Seamwork Mel joggers
2021-Apr-28, Wednesday 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebeSeamwork's Mel are knit joggers. I never wore joggers before the pandemic, and now I almost live in them. But also, because they are loose fitting they are the perfect way to start learning to make trousers that fit me. I used a printed sweatshirt fabric that is fuzzy on the inside. I cannot overstate just how comfortable this fabric is. It's described as a polyester and cotton fabric with 4% elastan. With wrong sides together is surprisingly slippy.
I made them in a size 18, which falls into Curvy pattern proportions. The back is wider than the front (just like well fitting trouser places like Torrid) so the side seams stay in the correct place and nothing is squished. The model and the illustrations show the lower leg to be loose, but they are slim fitting on me. Which is an improvement, as I often find ankle/calf fit much too narrow. (That fabric stretch comes in useful on the self-fabric cuffs.) The thighs and hips are quite roomy. And there are generous pockets! The waistband is elasticated, and you're supposed to sew two runs of stitching around the waistband that will act as drawstring channelling, but I'm not a drawstring person. I added the button-holes (almost gouging holes in the fabric in the process) just in case I change my mind, but the elastic is doing the job so far.
Most of the assembly is done with an overlocker/serger, but there is some top-stitching on the pockets, button-holes, and waistband casing (had I done any). My black thread stands out a lot, and to be honest, I hadn't expected these to turn out so well on the first go, so I simply didn't bother changing the thread colour to something more appropriate. The pattern is drafted for someone 5" taller than me, but I feel there might only be 2" I could easily loose in the length. I am shocked that my first step into making trousers has gone so well, and I've gladly worn these a lot since making them up. (They definitely look better on than on the hanger.)
I made them in a size 18, which falls into Curvy pattern proportions. The back is wider than the front (just like well fitting trouser places like Torrid) so the side seams stay in the correct place and nothing is squished. The model and the illustrations show the lower leg to be loose, but they are slim fitting on me. Which is an improvement, as I often find ankle/calf fit much too narrow. (That fabric stretch comes in useful on the self-fabric cuffs.) The thighs and hips are quite roomy. And there are generous pockets! The waistband is elasticated, and you're supposed to sew two runs of stitching around the waistband that will act as drawstring channelling, but I'm not a drawstring person. I added the button-holes (almost gouging holes in the fabric in the process) just in case I change my mind, but the elastic is doing the job so far.
Most of the assembly is done with an overlocker/serger, but there is some top-stitching on the pockets, button-holes, and waistband casing (had I done any). My black thread stands out a lot, and to be honest, I hadn't expected these to turn out so well on the first go, so I simply didn't bother changing the thread colour to something more appropriate. The pattern is drafted for someone 5" taller than me, but I feel there might only be 2" I could easily loose in the length. I am shocked that my first step into making trousers has gone so well, and I've gladly worn these a lot since making them up. (They definitely look better on than on the hanger.)
Seamwork's Mel joggers, finished, front
Photo by chebe
