Better Brown Slacks

This time, they're wearable

January 2006

Explanation

So I already made one pair of brown slacks, I wasn't very happy with them. They didn't fit right, and the zipper eventually broke, so they're now folded up and hidden away.

I really was very happy with Kwik-Sew's pattern for Men's Shirts, which I used for my Burgundy Shirt and Aeon Shirt), so I decided to give Kwik Sew 3267 - "Men's Pants" a try. I am pretty happy with the rezults. I messed a couple of minor things up, but I like the pattern and will probably use it again. These are real pants! They fit well and are comfortable. The style is pretty neutral, so I think I could make dressier pants or more casual pants depending on the fabric. Here are some of the features:

Flat fronts, because pleats make me look silly. I positioned the front belt loops right above the front creases, but now that I look at them in this picture, maybe that's a bit too close to the center? Anyway, the side pockets are far enough out that you can barely even see them in this picture.

Here's the front with the fly open, so you can see the zipper guard, the hook & eye closure, and the safety button. This pattern had much better intructions for completing this portion of the pants. You do the zipper pretty early, though, which can be tricky.

Here's a shot from the side, showing one side seam pocket and its facing, plus one of the rear welted pockets. The facings on those side pockets were super easy, and came out very sharp. The side pockets themselves are plenty big, though when I use this pattern again I might add the little pocket inside that holds change off the bottom.

Here in the back you can see the extra belt loops, and both single-welted pockets. These pockets are actually a little short and a little wide for my wallet, but they're probably fine for most, and that's certainly a simple thing to fix in future iterations.

Materials

The contents for this brown twill are listed as being 100% cotton, but it is somewhat stretchy like it has maybe 2% or 3% spandex. I like the color, and it's difficult to find cotton slacks in this color, so it was a good candidate. It was pretty easy to work with, and feels nice.

The Process

As I said above, I used Kwik Sew 3267, "Men's Pants", and just followed the instructions without modification. The instructions are mostly good, though they leave out some important information that you might not know if you don't have some experience making pants. For instance, while it is illustrated that you turn one leg rightside out inside the other while sewing the crotch seam, this is not mentioned in the instructions. (if that makes no sense to you, try a different pattern first.

On the other hand, this pattern is much better than others in that it explains and instructs when to use the sewing machine and when to use the serger (if you have one). It also has a much better method of making the pocket welt than I have used before.