Vogue 8859 Marcy Tilton Pants

I'm ready for something upbeat, like a pair of teal jeggings. Are you with me?

Shams' two pairs of pants inspired me to give Vogue 8859 a try.  Hers fit more loosely about the thighs, but mine have the semi-jegging look of the pattern envelope.  I think it is useful to assess a pattern by looking at it on different women.  We are both 5'5" tall with 38" hips, but shaped very differently.  See this photo of the two of us side by side.  I made a size 14 overall, but let out the side seams slightly;  she made a size 14/16.  Our pants are roughly the same size.

Notice that the side seam is moved toward the front--a flattering look for most women.

The pockets will be useful for change or a credit card.  Next time, I would place them closer to the side seams.

The knee pleats allow me to sit comfortably or ride a bike.  Yet, they don't scream "technical outdoor sportswear".  Several comments on Shams' blog asked about the crotch curve.  Even though we are shaped very differently, both of us obtained a good fit right out of the envelope.  That's a pattern engineering marvel.

I used a variant of option two in the instructions.  I sewed the pleats together from the inside for 2" from each side edge, but I did not edgestitch the pleats on the inside.  The pleats ended up semi-structured.  Shams shows option 1 and the full option 2 pleats on her blog.

I used a teal stretch twill from SAS Fabrics. The pattern calls for a knit or a stretch woven with two-way stretch. I fell in love with the color (and < $3 price) of this piece, and plowed ahead with the project even though I had a sneaking suspicion that this fabric wasn't stretchy enough. It doesn't stretch along the lengthwise grain and has the slightest width-wise stretch.

Honestly, I thought this was going to be a wadder because it felt so tight when I pulled it on.  But, it loosened up after a few minutes and fits perfectly now.  I only wish that I had used a shorter piece of elastic at the waist.  The pattern suggests that you cut a piece of elastic that fits comfortably and then zig-zag it around the waistband twice.  When you stitch through most elastics, they loosen up.  Now I'm glad it is tight enough to stay up without the elastic. :-)

Look at the lovely yarn from my current knitting project.  It includes yarn from my three favorite yarn shops, Slipt Stitch in El Segundo, Twist Yarns of Intrigue in Manhattan Beach, and Artfibers in San Francisco.