pattern: Megan Nielsen’s Flint Pants
fabric: cotton silk from The Fabric Store in Los Angeles
I’ve known about Megan Nielsen’s patterns for a while, but the only one I had in my pattern stash was the Cascade Skirt, which I accidentally didn’t get enough fabric for when I tried to make it years ago, so I had to cut the pieces out incorrectly and piece them together in an attempt to save the project- it was wonky but it might have worked if I hadn’t tried to use a rolling hem foot (which I had never used before) on very my lightweight fabric. The hem was a disaster and I’m still unsure why- maybe the wrong fabric coupled with inexperience with a foot that requires a bit more precision than usual? Whatever the reason, by this time in the skirt making process I was completely fed up- the fabric had been gnawed, puckered and split in so many places at the hem that it looked beyond saving, so I threw it out, saving as many pieces of the fabric as I could and moved on to something else. None of this of course had to do with the pattern itself but I felt so disappointed in the project that I kind of just tuned out anything that reminded me of it.
Thankfully enough time has passed and my sewing ego has recuperated enough to recognize that the failure was all mine and my heart is open once again to Megan’s beautiful designs, which I must admit, are much more eye-catching than ever with her recent pattern and website rebranding. Amazing what a huge effect that has on the consumer! So now I am digging through her archives to see what other designs I might have skimmed over or dismissed in the past (and for the record, I have every intention of giving the Cascade Skirt another try as soon as I find the right fabric for it).
When Megan announced the Flint Pants pattern on instagram, I thought fate must be intervening because I had only a few days before drawn out a bunch of pattern silhouettes and designs for projects on my Sewing TO-DO list. A had a fancy wide legged trouser pattern drawn out in addition to another culotte-ish wide leg pant that I intended to wear more casually.
I had an idea of the pattern that I wanted for the culottes but I wasn’t quite sold on it- it was a random pattern that I bought at a Big 4 Sale and it was cute enough but I wasn’t sure if that was the look I actually wanted or if it was just the pattern I had (common sewist’s dilemma, I’m sure). So when Flint came into my line of vision and I was immediately hooked on the sleek look of the fit coupled with the casual feeling of the pants, I figured I should abandon my earlier instinct and go with my gut. And I am so glad that I did!
It’s funny to talk about how I was drawn to this pattern because of the casual feeling it embodies when I sewed mine up in such a non-casual fabric. But I was in LOVE with this fabric when I first saw it at The Fabric Store and I wanted to sew something up in it right away. Once I made the pants and discovered how much I loved the fit of the pattern, I knew I would be making them up again in the future so I didn’t feel bad that my first version came out a little fancier than intended. The fabric is an extraordinary cotton silk which has a crisp hand and a very soft sheen (softer than what shows up in these photos). It feels silky and soft to the touch but not as precious as say, a charmeuse- it feels wearable without feeling dressed down. The colors are what put it over the edge into heart-eyes-emoji territory though; this is a blue that I don’t see a lot. I don’t know how to describe it, but it has a slight darkness to it, a tiny bit of midnight blue and gray mixed together (this is actually my favorite color for a house and when we get ours repainted I will have to work long and hard to convince Claire to let us go in this direction). Anyways, I don’t have a lot of blue in my wardrobe because it’s not a color that I am drawn to very often, but this pretty shade coupled with that pop of pink in the flowers? SWOON!
Again, these pants came out more fancy than I intended, and I am really in love with that bleached denim pair on the pattern envelope so I have a feeling those might be next for me, although the closer it gets to summer the more insufferable wearing pants will be in this city, so I might have to compromise and make shorts for my next version of this pattern. I’m sticking to the soft, bleached denim look, though- if I can find it!
As a make, these pants were incredibly fast and easy to sew up and the instructions were excellent and left me with only one head-scratching moment (which I pretty quickly figured out, as it came from a minor adjustment I had made). I was so excited to make these pants that I totally forgot to tissue fit them before I cut my fabric out, so I felt nervous about what the fit would be like as I began to sew them. The sizing for this pattern is XS-XL which, in my experience in pretty rare for a non-knit sewing pattern, but all my measurements fit perfectly into the S category which meant no grading for me. I baste fit the pants together, tried them on, and, miracle of miracles!, they fit really well! I needed to take the waist seams in about 3/8″ or so on either side but everything else was perfect- the crotch depth, the release tucks in the front and the darts on the back. I forgot to apply the changes from the waist of my pants to the actual waistband so when I went to pin that pattern piece to the pants it was too long (hence the head-scratching), but the fix was easy, I just had to chop off a bit of the length at the front edge of the waistband and move my button and button hole marks to match. And I was thrilled to see a pants pattern with diagonal pockets that didn’t gape out on me! As discussed in my last post, I have issues with these types of pockets if the pants are super fitted, but this design has a very loose fit through the hips and thighs and my pockets have stayed in place quite nicely, even without twill tape stabilizing the seam.
I love everything about this pattern- the loose fit that makes it look like you’re wearing a skirt if you stand still with your legs together, the button and tie closure at the side, the smart use of pockets (for the record the pocket at the tie closure side isn’t really useful for putting anything other than your hand in because it opens to the inside of the pants, which is how you get in and out of them, but the pocket on the other side is perfect for putting things into). As I said, I am really excited to make this pattern again. As I said, I should make the shorts next, but I am dying to try the pants in a softer fabric with a slightly shorter hem and with a slightly narrower leg. This make was much quicker than I anticipated and is easy to complete in a day of sewing, even with my french seaming, which has become my go-to finish for pretty much every woven project I tackle. I just love how neat, clean and professional the insides look when I step into a garment that has all those pretty closed seams on the inside.
I highly recommend this new Megan Nielsen pattern, and I am excited to add a few more versions of it to my closet which, by the way, is completely stocked up on sundresses and cute skirts, while the lightweight pants/shorts category has been severely lacking…but thankfully not for long!
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