New UK-based pattern company Simple Sew offered to send me one of their patterns to review, and I plumped for the Classic Trousers. These are mid-waisted slim-legged trousers with front pleats, back darts, and a concealed zip at the centre back.
The style lines are very simple: no pockets, fly, yoke, belt loops etc and as a result they’re extremely quick to cut and sew. That seems to be the entire premise of this pattern line, which promises everyday wardrobe basics to suit your style.
I confess, I deviated away from the pattern’s simplicity a little bit to make the trousers more wearable for me. I moved the zip from the CB to the side as mid-bum-zips look a bit odd to me. Can we take a moment to appreciate that neato concealed zip? I’ve been practicing *preens*
I also couldn’t help adding yoke pockets, which I drafted myself inspired by the single-piece pockets of Simplicity 1610 (which I’ve also just finished sewing and will share soon!)…
The single piece folds back on itself to create the inner pocket and the yoke all in one, very clever and hardly any extra effort.
Anyway deviations aside I really like this pattern. The fit was pretty spot on with no adjustments and came up the same as my RTW clothing size. I was expecting the waistband to be higher based on the fashion sketch but it’s actually below the belly button. If you’re tall, you may need to add a bit of leg length as I’m fairly short and the length was good for me.
I’m not sure this pattern would be suitable for complete beginners as I think the formatting of the instructions could do with being a little clearer in places. It took me a bit of searching to find out what interfacing pieces to cut, and I needed some additional internet support to remember how to get the concealed zip in. However, Simple Sew do offer full email support so you could always contact them if you got stuck. And I think they’d be a great first pants project if you’re already a pretty competent sewist as they are very easy to fit – I know that fit issues put a lot of people off sewing pants. To which I say DO IT, sewing pants is so much fun!
For once I went for a plain fabric and sewed this pair up in a ‘Panama’ polyester that I grabbed on a Spoolettes trip to Lewisham last weekend. I had to google to see what Panama was but it just means basketweave: it’s light, drapey and crease-free so ideal for woven pants. It was also only £2.90 a metre so these were some mighty thrifty trousers. The fact that these are woven and non-elasticised means they’re a touch smarter than my beloved Burda 07-2011, but have the same ease of wearing.
I think the best thing about this pattern is that it’s suitable for loads of types of fabric and would really help to build up some diverse staple pieces that you couldn’t really tell are from the same pattern. I fancy a chambray pair already (with a metal zip at the centre front), perhaps black peachskin and grey flannel. And they’d be a great canvas for my beloved prints – I have some indigo ikat that’d be just dreamy for these.
Thanks again to Simple Sew for sending me this pattern for review. It’s a winner for me! What do you think, are simple patterns sometimes fun to make and wear or do you always like a bit more meaty detail to your garments?
17 Comments