Low rider
Are you sitting down? Yes I did… I made a pair of pants! Okay, I’ll admit that they are fancy lounge pants, but it’s still a big deal around here and I’m celebrating.
The pattern probably needs no introduction. True Bias has cleverly released a version of the Hudson Pant for every member of your family! I’ve already made a couple pairs of the Mini Hudsons for both my girls (see here, here and here) and they are frequently worn and well loved.
After success with the Mini Hudsons, I decided to take the plunge and make some Hudsons of my own. My hips were between sizes, and as my fabric (a lightweight french terry) had very little stretch , I sized up. This was a good decision and the fit looks pretty spot on…
Did you catch that ‘looks’ in the last sentence? I’m a little sad to report, because I will confess to having high hopes for these pants, that the rise is a little lower than I’d like. I generally like my ‘bottom halves’ to sit just under my belly button, and on me, the Hudson Pants are an inch lower than that. And just for the record, I didn’t add the drawstring to the waistband or stitch the elastic in place. What a sewing rebel!
I know I could attempt to fix my rise issues with some pattern adjustments, but the though of having to alter the front, back, pockets and pocket bags doesn’t thrill me. I am therefore going to put this pattern aside for now.
Any thoughts on what ‘bottoms’ I should tackle next? I have all these patterns in my sights… Papercut’s Anima Pant, Style Arc’s Elle Pant, Pattern Fantastique’s Terra Pant and Closet Case Files’ Morgan Jeans.
Pattern: True Bias’ Hudson Pant
Size: 6
Fabric: Black french terry from Clear It (Brunswick Street) which is now sadly sold out and liberty jersey scraps from Sarah for the pocket detail
Alterations: None!
Accessories: Me-made machine knitted cowl (pre-blog) and sneakers from Luisa.
Location: Eastern Suburbs, Melbourne
Have a look at Tessuti. They have a number of different styles.
Thanks for the reminder about Tessuti Carmel. I often forget about them and I actually own a couple of their pant patterns.
I think miss Anna that you are a good seamstress who has been hiding behind t shirts and sundry tops fir way too long . Get brave a develope your skills further with more pants , dresses and everything else you can think of ? I know that I am being rather forthright but that happens after you have 2 glasses of Riesling after a long day at work ! But seriously you can do it and I look forward to more beautiful photographs of something other than to shirts 😜
We do get stuck in our comfort zones don’t we Mem? Although, I can’t promise to totally leave behind the tees, tops and sack dresses… I do have some more complicated and challenging (well for me anyway!) items to sew on my to do list. But please note, the next few posts (my backlog) are the usual stuff. You might need to just skip over them….
Also raising your rise is not hard , just add a bit to the top of the back and front and / or scoop out the crutch curve a bit . This increases the rise too. You can easily extend the pockets to match the fronts . Not hard .
I suspect after dabbling with some other patterns, I will realise that the fit changes I need to make on this pattern aren’t hard and I will attack those alternations with renewed energy!
So I’m no expert on knits in case you hadn’t noticed, so I have no advice about other options to try. These look the goods to me, but I understand having a rise and/or fit that is a fave. I’ve caved and just bought a new pair of Bonds trackie dacks. I’m so naughty. If you get sick of these I’d be happy to give them a new home 😉
Nothing naughty about buying some trackies. Need versus, time, interest, access to fabic and skill always comes into play in my calculations. If these came to you… they would be ankle bitters my long legged friend (see I still think your tall!).
Congratulations on making pants! I think they look grand, but I can understand your disappointment. I haven’t made any of the pants you mentioned but when you commented on my last pants post I immediately thought of Pattern Fantastique Terra pants for you – they look really cool!
I love the Terra Pant Kate, but the thought of taping 50 pages together isn’t my idea of fun. I’m quietly waiting for an AO copy to be available.
Look good to me , but understand what you are saying – love the pocket detail 😀
The pocket detail is my favourite part Jules. They will be good house pants.
Aaah c’est la vie! I think the rise of the Elle’s will suit you just fine!
I hope to be able to agree with you my friend. Fabric washed and waiting for me to sew them up!
They look really good so it is a shame you aren’t happy with them.
To alter the rise, if you could do it, I would just cut the front and back just below the pocket shaping and add a centimeter or two without cutting into the pocket bags. Alternatively the Anima or Elle pants are other good patterns to cut your teeth on.
These look great. I like my trousers and skirts to sit higher too. Hardly any trousers patterns do this. Most finish an inch below the navel so it’s a case of adapting! I add height through the rise rather than adding to the top. If that helps?
I know exactly what you mean Louise. Thanks.
Good advice Andrea. Thank-you. I suspect I will be back to alter these as they fit is great everywhere else.
My vote is for Closet Case Files Morgan
I like you ‘go for gold’ approach Charlene. I hoping to try on a friends pair for size (hooray for local sewing friends) and then I’ll get working on them.
These are a good pattern. I think I’ve just made my sixth and I always raise the rise by an inch for the same reasons you say. I’m too old now 😉 and three kids means you wear your pants higher with pride 🙂 keep these for around the house and have a crack again when you get a chance. I also move the pockets up when I increase the rise. You can do this by laying the pocket facing pattern piece over the pant piece, but with the upper edge along the new rise line – does that make sense? It’s one of my nasty modifications. It works and there’s not need for redrafting. Let me know if you want more info.
I will have to get my pattern pieces out and see if I can work out your quick fix. If I fail, I’ll be back asking for more help.
Hurra for tackling pants. I wear my hudson pants as I type and I am a sewing rebel too – no drawstring and free flowing elastic (that I even managed to twist) 🙂 I’d vote for the morgan jeans as your next pair of pants – I love making jeans and that pattern seems to be quite easy to fit as it’s not skin tight in the most critical crotch area.
Hugs, Susanne (@ lily28923 on IG)
Hello Susanne… although you will always be Lily to me! I’m going to cheat a little before I embark on some Morgans. A sewing friend of a similar size has made a pair and I’m going to try them on later next week when we catch-up. I’m going to try Style Arc’s Elle Pants this weekend. Here’s hoping there are no tears!
I found that the amount of stretch greatly affects how high the rise is on the Hudsons. You might try again. When I made the Hudsons in a low stretch material, they were quite low. When I made them in a very stretchy bamboo french terry, they sat right about waist high. Personally I liked the low rise since I don’t like having things at my waist since menopause.
Greenstyle’s Brassie Joggers are similar but a bit slimmer cut and have a low and medium rise option.
This is a very good point Jane, that I hadn’t even thought of. My fabric had basically no stretch. Thanks for sharing this tip and the recommendation for the Brassie Joggers. I’m off the check out the pattern now…