10.09.2014

lounging

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I've said it before and I'll say it again: my life is really more of the 'leggings' 'jeans and a t-shirt' kind of grind than the 'pink jumpsuit' 'cocktail dress' affair I portray on this ol' blog. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that regard! Don't get me wrong, I wear the shit out of every damn garment I make, but that also means that I'm inappropriately overdressed for 99% of my daily activities. You should see me wield a weed-wacker in a pencil skirt, crop top, and espadrilles! It is truly a sight to behold!

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I've always enjoyed making wardrobe basics - things like jeans and t-shirts. I find that for every one of those items I make my wardrobe seems to expand tenfold. But my new endeavor takes things to even more casual places. I want to make a concerted effort to inject my wardrobe with more "softies" - comfy, casual clothing that can work, play, and snuggle with me. Because, really, isn't that what life is about?

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First stop on the Softie Sewing Journey are these cuh-razy, black and white, zigging and zagging, you-are-now-entering-the-twilight-zone, print Hudson pants. I've been waiting all summer for it to get cool enough for me to make this pattern. Spoiler Alert: it's still hot as balls here. But I went ahead and made them anyway. And proceeded to wear them all day. And experienced so. much. leg sweat. But it was WORTH IT  I tell you!

Kelli made a winner of a pattern! This pattern has everything that I love about indie patterns: on-trend styles with a modern cut and sizing, clear and easy to understand instructions, and great, everyday, wearability. These were a great quick project for me to knock out in between more involved sewing projects - almost instant gratification!

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The fabric is a french terry from Girl Charlee (sold out, it seems). I wasn't really sure what french terry was, but I kept hearing it pop up on other blogs in reference to this pattern and it sounds kinda fancy, no? I mean, this ain't no Podunk Terry, this is Frennnncch Terry.  Which, if your curious, means it has a smooth face and a loopedy-looped textured back, like regular old terry cloth. So, yeah, not so fancy after all! But perfect for my Hudsons. They are a bit thicker than a regular cotton knit, but thinner than a sweatshirt fabric, falling somewhere in between. And that print was really what sold me. I've loved all the awesome print Hudson's I've seen pop up all over the internet (like these and these) and I wanted to get in on that action. The  black contrast fabric is some leftover cotton lycra, from this project, and also, incidentally from Girl Charlee. I picked up my black drawstring from none other than JoAnn's.

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I made this pattern up exactly as drafted, which worked out fine, especially since it has such an easy fit. I followed Kelli's instructions to choose your size based on your hip measurement, which put me at a size 8, which was a whopping two sizes bigger than my waist measurement according to the size chart! I think overall this resulted in a more relaxed, 'fancy sweatpants' sort of look than some of the more 'legging' like varieties I've been eyeing. I'm okay with this for this pair, but maybe I'll size down in the legs for future pairs. Especially since, after wearing for a day, I can see that this french terry doesn't have the best recovery and tends to bag out, particularly in the knees and butt. I actually emailed Kelli to ask her about fit and she mentioned that I may want to baste, try on, and take in the legs to get the fit I'm after. I, of course, was too excited to wear my finished pants to do this, but I'll keep it in mind for next time! I did sew the ankle band a bit smaller than instructed, because I got some scrawny ankles.

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And that's about it! My plan is to alternate some of these comfy, lounge-y, clothes with more sophisticated makes this fall and winter. I think, mentally, this is a good strategy so I don't overwhelm my brain with allll the difficult makes at once and then go numb with allll the quick and easy knits in one go. Variety is the spice of life! 

I can't wait for it to actually get cooler so I can style these pants with layers - I'm thinking button down shirts and blazers paired with ankle boots to get a more sophisticated, and even professional (and sneakily pajama-esque) work look. Even though I totally wore this to work today like this. You just can't teach an old dog new tricks... I will forever be trying to make my life more fancy than it is! Even in sweatpants!!

xx

33 comments:

  1. How do you manage to make even comfy sweatpants look this good? Oh, right, cause you's a babe. Love these on you!!

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  2. YEsssss. Welcome to the comfy dark side..... And yes the terry grows like a mofo. After one day I start looked increasingly bedraggled around the bum and knee. But don't care. Because comfffyyy.

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  3. Beautiful pics, I love the hazy light. It's just starting to get cold enough for Hudsons here so I'm planning about a billion more pairs. So good for home-working days, weekends, any day really...

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  4. these pants are awesome! i made the thread theory finlayson sweater in this exact same fabric, and i love it. somehow i think that matching pants would be too much, but seeing these cozy pants, i am tempted. perhaps it is a good thing that fabric is sold out? imagine how.much.print would be going on. but still, it would be so very, very comfy!

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  5. i almost bought this exact fabric for some hudson's! love them on you, especially with the contrast bits. i cut out a pair for myself this morning and can't wait to finish them!

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  6. These are so cool! I definitely need to get on this Hudson trend...

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  7. Those pants are fab. I want to steal them and just wear them all day. I have to laugh at your comment on dressing inappropriately...that is pretty much me. I can't seem to refrain from making clothes, perhaps not entirely suitable for play dough and school runs, but I'll wear them until it breaks me!

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  8. YOU BEAUTY! i swear the sun out there shines just for you!


    hudsons have been on my list for foreeeeeeeever. i predict the weekend will bring me jamming out in french terry....

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  9. oh man, I love these on you so much. i actually made a pair in that exact fabric with faux leather trim during testing and it bagged so badly after wear. i have found that if the fabric has some spandex in it then it recovers a lot better. if you want a dressier pair (and a bit more fitted) then ponte has worked really well for me.

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  10. These are awesome!

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  11. Sooooooo good! I need more Hudson pants in my life...I also love the term "softies", I am totally using that :) I have that same fabric I am saving for the Grainline sweatshirt pattern.

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  12. As a connoisseur/ frequent maker of softies (totally using that word too) I can commiserate on the never ending trial and error that goes along with knit fabric choices. Unfortunately, by the time I realize how well a knit holds up, there's no more to buy. :( I guess we'll just have to keep on making loungey clothes to try out all the fabric... someone's gotta do it! This pair looks great on you in these photos, so I'd definitely call it a win.

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  13. I'm so relieved to hear that I'm not the only one who makes terrible knit fabric choices all.the.time. I never seem to be able to predict how the fabric is going to drape/recover/pill/just behave overall. But you're right, we'll just have to soldier on for the greater good! :)

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  14. These look great! I too am a huge softie fan. I'm wearing some softie Anima pants right now, and have been for about two months.... Every single day, no exaggeration. But only round the house, mind you. I do put on jeans for work if you were beginning to question my hygiene! By the way I find merino wool knits have really great recovery, that's what I made mine from, and no amount of crawling on the floor cutting fabric will bag out the knees. It's pretty good. Really easy to find here where I live but maybe not so much in Texas.

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  15. Cute, quick to sew, and comfy, the perfect combo :)

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  16. Yes! comfy clothing! it's such a necessary thing and yet we don't see near enough of it. You look stylish and comfortable.

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  17. Ok, these were on my to-do list but now they're totally jumping that queue. Love 'em.

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  18. I am so amazed that you can look so damn good in a pair of SWEATPANTS. Although they truly are some seriously cool sweatpants...

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  19. These look so good on you! Comfy clothes are pretty much all I sew, but I can't help thinking that sweatpants would do me no favors. Must be heaven though, so I might have to try them out and see.

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  20. these manage to look both comfy and fancy at the same time. i say it's a tie between a cool pattern, a great fabric and a beatiful girl ;)

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  21. How great it must be to be able to make your own softies!! Love it!

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  22. Super cute and super comfy. The Hudsons have it all and are so quick to make up! I agree it's nice to throw in an instant gratification knit project!

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  23. Those Hudsons look awesome! I totally love that pattern and it looks great on you lady!

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  24. How you feel about comfy clothes is exactly how I feel about lingerie - my wardrobe seems to expand quadruple with every set I make. Love these pants and I can't help but notice that you're hair is so long!

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  25. Those are really cute! I find that I make far too many soft items, and I need to make a bit more structured items.

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  26. I'm nearly finished my first pair in divine silver and black fan jacquard ponte (dream fabric) and I'm so pleased with them too. I sized down for the waistband and then fit is pretty awesome. My husband thinks they're man repellers though. I care not!

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  27. These are so cute on you, friend!

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  28. This fabric looks familiar... I should have bought extra to make some sweatpants! A sweat suit would be so fantastic. It definitely doesn't have recovery though... my sweatshirt outta this stuff is VERY oversized. I actually really like the looser fit Hudson's—I thought they were all pretty fitted and went with the Anima pattern instead but am now realizing the Hudson could totally work if I sized up... how many similar patterns can one person own before it gets ridiculous (I ask, with at least 5 t-shirt patterns in my stash).

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  29. these look SOOO comfy! great fabric! and I really like your blog re-design - SUPER COOL!!!

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  30. Who can resist this pattern? Not me. Finalllly, it cooled down a bit so you know what I did? Bought the Hudson pattern over the weekend. And totally imagined them with ankle boots...


    I actually dig the fancy sweatpants look a bit better than the legging type. Oh hey, there does exist french terry with spandex. I have some, it's out there, it's awesome. Just not spilling out of the stores.

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  31. Hi Sallieoh, I've just found your blog and it's absolutely beautiful! Loving what you're making and especially loving the path outside your house, it's a million times more picturesque than the path outside my house in rainy England! Looking forward seeing what you make next...

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  32. Love the pants! We can't wait to make a few pairs :) Thanks for linking to us!


    -GirlCharlee.com

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