Mini Hudson Pants: Piped and Bold Pocket-ed

On more than one occasion I have made something for Hannah and then immediately said something along the lines of "I want this exact outfit in my size."  

The difference this time is that I do have this pattern in my size, and I bought the dusty blue and magenta stretch cotton terry fabric in the above picture to make Hudson Pants for myself.  But then Kelli at True Bias released a Mini Hudson Pants pattern last month and that was it.  I almost always choose to sew for my kids instead of myself and I never regret it.  And gosh do I love these.

I remember the days when I used to look at a pattern and only see one possibility.  That is no longer the case, because recently I have been making multiples of every pattern because instead of chosing one direction I chose multiple directions.  It was even easier than usual to do that with this pattern because it is so perfectly unisex, so both children got a pair.

I made Jayce's pants first and stuck pretty close to the pattern, aside from adding a thin line of gray piping down the sides.  I used the same gray knit on the edge of the pockets that I did for the piping, and a sturdy ribbing for the ankle cuff.  I used the same stretch cotton terry for the waistband as I did on the pants.  I made his pair a size bigger than his measurements, so I was sure to add a string of cotton cording through the waistband so that it could be cinched in. 

Thoughts:

I love the look of these.  The piping adds a subtle but good detail to the sides, and the zig zag stitching that you do along the waistband helps to cinch it in and get that authentic cinched sweatpants band that we all know and love. :)  The fit is great, although I can tell that I've sized up for him as his has baggier calves and extra fabric at the bottom of the leg, but it just looks like a slightly looser fit pant and not a "these are too big for me" pant, which is what I was hoping for.  I won't use such a sturdy ribbing on the calf next time (I typically use that one on coats) because I don't like how it seems to prop the other fabric up so much, but that was my own bad judgement call.  I do LOVE the functional waist band tie and I was sure to tack it down in the middle of the back band, because there is never a good reason to have to thread a cord through casing more than once. :) 

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Hannah's pants are constructed basically the same as the pattern with a few small modifications.  I omitted the contrast band on the pocket edge and used a contrast back to the pocket instead. 

For her waistband I used a thin ribbing and decided to try to make it a bit more of a traditional flat front sweatpants instead.  The waistband piece is the same size, but the elastic is 1/2 inch smaller than recommended so that it stays snug under her round belly.

Thoughts: 

I love the fit and style of these, and I particularly like that they are slim enough at the bottom that they could be tucked into her boots.  I like the look of using the same terry fabric for the ankle cuff, but I would have like the ribbing there as well.

 I struggled to zig zag stitch the thin ribbing on the waistband.  Stretching out the elastic as I sewed but trying not to stretch the ribbing too much was a little tricky and I ended up unpicking and hand stitching a few spots on the back waistband.  Again this was totally my fault because the terry waistband on Jayce's pair stitched up beautifully.  I would use ribbing on the waistband again, I just wouldn't try to top stitch ribbing over elastic without a walking foot.  

When Hannah emerged in her outfit, Chris said, "Oooooo, well don't you look beautiful…" To which she replied, "No.  I don't look beautiful, I look cool!"  So there's that.

PS-My kids are (almost) mom-made from head to toe.  Jayce is wearing his Zippy Jacket and Hannah is wearing a new Bima sweater that I whipped up for her the other day with an old sweater of mine.  (I cannot get over the ease factor of not having to hem sleeves and the bottom hem when I repurpose my old clothes.  It is fantastic.)

In conclusion, I love these, a lot.  Each child is getting another pair and I am still making a pair for myself!  There is still un-cut gray fabric will be used for me, and then probably for both of them too...

There is all sorts of Mini Hudson Pants inspiration going on this week over at True Bias, so be sure to pop over and see what everyone is sharing!  I'm sharing today with the incredible Jolies Bobines so you can wander on over there now to see what she's been up to.

Thanks for having me Kelli!