These pants started with the fabric. And the fabric wasn’t for me, it was for my son. Last year I had to make my son some formal pants for school because the ones available at the school uniform shop were not the right cut for him. So while looking for grey fabric for those I found this navy knit fabric that was smooth on the outside and soft and snuggly on the inside. Just like his sports uniform pants.
But when it came time to replace his outgrown sports pants I was able to get some from his school that fit pretty well, so that left me with the fabric. So why not create some tracksuit pants just for me.
In the past I’ve bought fleecy tracksuit pants from Target and they fit well in the shop but as soon as I wash them they seem to get shorter. Leaving me with pants of a really weird length. Doesn’t stop me from wearing them, but my ankles sure feel the breeze.
Pants Pattern Used
I love the Itch to Stitch Sequoia Cargos & Shorts pattern. So much so this is my seventh time using it. Each time I make it I adjust the fit to try to improve it, but it’s one of my Tried and True Patterns.
I used a size 20 with my previous adjustments. I did not use a fly, so when I cut out the Front piece I folded back the fly extension. The back darts were not sewn.
I created my own rectangular waistband with the elastic going all around my waist, rather than using the patterns flat front panel with buttons and elastic going around about 80% of the waist.
The front pockets were my custom-designed slant pockets, rather than the patch pockets that came with the pattern.
The back pockets for the Sequoia pattern are rectangles. I wanted to try something with a bit more shape so I used the ones from the Seamwork Tessa Jeans.
To see other reviews of this pattern go to Pattern Review.
My Previous Sequoia Creations
These are the other six creations I’ve made over the years using the Sequoia pattern. The first five used stable cotton fabric like cotton drills, but for the last one, with the striped pockets, I used a jersey knit. Due to the stretch in the fabric I made them with a fully elasticised waistband and didn’t sew the back darts, the same technique I used for these new ones.
Fabric
The fabric came from DK Fabrics in Adelaide and was called Track n Field. I forgot to take note of the fibre composition but it is definitely a polyester and cotton blend. The outside surface is very smooth and has a shiny appearance, while the inside is soft and fluffy. A bit like a french terry. It has 50% horizontal stretch and 20% vertical stretch (See video from Megan Nielsen on how to test stretch).
Cutting Out & Preparation
The fabric was really wide at 160cm and I had 2m of it, so other than making sure I cut out with a nap layout, I didn’t need to adjust and maneuver pattern pieces as there was plenty of fabric. I used the whole length but ended up with large unused sections due to the excess width.
On the top of the back pockets and on the pocket opening of the Front pieces 2cm wide fusible edge tape was fused to give extra stability.
Sewing the Pants
The first time I ironed the wrong side of the fabric with a cotton setting the fabric stuck to my iron. I adjusted it to a silk setting with no steam. To be extra cautious whenever it needed pressing a silk organza press cloth was used to protect the iron.
This pattern uses 12mm seam allowances, which is quite unusual as they are usually 6mm or 15mm. To cater for this I just eyeballed 3mm to the left of the 15mm mark on my sewing machine.
All seams were sewn with a zig zag on my sewing machine first, then a 4 thread overlock finish. (One day I’ll go straight to the overlocked seam finish, I just need to be confident.)
The top of the back pockets were folded over twice and topstitched with a straight stitch. To attach them to the Back piece I wanted to see what a zig zag stitch would look like for topstitching. I ran the sewing machine foot alongside the edge of the folded pocket so it wasn’t quite on the edge. However, I found that it left a slightly raised edge that I could accidentally catch with my finger, so I did a second row of zig zag stitch that ran off the edge of the folded pocket. I love the result! I think next time though, I’ll add edge tape to the pocket sides and bottoms so it doesn’t stretch and cause those ripples.
Two parallel bar tacks were added at the top corners of the back pockets for extra strength.
The back pockets were topstitched with a straight stitch about 1cm from the folded edge.
For the waistband, I measured the finished waist of the pants. It was 132cm and my waist is 107cm. The elastic was 32mm wide so I cut the waistband at 11cm x 110cm so it fits my waist + 3cm seam allowance (the fabric is stretchy so doesn’t need any ease).
To sew the waistband I thought I’d try a different method, the one from Helen’s Closet – How to Sew and Topstitch an Elastic Waistband. The short ends of the waistband are sewn together and then folded in half lengthways. The waistband is then sewn (and/or overlocked) to the pants, leaving a small opening to insert the elastic. Elastic is inserted and ends sewn together. Finally, the small opening is sewn (and/or overlocked) closed. I didn’t do the topstitching as per the instructions, I thought I’d wear them for a while to see if the elastic twists. It didn’t so it topstitching wasn’t needed.
It does leave an exposed overlocked edge that is quite bulky with the 3 layers of fabric and doesn’t quite sit nicely against the body. I think I’ll stay with my preferred method of folding under raw edges of the waistband in the future.
For the hem I overlocked the raw edge of each pant hem, trimming off just a tiny bit of fabric. Folded them under 3.5cm and then used a twin needle from the right side. As you can see above I used some masking tape to indicate the hem depth.
I love how professional this looks. And so quick to do too.
Pant Review
I’m pretty happy with the fit of the pants, although there is still some bagginess in the back of the thigh. The front slant pockets do gape so I’ll need to do some research into how to prevent this from happening. It does have edge tape fused to the Front, so maybe it needs some for the pocket as well. I’ll do a hunt to see what is recommended.
The length is perfect and even after multiple washings it hasn’t shrunk. I love the zig zag topstitching on the back pockets so I’ll definitely do that again. But I will try some stabiliser to prevent rippling.
As I said in the previous section, the waistband on the inside is a bit uncomfortable when I first put them on but I do get used to it. I think it’s worth trying out new techniques and seeing what works best, but in this case, it didn’t.
I’ve worn them over a few weeks for walking the dog and they have been great at keeping me warm. Although the dog hair seems to be attracted to the fabric (I should have got a blue dog, not a white one).
Below I’m wearing the Navy Track and Field pants with my Striped Knit Top.
Pattern: Itch to Stitch Sequoia Cargos and Shorts, Size 20 | Pattern Review
Fabric: 2m of Navy Track and Field, 160cm wide, DK Fabrics – AU$28
Interfacing: 50cm of 2cm wide edge tape for front and back pocket openings – AU$0.15
Elastic: 1.1m of 32mm Black Elastic from Sue’s Sewing World – AU$2.20
Thread: Rasant Colour 3356 (Navy) – approx AU$0.20
Overlocker Thread: Serafil 120/2 Col 1282 (Charcoal), Woolly Nylon (Black) – approx AU$0.50
Cost of Pants: AU$31.05
Sewing Machine Settings on my Memory Craft 3500:
- Sewing Machine Needle: Klasse Ball Point 80
- Tension: 4.0
- Lengthwise Seams: Zig Zag (Stitch #11) Width of 1.5, Length of 2.5
- Crosswise Seams: Zig Zag (Stitch #11) Width of 2.5, Length of 2.0
- Topstitching Front & Back Pockets: Straight Stitch (Stitch #2) Stitch Length of 3.5
- Zig Zag Topstitching Back Pockets: Zig Zag (Stitch #11) Width of 5.0, Stitch Length 2.0
- Bar Tacks Back Pockets: Zig Zag (Stitch #11) Width of 2.0, Stitch Length of 1.0
- Twin Needle: Schmetz Twin Needle Stretch 4.0/75
- Twin Needle Hem: Straight Stitch (Stitch #1) Length of 4.0
Overlocker Settings on my Janome 644D:
- Needles: Schmetz Super Stretch HAx1 SP 90
- 4 Thread: 2x Charcoal Serafil in needles, 2x Black Woolly Nylon in loopers
- Thread Tension: 3.0 3.0 3.0 7.0
- Stitch Length: 3.0
- Differential Feed: 1.5
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