Vogue 1051 - Gray penstripe capris

I'll bet you were expecting actual pants, right? Me too. Unfortunately, while I was cutting this out one piece at a time to ensure the pinstripes lined up perfectly, I somehow ran out of room for the bottom of the last leg. Because I love this fabric sooooo much, I decided to cut off the other legs and try for a pair of capris. They were suppose to match a shiny pink long sleeve top that is currently an orphan. Well, now I've got two orphans, because nothing in my closet matches this except a boring white shirt. It's kind of a yawn of an outfit. By the way, this fabric is a thinnish stretch suiting from Hancock's that I bought last fall.

I'm still working out a few fit issues with this pattern, but not bad for my first pair of pants! Oh, I've made others years ago, but the fit was always so poor they never got worn. I think the back is a better fit then the front. These are also my first ever welt pockets, which I found very easy to complete.

I decided to use pink contrasting fabric for the inside waistband. The problem was the pink could be seen when the pants were fastened. So I went back and put a bit of gray at the front fly. But that seam adds a bit of bulk to the front and can be seen in my picture if you look for it.

This is the side waistband where I matched up the pinstripes:

Here you can see my welt pockets and matching pinstripes on the derriere. (I thought you'd prefer it this way and not a close-up butt shot.)

Instead of turning up the inside waistband and slip-stitching it to the outside waistband, I edged it with bias tape and stitched-in-the-ditch on the outside. I used gray thread for the machine and pink thread in the bobbin so it would look nice on the inside. I also *gasp* used the zigzag stitch to finish the pocket edges and pants legs. I usually try my hardest to avoid zigzagging, but I think it was appropriate in this situation.

Things I'll do differently on the next pair:
1. Interface the inside and outside waistbands, especially when using this thin of a fabric.
2. Not use a contrast fabric for the inside waistband.
3. Allow more fabric in the front crotch area and inner leg both front and back.
4. Make the front fly longer. It seems to end really high up on me. But now that I'm studding the pattern envelope, it doesn't look too high on the model. I'll have to review this again.

Next weekend we'll be attending my husband's grandfather's 100th birthday party in a small map dot town in west Texas. (Anyone ever heard of Plains?!) I feel I must have a new dress. Simplicity 3775 is my next project - view D. As it's a simple little knit dress, I'm hoping to have it whipped up by Sunday. Have a great weekend, y'all!