As I do right before a lot of events, I get it into my head that I need to make my next outfit. By hand. About a week before the event itself. I blame my ADHD brain a bit.
Now I have been wanting to make a pair of wrap pants like this since I started sewing, which is a bit nuts because this style of pants is so easy to make. You can find a ton of free patterns online too. So when I saw this flowy pair, I figured – you know what? Why not make them for Lightning in a Bottle? (I also made my top! It’s the Maid You Look Top)
The Fabric:
If you’re going to make a pair of pants like this, it’s the perfect opportunity to show off a beautiful fabric. They’d also be great in a bright linen (in my humble opinion), but I was truly inspired when I saw this indian block print hit the shelves at SewBo. While I took the rest of this bolt, there are a ton of other cute options!
This fabric is the perfect lightweight cotton, but I think a lightweight, drapey rayon would also be perfect for this pattern.
The Pattern:
The pattern I used is this beach pants pattern from Soulmatte on Etsy. It also comes with a matching crop top pattern, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever make that one. I have plenty of other crop tops on my list that I want to make first!
I’ll admit, one of the drawbacks of this pattern is that it’s not super size inclusive. It comes in the standard Small, Medium, and Large. That being said, I think it would be pretty easy to add a bit of space in the pants if you wanted to. It’s pretty clear in the pattern how much space to add for each size.
I chose to make the largest size. It’s a bit adjustable since it ties in both the front and the back, but I’m glad I had the extra fabric to fully cover the large surface area that is my butt.
The other drawback of this pattern is that it only comes with video instructions. While I do love the addition of video instructions, I find that patterns that don’t have written instructions are often lacking in detail. Not a ton of detail is needed to complete this pattern, but it would have been a bit nice to have that reference while I was sewing.
What I would do next time:
The pants are a little long for me, so I think I’d take about an inch off the bottom of the pants, but that’s a super easy fix.
On the first leg, I thought I could get away with not ironing the hem before I sewed it. That, my friends, was a mistake. As a result, one of my pant legs flares out a little bit since I stretched the fabric while finishing the hem. Oh well. I didn’t have enough time to fix it, and the other pant leg looks perfect.
Even with the changes I want to make, this was an easy-peasy last-minute sewing project, and no one is looking too closely at the pant construction at a music festival. Who knows? Maybe next time I’ll actually start sewing my outfit more than a few days before the event.
