I’m not the best at Pinterest. In fact, I stayed away from it entirely for awhile. Why is that inspirational fitness quote next to three pictures of buttery, gooey mac & cheese?! Is this some kind of SICK JOKE?! Even after jumping on the bandwagon last year, I’m still more likely to be checking out the latest Pinterest fails than pinning and liking a bunch of pictures. That said, Pinterest does have its practical uses, one of them being my Sewing Pattern Crushes board. It’s only eight pins deep thus far, but it’s already served as inspiration and a reminder about cool patterns that may have slipped my mind.

The Hudson Pant is one such pin. Kelli of True Bias released this pattern in June, and I’ve been crushing on it ever since. I was drawn toward the modern tapered cut, contrasting details, and the possibility that I could, hopefully, make a pair of sweatpants that aren’t floods! I bought the PDF pattern ($10), printed it out, taped it together, and got to work. First up: a straightforward pair of bright blue pants with gray details.

 

I added 4.5″ to the length of the pattern at the adjustment lines, since the directions state that these pants are designed for a 5’5″ woman with a 28″ inseam. As you can see above, the pants are a little droopy above the calf band, so I made a note to add less length for the next pair.

Now to talk about something that all women deal with at some point in their lives: camel toe. Sorry to be blunt, but this is a common problem for folks with a longer-than-average rise. It’s not super obvious in the pictures (for modesty’s sake), but when my pants ride up onto my hips, which is an issue I have with every pair of elastic-waisted anything, the crotch definitely pulls a bit.

To try and remedy this issue for my next pair of pants, I utilized the lengthening technique described by Threads magazine to add 1″ total to the torso of each pant leg, but I’ll get to that patterned pair in a minute. All-in-all, my first go at the Hudson Pant turned out to be precisely what I needed: a super comfortable pair of lounging pants. I’ve been wearing them around the apartment every day since I finished them, so I’d say they’re a success! Even in spite of the slightly wonky crotch.

And speaking of a slightly wonky crotch, you can see that my abstract patterned pair didn’t fare 100% better, even with the 1″ crotch-length adjustment. I’m wondering if the Threads tutorial, which is designed for fitting jeans, just doesn’t translate to a knit fabric? Either way, round two of the Hudson Pant, in a pink and purple abstract knit from the Needle Shop, fits better than the first pair.

Instead of 4.5″ of length I added 3″, and I’m thrilled. They’re still plenty long enough without being overly slouchy. Throw in a cute pair of shoes and they go from casual to dressy-casual in a matter of seconds.

The seat of these pants fits well, a pleasant surprise since most sweat-style pants give you immediate frump-butt unless you have the Ass of Beyoncé.

And there you have it! One pattern, two very different-looking pairs of knit pants. They’re both ridiculously comfy and are an easy sew if you have a long afternoon to kill.

This will most likely be the last piece I post about before summer officially ends, so stay tuned for a wrap-up of the Summer of PDF Sewing Patterns. How did your summer sewing shape up?