Sabrina Slims III

I made a new pair of hiking pants and I tested them today.

The pattern is again Sabrina Slims, like my most worn summer hiking pants. The fabric is a small piece of ponte, 80 cm long, I bought at the end of spring with the intention of making a pair of 3/4 hiking leggings. However, the summer came and went and I never got to sewing this ponte. 

So, last Sunday I took it out together with the cuttings from three other ponte projects and started planning a new pair of full size hiking leggings. In the end I chose the colorful green ponte, remnants from my second Sabrina Slims, as a complimentary fabric to the main black ponte.

I kept all the corrections to the upper part of the pants I had introduced to my second Sabrina and I also straightened the legs from the knee down. However, I had forgotten that the Sabrina Slims run a bit too narrow down the legs and if I ever decide to make them again, I should add a couple of centimeters to the width from mid-thigh to ankles, lately I prefer more bootleg pants, not the super slim style.

However, my gripe with the narrowness down the leg is purely aesthetic; due to the very stretchy fabric the Sabrina Slims are comfortable and provide full freedom of movement during a hike, which often include climbing, stretching and crouching.

Pattern: Sabrina Slims by Love Notions

Size: 0 with corrections

Fabric: ponte, 100% polyesther

Time to make: 3 days

Sabrina Slims II

Encouraged by my first pair of Sabrina Slims, I quickly bought a new piece of fabric and made my second pair - my new hiking pants.

The fabric is ponte again, a bit thinner than the one for the previous pair of Sabrina Slims.

My corrections and modifications:

I kept all the corrections from my first pair - I took in the back by 2 inches and shortened the waist band by 3 inches (!). I also made a high rise correction by 1 cm only to the front of the pants, a flat pubis correction by 1 cm and lowered the front rise by additional 1.5 cm, thus lowering the front rise by a total of 3.5 cm. Finally I feel the pants fit me comfortably at the waist!

Again I added two pockets at the back, mostly just for interest, not so much for functionality; I made the legs full length and straightened the width of the legs from the knee down. Although the pants are very elastic and feel very comfortable, I should probably widen slightly the legs next time, to try to avoid the horizontal crease lines at the back.

 

Pattern: Sabrina Slims by Love Notions

Size: 0 with corrections

Fabric: ponte, 100% polyesther

Time to make: 1 day

Sabrina Slims

I am a big fan of Love Notions patterns, especially as they specialize in knits and I love to wear and to sew with knits. The Sabrina Slims have been on my radar for quite some time, and though I bought a couple of Burda patterns for similar close fitting pants, in the end I decided to buy the Love Notions pattern and try it.

This is my first version out of some ponte fabric. The fabric is pretty perfect for the pattern - it has great horizontal stretch (I would say 40%) and almost no vertical stretch, it is stable and easy to work with.

For my first make of the pattern I decided not to make a proper muslin (I don't have a similar fabric for a muslin), but to try and correct the pattern as much as I can and make an wearable muslin. For that sake I chose the most simple version of the pants - no front pockets, back patch pockets instead of the more tricky alternative welt pockets, no split hems or zippers. All of these interesting features will come in my next versions, once I have perfected the fit.

The corrections I made - although I cut the smallest size, the pants were gaping at the back, so I took them in by 2 inches and I respectively shortened the belt by 2 inches. The issues I am left with, that could not be remedied on the already cut pieces - the front rise is too high on me and I think I could do with a little more space at the legs from the mid-thighs down, as I would prefer the pants not to be so close fitting. 

The major feature of the pattern that persuaded me to buy it (so far this is the most expensive pattern in my collection) is that it comes with a fitting work book. The book includes common fitting issues and methods for correction. So, judging by the fit of the pants on these photos, next time I will try a combination of several corrections - high rise, flat pubis, low seat and flat seat corrections, which I hope will improve the fit. But even without these corrections the pants feel quite comfortable and I do intend to wear them this summer.

Pattern: Sabrina Slims by Love Notions

Size: 0

Fabric: ponte, 100% polyester

Time to make: 3 days