McCalls 6291 Cargo Pants

Blouse, Simplicity 1806, Future blog
Belt, Coldwater Creek
Sandals, Easy Spirit

These pants from McCalls made their first appearance on the blog when I wrote about the Wiksten tank top. I felt very daring when I wore them for that picture...never thought I would wear pants with harem ankles. I actually sewed the pants and wore them several times with a plain hem. And I was bored, disappointed, frustrated! The model on the envelope cover looks so good. hmmm. So I decided to give it a try and inserted the ankle elastic - and fell in love with the pants.

My fabric is weavers cloth from JoAnns and is 55% polyester/45% cotton. It looks like a cotton/linen blend, is very soft, and doesn't wrinkle. Caution though - I also bought weavers cloth in khaki, and it is not nearly this soft (you can see the difference in this skirt).

Lots of pockets! Eight on the pants alone - so I decided to pick and choose. I sewed the front slash pockets, love them, and only one cargo pocket on the lower left leg. My intention in choosing both the pattern and fabric was to have a trouser-like garment that I could style up or down a bit. Not too casual.

However - all those pockets would make a great utility pant, lots of fun in a drill, denim, ripstop, or twill fabric! And the shorts and capris are so cute, this is really a nice set of patterns.

I sewed a Medium, and I think the size is correct for me. Although the pants are full, a Small would probably pull at the pockets. Looking at the back view, I have nice smooth seams and planes at the sides, crotch, and across the fanny.  The back waist area would have been better if I had a belt loop and had not just hitched up my britches!

Belt, J Jill

My next pair will have a center back belt loop to match the front loops. :-)

Sweater, Garnet Hill

While it has a lot of personality, the pattern is not difficult to sew. The instructions are clear, and pattern pieces fit together well. My fabric ravelled very easily, I staystitched the belt loop pieces as soon as I cut them - they have 3/8" seams! And I patted my serger a lot while finishing seams and pockets edges.

These pics were taken using my new 60" camera tripod. Such a difference in how light is distributed in a picture. And the fence is standing up straight! I had been using my little 7" flexible tripod on a table - all my  pics were looking up because I could not get my camera high enough. OK, it only took me 3 months to do this. What really sold me was the black canvas bag with carrying strap...

Now that I've worn these several times, I keep reaching for them. A kick to wear! Coco