Friday, September 6, 2024

Burdastyle Elastic Waist Pants

This is another oldie but goodie. It's from the May, 2013 issue of Burdastyle magazine. I made several of these pants back in the day. Then I put that pattern aside and moved along to shiny, new pants patterns. In fact, I put it aside so completely that I've since lost that issue of the magazine. 

I recently found an old pair of these pants in a grey cotton/linen blend in the lower strata of the pants drawer. I tried them on and remembered that I liked them a lot. So I hauled a 2 yard cut of linen out of the fabric closet and made another.


This is medium weight linen from the fabrics-store.com in a color called Montana Grape. They describe it thusly:

"The dusty, muted warmth of Montana Grape linen was the ideal backdrop for Paul Gauguin's rustic scenes, conveying sun-soaked tracks of earth, dry flowers, or the shadowy layered depths of human skin. [yuck!]

A leader in the French Post-Impressionist oeuvre, Gauguin heightened colors so he could transcend reality, combining this dreamy shade of purple with feverish jungle greens that together transport us into a magical, otherworldly place. 

He observed with fascination, "Colour! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams."

In certain lights it looks almost grey, so I'm thinking of it as a neutral. We'll see how that works out for me once I try blending it into my closet.


These pants are supposed to have a drawstring waist, but I can't ever figure out how to arrange the bow on a drawstring, so I just subbed in elastic. There are nice, deep slash pockets and the legs are pretty straight from the hip.

Here's a top-tucked-in photo to show what the waist looks like. I used a one-inch wide elastic, so the waist holds snugly enough that I can slide my phone in my pocket while dog walking without making the pants droop.


There are several patterns in this issue of Burdastyle that I remember fondly and would like to make again. I tried doing a little on-line shopping to order myself a replacement copy of the issue I'd lost. I thought I'd found it, but when the magazine got here it was the German language version. I tried again and ended up ordering a French language version. Can I read either language? No. 


I think I'll sit pat for a bit. Maybe me and Google Translate can become friends. 

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.


Pendrell Top by Sewaholic

I was doing a good toss of the pattern drawer in my quest to find top patterns that could fit on a one yard cut of 45 inch wide cotton when I came upon my copy of the Pendrell top by Sewaholic. Looks like this pattern came out back in 2010. I made several back in the day and then somehow I forgot about it. But it's a nice pattern and I'm glad I hauled it out and gave it another try.

It's a bit wrinkled in these photos. I'd worn it to a 2 hour meeting on a hot day. 

The Pendrell is described as a semi-fitted pullover blouse with princess seams and bias binding at the neck and armhole, and that it is. The fit is rather loose, to allow for the pullover part, which makes it cool and comfy to wear on a warm summer day. 

Finishing curvy edges with bias binding isn't my favorite thing to do, but I actually followed the pattern directions and it didn't go too badly. 


The only hiccup I had was cutting a hole in the front while learning to finish the seams with my new serger. I was shocked and distraught, ready to toss the evidence of my failure into the bin. But I liked the fabric well enough to see if I could recover. I picked out the serger stitches and doctored the cut with some fusible interfacing and some fray check. I think it will be OK, and luckily the print is busy enough that it doesn't show. Much.

Sewaholic patterns are drafted for a pear-shaped figure. I cut a size 8, which is for a 34.5 inch bust and a 40.5 inch hip. I am a straight-up brick. I shortened the top quite a bit to get it to fit on my 1 yard cut of fabric, so I didn't mess with blending sizes. Otherwise I'd be blending from a size 8 up top to a size 0 down below.


If you are blessed with more booty than I, you might want to check out Sewaholic patterns. I don't think she's been designing new patterns for some years, which saddens me. In fact, I don't know if the website I linked to above is still live. You can still find her patterns out on the inter webs though, In fact, they're available through PaternReview.com here.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.