gap is almost non-existent and back pattern piece includes darts.

FABRIC – This delicious pebble double crepe woven fabric has been in my stash for quite some time and came from Michael Levine. It’s a nice heavier medium weight crepe, with such a beautiful drape. I only had 2 and 1/4^th yards of it, but thankfully it was 60” wide and with a little pattern tetris, I was able to eek out these pants with just a smidgeon of fabric leftover. The buttons came from Mood Fabrics.

STYLE: Heels from Nine West, Top from ASOS, Earrings from Ankara & Lace.

They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure…..

My latest make was inspired by an actual dumpster dive. A fashion company that I was recently working for was throwing out bags upon bags of scrap denim. One of my favorite sew sisters Alexis Bailey pointed out to me not too long ago my love for denim, and it only seemed right that I take that denim love and run amuck with it! The results was a project that I truly had so much fun making. This entire project right down to the very end, was a labor of love. I spent weeks sewing together these scraps of fabric denim during the height of audit and tax season. The results is my modern take on the classic oversized coverall. I’m a Southern Florida girl who has lived in Los Angeles, California for almost twelve years now (April 30th will be my 12th anniversary!), but I will never lose my Southern roots. I grew up in a little town where men wore coveralls all the time as part of their blue collared jobs, and this was my nod to them.

PROJECT DETAILS:

COVERALLS – A modified KWIK SEW 3389 – I took an amazing tip from the fabulous Tabitha Sewer in that I thought about what I wanted to make and saw beyond the pattern on the cover to use it as the spring board for the design in my head.