In case you forgot, I still really love making pants.
I’ve had to slow my roll a bit lately because I ended up with waaaay more pairs of pants that I can seriously, feasibly wear during the course of winter (I never wear pants in the summer – unless I’m on an airplane or in a movie theater, where it’s always fucking freezing – and I’m really impressed with people who can manage it. Too damn hot!), and I sorely missed sewing them. I can get a little bit of a fix when I run a Jeans Workshop, but it’s not the saaaaaame, you know?
Anyway, it appears I’ve gone up a size this year, so a lot of my old clothes don’t fit right. So, lucky me – I get to make new ones! Starting with pants, because, again, first love.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a die hard when it comes to super tight, stretchy pants. I have loved that style ever since I first discovered it as a teenager (back when I learned how to use the sewing machine because I couldn’t find pants in that skinny cut – everything was flared at the time), and stuck with it over the decades. But I like branching out and trying new looks from time to time, such as this boyfriend jeans trend. The biggest upside to this look is that you don’t have to worry about stretch percentage when shopping for fabric – which is awesome and opens a whole WORLD of possibilities! Any fabric can be pants fabric if you put your mind to it!
This is my second go at the Morgan Boyfriend Jeans pattern from Closet Case Patterns (you can see my first pair, made of cotton twill, in this blog post). I re-traced the pattern to a size 4, since the size 2 I originally made was too small. These were still on the snug side when I first put them on, but thankfully the fabric has relaxed and I think the fit looks pretty good now.
The fabric! I actually used linen to make these – a beautiful marled gray-and-white bottomweight 100% linen that I picked up at my local fabric shop, Textile Fabrics, during one of their big sales. This was a huge remnant – I think I paid $20 for 3 yards. This fabric is usually around $20 for a single yard, so I definitely got a good price on this piece! It was pretty stiff when I first took it home, but after several washings it is thankfully starting to soften up. The fabric is not very thick – it’s more of a medium weight than a heavy weight – but it’s not see through, and it has enough of a heft that it doesn’t really wrinkle very much. In these photos, I have been wearing these pants for about 2 months – washed, machine dried and unironed. I’m really happy with the quality of this fabric, it’s really the perfect weight and thickness for a good pair of pants!
I also made my shirt, by the way! The pattern is the Sway Dress from Papercut Patterns, shortened to shirt length and sewn with a very lightweight raw silk that I bought in Egypt. I was 100% influenced by the Marlena Tank and wanted to make something similar. Mine is a lot more flared than the original inspiration- which is perfect in this drapey silk (seriously, I’ve never seen a raw silk this thin and drapey and omg I love it so much). I changed the construction of the top to mimic that of the Elizabeth Suzann – swapped out the facings for topstitched bias facings, and used French seams. I’ve probably sewn a thousand of those Marlena tanks, no lie, so putting this one together was like second nature (but not as fun on a non-industrial machine, ha!).
Anyway, back to my pants!
I had a lot of fun planning and sewing these! The black buttons are also from Textile Fabrics (and they were stupid expensive because they were ~imported from Italy~ ugh I mean come on), and the pocket lining is some black linen I had in my stash. I used black thread with a triple stitch for the topstitching, and thread bartacks in place of rivets. Rather than flat fell the seams, they are just serged and topstitched.
The back is my favorite part! I topstitched the pockets with some fun little swirlies, which I then mimicked on the leather waistband patch. It looks very designer to me. I’m a designer, you guys.
That’s all for this one! I will admit, I didn’t get to wear these as much as I had anticipated because it’s been soooo hot here, but they’ve finally had their place in the spotlight these past couple of weeks. I have the hems rolled up in these pictures, but I’ve been wearing them full length lately. They are hemmed slightly long; I wanted to make sure they were washed enough to get the shrink out before I hemmed them to the proper length. Seeing as I’ve washed and dried them probably a dozen times since finishing them, I should probably go ahead and re-hem. Maybe. Ha!
One last thing, I have ONE MORE jeans workshop for 2017, and it’s coming soooon!! I’ll be going back to Brooklyn to teach the Jeans Making Intensive in November and I can’t wait!
LLADYBIRD 
These Morgans are awesome in linen! Loving this look, Lauren!
Thank you!!
Washed, machine-dried, unironed? Linen?? This fabric is absolutely gorgeous and so are the pants. And the top in that silk…..sigh. I’m grabbing pen and paper and going back to reread your post and make some notes!
Yes!!! I have found with linen, the higher quality and heavier the fabric, the less likely it is wrinkle with wear. Which is GREAT for pants since they can look really bad with wrinkles, and you also don’t want to have to baby them so much they never get worn.
Is there a way linen is “coded” other than just saying it’s a heavy linen. Like, is there another term that’s used? I really want to find me some of this higher quality/heavier linen fabric! Love it!
I have no idea, I would say maybe look for something marked as a bottom weight? I don’t buy very much fabric online (unless I can get a swatch first), I prefer to get it in person so I can feel it before I make my commitment.
Love it! I’ve turned the Morgan into dungarees and made them in black linen, and they almost became a uniform during our rainy summer!
That’s a great idea!
Those are awesome, I’m definitely copying you! I’ve had the Morgan pattern for ages, but I was finding it hard to imagine wearing them in a heavy fabric like denim. Linen would be perfect though!
I really want to try them in denim, but I keep getting distracted by all the other fabric options haha! Linen is pretty great, though!
These are so nice! Linen boyfriend jeans seem just perfect.
They are definitely perfect! I love them!
Love them. Feel like I might want to make a tribute pair next summer (plenty cold enough to wear linen trousers all summer in the UK!) x
Do it!!!
Hello, designer! Cool pants! I have something to ask you… you say those seams are not flat felled (is my English right here?)… but you probably know how to manage this problem if you do self-encased or flat felled seams. I always stumble on this when making pants: in the front crotch area, you flat fell the seam until the zip opening, which opens towards both sides. How do we transition from the self-enclosed seam to the opening of the seam allowances whick mak the zip??? We need a tutorial on jeans crotch and zip!!
Oh, I don’t sew my pants that way. I flat-fell the back crotch seam, but the short seam between front crotch and fly just gets serged and topstitched. I know there is way to do it – there are instructions in the Jamie Jeans pattern from Named – but it’s fiddly and the mock flat fell works just as well.
Those pants (jeans) are sweet! And yes, you are a designer. A dang good one. 🙂
Ha! Thank you 🙂
If there was ever a perfect fit for jeans, this pair is it! love, love, love. The top is so beautiful…oh the fabric…
Thank you so much! I gotta say, this fabric is pretty much perfect!
What an inspiration for a heavier weight linen! I have a couple of jeans patterns (including Ginger of course) but I much prefer linen to denim in a pant. Love your pants and that top is perfect with them – I bet that’s a DREAM against your skin 🙂
It has been my favorite thing to wear this summer! I’ve always liked raw silk ok, but this particular piece is even better than what I’ve had in the past! I wish I’d bought more of it when I had the chance haha
Hi Lauren, these look great and the fabric is lovely. I have just finished a pair of Morgan’s in corduroy, but I am not super keen on them. I have only been wearing them today so I should give them more of a chance!
Oh, I love the idea of them in corduroy! I hope that you end up falling i love with them with a bit more wear because they sound great!
Gorgeous pants Lauren! Your topstitching is so straight and clean. 😊
Thank you so much! 🙂
Love the pants and the top. I love linen but it drives me crazy as I iron everything and it always looks crumpled. Your pants look amazing if they’ve never been ironed that linen is great! Love the pocket details. You still look tiny, and the perfect ‘clothes horse’. Congratulations on a great make.
Yeah, I hate the wrinkles in linen (I know it’s part of the charm, but it drives me nuuuuuts haha), so pleased to find one that doesn’t crumple in the first few minutes of wear. Even if they do get a little wrinkled post-dryer (or from being folded in the drawer), the wrinkles fall right out pretty quickly. I love these!
Love these pants. They look so cool and comfortable.
They definitely are! 😀 Thank you!
Love them! I really need to get in to making trousers… because I can never find RTW ones that fit my small waist and huge thighs. Thinking of starting out with something where the fit/stretch isn’t so crucial, to ease myself in ☺️
Lauren, you look lovely! I must say the tiny bit one size up looks fantastic on you, my dear! Of course the pants are excellent! Linen and silk are my two favorite fabrics. Well Done!
but you probably know how to manage this problem if you do self-encased or flat felled seams. I always stumble on this when making pants: in the front crotch area, you flat fell the seam until the zip opening, which opens towards both sides.http://www.bci.edu.bd/
I have a couple of jeans patterns (including Ginger of course) but I much prefer linen to denim in a pant..Love the pants and the top. I love linen but it drives me crazy as I iron everything and it always looks crumpled. Your pants look amazing if they’ve never been ironed that linen is great.http://www.buyinghousewall.com/