Pomona Pants

Pattern: Anna Allen Pomona Pants. I bought the pattern last October and just got round to trying them.

Fabric: A cotton gingham vichy and cotton jacquard, both from Simply Fabrics which seems to be one of my favourite fabric sources at the moment.

Pattern notes: Following a similar theme to Anna’s other pants patterns, these are drafted with no side seam, so there’s just one huge pattern piece (besides the pocket). This makes it a bit trickier to fit onto some fabrics: I couldn’t make it work with my original choice of stash fabric but with a bit of jigsaw-laying-out it does fit onto 1.5m of wide-enough fabric with satisfyingly little leftover.

Fit notes: For the first gingham pair I made size 6. I actually used the tapered-leg view B since I’d had it copy-shop printed but added 2″ to each inner leg from mid-thigh to get more like the wide-leg view. They turned out more oversized than I expected from the modelled images which look more fitted, but perhaps they were made in a stiffer fabric. I also felt like the rise was too high and rather than ankle length are full-length on me, which I thought suited this pair so I kept it.

For the second pair I cut the pattern down to a 2, took 0.5″ depth out of the crotch, 1″ off the leg and additionally took in the legs by about another 0.5″ once I’d tried them on. I cut two pockets and sewed them wrapping around the sides.

Finally, rather than make the regular elastic channel I overlocked the elastic directly onto the top edge, folded it to the inside and zig-zagged down: this prevents any risk of the dreaded twisting.

Thoughts: I’ve been wearing both pairs rather a lot since finishing them: they suit the mainly-work-at-home life well. I don’t find the fit perfect due to the unusual draft and probably don’t need more pairs for a bit, but I may try in future with a stiffer fabric.

9 thoughts on “Pomona Pants

  1. Lia

    Ah! The wraparound pockets are a great idea! Are these substantially different than the Persephones, or basically the same draft without darts/closures?

    1. Katie Post author

      Your comment piqued my interest so I compared the rough PDF shapes – you can see the main differences are Pomona is drafted wider and deeper in the thigh/crotch, and a little more front-to-back tilt in the waistline. I’m actually surprised the ease is not more significantly different since these fit a lot looser than my memory of the Persephones…

      1. Lia

        Thank you so much! This is exactly what I wanted to know. I’m guessing the depth gives enough space to prevent the vertical crotch seams from binding, and theoretically they’re vertical to reduce excess crotch poofiness…this makes me want to chop up some pants patterns and experiment.

  2. Tonya Steele

    You are one talented young lady. I am older than you and when I was in school, we could take what was then called Home Economics. I took it from the 7th grade until the 12th. I learned how to not only cook, but to sew like a pro! I wish they still offered that to girls in school. The things I learned about sewing (I could make anything by 12th grade) are invaluable.

  3. Viri

    Good to read your review. I’m on the hunt for a good elastic waist pants pattern for my pear shape. This was one of the candidates but baso on your review moving towards the Pietra or the Free-range slacks if the one in the Dressed book fails.

    1. Katie Post author

      Be aware that Pietra is a little tricky on pears as it’s only half-elasticiated – a side zip is recommended if you’re grading more than 2-3 sizes (I think CCP has a blog post about this). I like the Free Ranges, a good alternative which would probably be easier to alter.

  4. Katie

    Hey! Thinking about making these and wondering how you thought when selecting the size. Have read so many that find their size according to measurements to be too big. And I really don’t want to make a toile…any chance you could share your measurements to give a point of reference?

    1. Katie Post author

      Yes, I found them oversized relative to how they appear to fit on the modelled photos. I ended up making a size or two down from my measurements. The pattern has finished garment measurements which helps assess! My black ones here are size 2 and my measurements are waist 27” hip 38”.

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