March 27, 2015

SECRET PAJAMAS // WOVEN HUDSON PANTS

Well, now not so secret pajamas... And, I may or may not have forgotten to take pajamas with me this past weekend on our trip to Buellton, CA - and I may or may not have worn these as actual pajamas.

We love going up to Santa Barbara County (we have friends that live there), and a visit from my sister plus a wine drought in our home made for the perfect excuse for a weekend trip! The weather was fantastic, and the sunset was beautiful!

And these pants are awesome - and a great new way to use the Hudson pattern I love so much!

Pattern: True Bias Hudson Pants
Size: 16
Alterations: Used this tutorial to turn a pattern for knits into woven pants
Fabric: Black and white damask rayon poplin

I really love the Hudson Pant pattern from True Bias, and I've made four pairs already (including one as a gift for my mother-in-law... and she loves them, of course!). When Kelli posted her tutorial for woven track pants made from the Hudson pattern (meant for knits) - I was completely sold. Pair that with about 1 million people wearing pants just like this on our honeymoon - and these made my to-do list! As mentioned in my winter and spring wardrobe planning posts, I had every intention of making these in the winter, but never got to it. So I'm happy they're the first complete make from my spring list!


Kelli made a really excellent tutorial - and these came out perfectly, as far as fit is concerned. I did as Kelli suggests: sized up two sizes, and lengthened the pockets and legs at the ankles. I lengthened the pant legs by the suggested 4.5", but I might add another half inch or so in the future, because I could only do a very small hem (1/2"). I also left off the drawstring in the waistband and the pocket detail.


The only real fit "issue" is really minor - but it's just that the pants are now fairly tight around the calves (because they don't stretch like a knit would). This isn't an issue I would fix on a future pair (it doesn't effect me when walking or anything), but it does make it difficult to lift the bottom of your pant leg up if you, say, got stabbed by barbed wire while climbing onto a hill to watch a sunset. :D

The fabric is a viscose/rayon poplin from Fabric.com. Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics seems to carry the same line that these are from sometimes in her store... so maybe this or something similar will pop up there if you're in Canada! (She also has some super nice looking linen viscose right now that would be perfect for these!) I really love working with and wearing rayon, and this poplin is a great weight for pants. I find sometimes that rayon can get wrinkly (a major concern for pants), but this fabric is heavy enough that it doesn't seem to crease like challis can.


I also really love the pattern on this fabric - I think these could work with a t-shirt, tank top, chambray shirt or a nicer blouse like the one I'm wearing here - really easy to dress up or down! I also tried really hard to do pattern matching, but I didn't have quite enough yardage so the back was cut upside down (the only place this is really noticeable are the heart shapes in the pattern - they're upside down on the back!).


I'd really love to make more of these for spring and summer, especially because it only took a few hours to whip these up! As I also mentioned in my spring wardrobe plan, I really want to make some woven shorts from this pattern -- I'm sure those'll be so very comfortable when it heats up.
Our group: Hicham, Greg, Virginia, my sister Sarah, me and Jeremy!

If you've made knit Hudsons, have you considered making the woven version? I highly recommend it!

8 comments:

  1. They do look smashing! I'm tossing up whether to make a pair in chambray.....love yours!

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  2. These are awesome!! I want a pair now too! They look so cool and perfect for warmer temps. They look fantastic with your blouse but I love your other suggested pairings too. The print looks great and I never would have noticed the upside down heart if you didn't point it out. You always find the most beautiful spots for pictures - wow! Hope you had a good visit with your sister!

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  3. Thanks, Sarah! I think chambray would be awesome, especially some with a nice drape to it - super cute!

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  4. Thank you, Heather!!! Must make more pants!! And Jeremy has VERY high standards for photos... hahahaha the photography part is sort of his project so no compromises :D And my sister had such a good time - she didn't want to leave!

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  5. These are great! I just made a pair in rayon too & I am considering making the calves a little bigger in my next woven pair. Great idea to make some shorts out of this pattern - I think it would work really well!

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  6. Thanks Noelle!! Rayon is the best - and in pants its downright dreamy. I'm wearing these at work right now, and I feel like I'm lounging! Can't wait to make some shorts!

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  7. These look so lovely! I need to make a woven version, but I've been to lazy to print out the pattern again. :)

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  8. Thanks!! The woven version is so awesome, you should definitely do it - but it is sort of irritating to print it out + put it together again. I should've thought about it the first time I printed, and traced off the smaller/knit size :D

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