When I get a vision in my head, I don’t let go of it very easily, and these pink Portobello Trousers are a testament to that tenacity. I purchased this fabric from IndieSew alongside a beautiful cupro jersey in my favorite shade of fern green. For some reason, I always get excited to make something green to wear on St. Patty’s Day (last year it was this gorgeous V9253), and I knew that the cupro jersey would make a really great Adrienne Blouse to wear this year. This rayon crepe was available on IndieSew at the time, and the colors complemented that fern green so well that I couldn’t resist making an outfit out of it.
I originally thought I would try out the Holly Trousers from By Hand London for these pants, but in the end I decided to go with Nina Lee London’s Portobello Trousers. I really loved this pattern, but I think that the Holly Trousers may have ended up being the better fit for this material. This rayon crepe GREW like crazy on me! I fell between two sizes on the Portobello size chart, so I chose to size up to the size 12. I knew I may have a little extra room in the waist to work with, and figured out I could alter as I needed once I figured out exactly how much.
So I went about constructing the pants, getting all the little pleat and dart details sewn and ready to go. Once I went about basting the crotch seam, I was able to try them on and see how they might fit, and I was shocked to find that I had EIGHT extra inches in the waist!!!! I imagine this was due in combination to the crinkly and shifty nature of the fabric during the cutting phase, and the fact that rayon can grow and stretch slightly.
I considered a couple of different ways I could take out some of that extra space. My first thought was to make it easy on myself by leaving the additional inches and simply gathering it into the waistband of the pants once I got around to attaching it. Even though this might have seemed like an easy fix, I would’ve lost the pleat and dart detail (that I’d already put so much time into!!) and would’ve probably added some unflattering bulk around my waist. In the end, I tried the pants on again and pinched out the excess fabric at the side seams, and ended up essentially grading out from the waist to the start of the pockets. Ultimately, this left me looking a little extra “hippy,” even after ironing the new seams and pockets down. I ended up tacking the bottom of the pockets down to keep them laying flat and towards the front, but they still stick out a little.
My button tab got a little bit messed up along the way, as well. Just as the waist of my pants pieces ended up too large, the waistband also ended up a bit too long – probably by about 2 ½ to 3 inches. I ended up pinning the waistband to the pants from the center front seam out and around towards the back center / zipper and then cutting off the excess. The fabric shifted as I sewed it, and the button tab ended up a little wonky! It isn’t the most beautiful finish in the end, but I’m not focused on it enough to let it ruin a good pair of pants – plus, since it’s on my backside, I don’t ever have to see it 🙂
I wanted a pair of flowy pants that would be great for warm weather, and I still definitely ended up with what I planned! It was just more of a process that I anticipated to get there. I am looking forward to trying this pattern again in some tencel twill (i already have a whole outfit in mind using this beautiful periwinkle color from Style Maker Fabrics!) and with a couple inches added to the length, just to give myself more options when it comes to shoes. They can’t all be perfect wins, but I’m still pleased with this wearable garment – at least and I ended up with the outfit I had in mind!
Pants: Handmade by Me!
Pattern: Nina Lee London – Portobello Trousers
Fabric: IndieSew – Crepe Rayon Paint-By-Number
- XX Elizabeth
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