Lovely Linen Arden Pants by Amanda

Hi there,

It's Amanda (AKA I Sew A Lot) and I'm back on the blog today with my latest post featuring the most seasonally appropriate fabric for this time of year, LINEN.

In the warmer months linen is the perfect fabric for dressmaking as it keeps you cool but even more so when mixed with viscose as it is soft and has a beautiful drape that is perfect for so many garments.

I think linen gives such a classic and chic look to garments and Lamazi has a huge selection of colours and variations at the moment when I searched on the website for linen it came up with 179 search results!!  Lamazi stocks enzyme washed linen which means it has not been chemically treated and instead uses a process which is kinder to the environment, there are also cotton blends and a whole host of viscose blends some with stretch and some without.

You can’t beat a pair of linen trousers in the summer and so I chose the Flow Viscose Linen Blend Dress Fabric in the Cappuccino colourway for my make.  This fabric comes in 17 different colors and has a beautiful handle because of the viscose which also makes it really soft and comfortable to wear.  The addition of the viscose also limits the amount of creasing that you get through wear which is typically one of the features of wearing linen garments.  The images featured were taken after I had been wearing these trousers for a full day and spent most of it sitting at my desk working and as you can see they are hardly creased at all.

The pattern I used is a relatively new release from Helen’s Closet and it is the Arden Pants.  When this pattern first came out I liked it but wasn’t immediately drawn to it as I thought it might not be something that I would wear but boy was I wrong.  I am seriously in love with these trousers. They are so comfortable and I have not stopped wearing them since I made them.  I think they are perfect for summer with a pair of sandals.

I made a size 8 as my measurements were between the 6 and 8 (W26”, H37”)  but it didn’t want them to be tight over the hips and they feel just right.  I also noted that Helen’s patterns are designed for a height of 5’ 6” and I am 5’ 8* with most of my height in my legs as I generally wear a 35-36” leg so I added 3” to the leg length at the lengthen/shorten lines and I think it is just right.  I probably could have gotten away with 2.5” but I didn't want them to pull when I sat down because of the elasticated cuff.

They were a pleasure to sew, the fabric behaved marvellously being easy to cut, sew and press and I didn't need to get my quick unpick out at all for this project.  The only slightly tricky bit was inserting the 3” elastic in the cuffs which took a bit of time and then sewing the lines of top stitching around the cuff.  I used my walking foot and took my time and it turned out really well.

As I said, I am seriously in love with these trousers and would definitely make another pair and this fabric is just perfect for them.

Anyway that is enough from me.  Until next time.

Amanda xx