Hot Patterns Ahoy There sailor pants are now docked in my closet

Finally I am writing my review of the Hot Patterns Pirate Queen Ahoy There sailor pants!

From PrintSew, I got a custom sized pattern - I inputed my height, bust, waist, and hip, and received a link to print the pattern.

Likes/Dislikes?
There were no instructions included with the PrintSew download. I emailed PrintSew asking if they were available and I did not receive a reply. So, none of the chatty talk that usually comes with HP, I was all alone on this one!

There were no notches/matchpoints provided but the pattern pieces were labeled appropriately and grainlines were indicated . They were not marked as to how many you need to cut (i.e. ‘’cut 2 fabric, cut 2 interfacing’’) but it was pretty easy figure out. The buttonholes and button placement was marked on the pattern pieces.

Pieces that can be cut on a fold were not marked as such, like the CF and CB waist facings. The seam allowances were included, so I just removed the seam allowance when I traced the pattern pieces if I wanted to cut the piece on a fold.

I like that the fit was pretty great straight off the printer. There were 4 pattern pieces for the legs, 2 in front and 2 in back, this allowed for nice shaping around the derriere in particular. The alterations I made were more like design changes.

a little something special on the inside

Fabric:
Fashion fabric: A navy linen/something blend from Nancy's Sewing Basket in Seattle, it has a little bit of stretch, 3 yards at $12/yard

Hong Kong finish: A navy/white cotton lawn print that was leftover from another project

Interfacing: Pro-woven fusible from SewExciting

I like wide leg but not that wide leg

Alterations/design changes:

Reduced the flared legs – As drafted, the bottom hems were >32 inches around – woah! I used the slash and pivot method to take out some of the fullness - I slashed from the hem to the knee, then overlapped at the hem; I did this with all 4 leg pattern pieces.

Added rise to front and back – These are designed to be very low rise; as drafted the rise was 7’’ in front and 11.25’’ in back. I added 2’’ in front and in back for more coverage at the waist/belly.

Eliminated the flared hemline – The hemline is shaped so that the back of the leg is ~3’’ longer than the front. I really like this but I ended up removing most of that difference since I may wear these pants with flats.

Eliminated gaping at CB waist – I had the oft-seen gaposis at the CB seam at the waist so I just pinched that out when redrafting the pattern piece.

Buttonholes – I made bound buttonholes for more of a tailored look


Will there be a 'next time'?
I’d love to sew this again, and I know it’ll go much faster next time! I’m keeping my eyes peeled for a lightweight stretch denim for another summertime pair.

If I were to make this again, I would use larger (1’’) buttons and space them out a bit more, also I would move each line of buttonholes in another ~0.5’’ towards the center. (I used ¾’’ buttons because that is what was drawn on the pattern pieces.