Monday, April 29, 2013

DIY Anthropologie: Edisto Wide-Leg Trousers

When I first started sewing, one of my big motivators was wanting to make my own versions of Anthropologie clothes for much, much cheaper. In fact, that was a big theme of many of my earlier makes, but it's been over a year since I was inspired by anything in their catalogs. I don't know why they got so Bohemian for a while, but I was thrilled to pieces when their latest catalog was suddenly full of things I wanted to make. I love being inspired by their colors and prints, so even though my sewing queue has just doubled in length, I'm (not so) secretly pleased.


In the past, I've only tried to copy their dresses and skirts, so I decided that I should take on the challenge of pants. I mean, now that I've more or less successfully sewn pants and shorts, a whole new world is open to me and I should take advantage of it. Enter the Edisto Linen Wide-Legs in red, gloriously vibrant and with big contrasting buttons on the side. I've been cautiously entertaining the idea of brightly colored pants ever since seeing Erica B's gorgeous coral pair and Sunni's season opener, but wasn't sure if I could pull it off. There's nothing like a hey-look-at-me color on bottom to bring doubt into the mind of a pear-shaped lady, but I had the perfect fabric in my stash, and, well, it's the year of magical doings. If pulling off orange pants isn't magical, then I don't know what is. Also, it's only fabric -- if I don't like the final result, it's not like I was making pants out of baby penguins. So...how did they turn out?

ZOMG red-orange is a ridiculously difficult color to photograph.
I'm in love with these buttons. 
My best attempt to mimic the Anthro picture. Not nearly as fun as the Japanese sewing books. 
Boom! Butt! 

If you look closely at the enlarged picture of the Edisto pants, you can see that besides the side-button feature, they also don't have a waistband or darts at the front -- there's only a line of stitching that gives the suggestion of a waistband, but is more likely just to tack down the facing on the inside. With that in mind, I used OOP Simplicity 4099 as my base pattern, which I won in Leah of Struggle Sews a Straight Seam's giveaway last summer. It has very similar features (no front dart or waistband, wide leg), minus the side buttons, but I figured it would be easy enough to make that part up. 


To make the side-button placket, I cut two placketish-looking pieces, finished the edges, and sewed one to each side of the left side opening. On the front pants piece, I pressed the placket under and topstitched it down, then put in five buttonholes. On the back pants piece, I left the placket piece flopping out towards the front, understitched it, tacked on a piece of twill tape to act as a button stand (I recently read this blog post about button stands in historical tailoring, and it made so much sense that I elected to jury-rig one for these pants. It works marvelously and I don't have to worry about my fabric distorting or ripping, and the closure feels deliciously secure), then added my five lovely nautical buttons. I am seriously in love with how this closure looks, plus it puzzled Mr. Cation because he couldn't figure out how the pants came off.



Yaaaay I look eleven feet tall!
Summary: 
Fabric: 2 yards of 60" wide, suiting-weight orange wool-blend twill, part of my stashbusting pledge pile. The lady who was cutting it for me at F&S said it had some polyester in it, and it certainly presses that way, and I suspect it's got a bit of Lycra in it as well, since it's slightly stretchy. While the original Anthro pants are a linen-tencel blend, I opted not to use a similar fabric because 1) reviews said that it got really wrinkly, and 2) who am I kidding, I didn't want to go out and buy new fabric. Hopefully the polyester means that these won't get too wrinkly!
Notions: 5 brass anchor buttons from Fabrix in SF, lots of seam binding, thrifted twill tape and 2" hem facing 
Techniques used: My first time trying hem weights, thanks to the tip on Erica B's blog post! Seriously, best twenty cents I've ever spent...my pants looked ridiculous and horrible and I was ready to cry about all my wasted time, but then I tried adding in those four nickels and seriously guys, it was like magic. Suddenly everything was hanging a lot better, and these pants were saved from the UFO pile. If your wide leg swingy pants aren't hanging right, TRY IT. 
Hours: Eight or so over this past weekend...because right after making and sending off a corset, I felt the need to start (and miraculously, finish) an untried pattern. 
Will you make it again? Probably not. I don't think I need any more wide-leg trousers, although these are awfully comfy and swooshily fun in a way that I thought only skirts and dresses could be. I credit the hem weights for adding a certain gravitas when I stalk about purposefully.
Total cost: You're not going to believe this -- less than $4!!! I got the fabric for $1/yard when F&S was cleaning out old inventory, and the buttons were $0.10 each. Add in some seam binding and of course, my four nickels, and I've saved myself $94 off the original price of the Anthro pants. Sewing FTW!!
Final thoughts: When I first walked out of the sewing room to show my husband, he was speechless. I was already afraid that I looked like some negligent prison escapee who'd forgotten to change pants, but then he pronounced them interesting, and that the cut/style was fine, but the color was a little shocking. Finally we decided that I looked like a very stylish member of the Rogue Squadron. I do like them, though, resemblance to various jumpsuits aside, and even though the fit isn't perfect, I'm glad I gave it a try! I still need to work up the courage to wear them out for more than just pictures, though.

See, if I just stand normally, the back is all wrinkly. Not any worse than my RTW work pants, but still...it feels more egregious when it's orange. Also, I opted not to include welt pockets because let's face it, I'm still not mentally ready yet.
That's okay, though, because I'll just stand like this all the time. 

I think these actually look pretty similar to 1930s trousers, so these could *almost* be a HSF entry too...I mean, check out these pictures:

Wide legs: check! Side buttons: check! No front darts or waistband: check! Darts on the back with no pockets, check!  [source]
Oh hey, these are even orange! [source]
Pretty similar, right? I do find it interesting that the historical versions both end at about ankle-length, which I feel looks pretty weird. I hemmed these to just skim the ground, reasoning that my legs look longer that way. Since most of my height is from my long torso, I feel like the length of the pants + the high waist helps visually even out my proportions a bit. 


On that note, it's time to close out Vibrant Color month in the Stashbusting Sewalong! I vowed to use the brightest fabric in my stash this month, and I did...what about you? Let's see your brightly-colored makes from April -- just add your link to the party below. 



Also, in case you forgot, April was also a challenge month, which means that we'll be voting for our favorite project, and the lucky winner gets a small surprise in the mail! You've got until the end of the week to add your project, and then voting will start on Saturday, May 4, and end on Tuesday, May 7. 

45 comments:

  1. I LOVE THEM!!!!! Granted, red is my favorite color. I really like the buttons as the way to get in and out besides how amazing they are design wise. I think this is an awesome job! You should totally wear them!

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  2. omg I love those 30s overalls!! so cute! want!
    oh and of course I like your make too :)

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  3. Those pants are FABULOUS! I made red shorts last summer, and love them--fun, fun. I wish I had something to enter this month, but I actually had a fire in my sewing room (thanks to my iron--ouch!) and I lost my sewing machine/serger and probably most of my stash. :( Hopefully I can rejoin the party in a couple months.

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  5. Wow, hem weights?! Awesome tip!

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  6. I love these pants! Very nicely done.

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  7. Those are so fabulous. I think many of the pants we see that have no wrinkles are Photoshopped or the models are standing in some pose to get rid of them. Those look awesome on you and I am definitely going to get me some hem weights.

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  8. I love these! The color is great, and they look amazing on you!

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  9. I love those pants! The color and fit looks great on you!

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  10. Those are some smashing pants! If you don't mind my saying so, the fit in the rear is super flattering. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to wear those out in public, but then I'm wearing bright orange corduroy trousers as I type.

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  11. You had better rock these out in public, they are awesome!! And they make your butt look fantastic!! I would take the fact that Mr. Cation was looking for a way to take them off as a hint that they are flattering....LOL! ;-)

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  12. These are great! And the fit looks really good. Also - hem weights?! Must go read.

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  13. hem weights! what a great idea. are they secured at any particular place in the hem? love the pants, they look awesome on you. hope you brave it and wear them all the time!

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  14. Those pants are amazing!

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  15. I think these look wonderful! The color, the buttons, the cut, everything is just perfect!

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  16. WOW! Thanks for showing the insides/buttons too! So good to see 'flies', as I'm frightened of buttons on slacks! Have only done zippers!

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  17. Pants out of baby penguins? LOL!! But seriously, these are gorgeous! I'm not a huge fan of orange, but I'm loving the color or these, seems like a red/orange? Very classy!

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  18. Wow!!! Those are absolutely gorgeous on you.

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  19. It looks great on you!!!!!!!! I love the fabric, the colour is gorgeous and the buttons are just perfect!

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  20. These are all kinds of fab! Love love love! And the hem weights concept- revolutionary. I may need to sit and ponder for a ways now.

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  21. These are gorgeous. The colour and the side buttons work well.
    I've made welt pockets a few times and I'm never really ready to make them until I've finished making them.

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  22. Love these pants on you, looks gorgeous! I might need a pair, dif colour though, am not an orange type of girl.

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  23. The pants look amazing! Very much like the originals.

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  24. I hoe you wear these for more than just pictures. They're awesome! I think they're better than the Anthro pants. Anthro's pants are a linen/tencel and they probably are lofty and don't hang well. Because you added coins to the hems, your version have a better drape. Bravo!

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  25. Hem weights? How clever. The trousers look awesome.

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  26. These are fabulous! What a great interpretation, and I love the color! You are getting very accomplished. Wear them a lot, they flatter you.

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  27. HELLO SUPERMODEL. don't make me come to the west coast and force you to wear those outdoors. it won't be pretty.

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  28. Those are a great knockoff version of the Anthropology pants! I don't think they look "prison" for three reasons - 1. buttons 2. nice fit/no elastic and 3. you aren't wearing the matching color on top. =) I love the bright color and you look so good in brights!

    And you definitely chose the better hem length for the style. We wear pants longer theses days, so the shorter hem on wide legs is a little strange looking to our modern eyes.

    ~ Brooke

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  29. When I scrolled down and saw your pants I got the biggest ass grin on my face. With all respect to your husband, he cray. This might be my favourite Cindy make of all time. I love them. Love love love them. Like, would lose 20 pounds and fly to Cali to steal them love them. The colour! The fit! The 20' legs! They are quite bold, but damn, it's spring. Be bold. Omg, so great. (Btw, so not prison pants. Prisoners don't looks so fly, and generally don't rock flares and gold military-esque buttons).

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  30. The cut of these pants reminds me of Lee Pace's outfit in The Fall. All those gold accents and flaring, I guess? (Turns away dramatically)

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  31. I love these! The colour looks quite subtle in the photos. You totally suit orange :)

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  32. These are GREAT! I loooooove them! They make your legs look miles long, and they're such a bold, awesome color! Well done!

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  33. These are fantastic! So well done. I do hope you wear them out- they're too fun to sit in the closet. Thanks for the tape and weight tips too.

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  34. I love these trousers so much - the colour, the style, the fit, the length, the button plackets and the snazzy gold buttons; oh, and the cost!! And re the welt pockets; I seem to recall you making corsets, regency dresses, and that gorgeous green dress for the LOTR party. You could do welt pockets with your eyes closed! ;)

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  35. Wow! Great job on the pants! Love the color too. Everything about them is TDF. BTW, you can tell if a fabric has lycra in it by listening to it. If you pull it hard and fast near your ear, you will hear a sound sort of like a rubber band.

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  36. Love them! How hard was the placket? I'm afraid it might be out of my skill set.

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  37. These are amazing! I'm so glad you put my pattern to good use, I love these! I DO think you might need more pairs of these, honestly....
    strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com

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  38. Lovey pants :) And such a lovely color .. kudos!!

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  39. These look amazing and you should wear them everywhere and anywhere with pride. They fit incredibly and the details are divine. I want a pair for me!

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  40. LOVE LOVE LOVE! These are a fabulous color, and the fit is spot on!

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  41. Thank you for posting this tutorial on side button pants! I was near tears and so desperate I even asked my husband to try to interpret the Burda pattern instructions! I tossed those instructions and followed yours. Thank you! Thank you! And the red pants are just amazing!

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me your thoughts! I appreciate reading them and I try to reply to most, if not all, comments, especially when they are questions. I ask that you keep your comments polite, and if you're a spammer, don't bother because your comment will just be deleted! Also, if you're commenting on a post that's more than two weeks old, it will be moderated.