Colette Juniper Trousers!

I'm back.  I've been sewing some and crafting some, but just not blogging.  Sorry :-/

I busted my butt this morning and into the afternoon to finish this pair of pants to enter into the Pattern Review Pants Contest.  I started them because of the contest and of course waited until the last possible moment to finish them.  

 Here's my official Pattern Review:

Pattern Description:  Classic wide-leg trousers, perfectly fitted through the hips and falling gently to a moderately wide hem. Has front slash pockets and fly front. Pattern Sizing: 0-18. I made a 4 with lots of fit modifications. Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes! It did! Were the instructions easy to follow? I thought they were pretty easy to follow. I sewed the pocket in a different order than the instructions called out, which made more sense to me. I thought the instructions were a little too wordy. They are too conversational and could be easily simplified and still make sense. What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I really like the style of these pants. Something I always want to buy, but have a hard time finding in stores. The fit was not great for my body type. I do not have hips so I had to make some modifications. That was a little annoying because being an indie pattern (not a Big 4) I was hoping the body measurements listed on the back of the pattern would be more accurate. I measure 27.5" at natural waist, and 36.75" at hip and I had to take in this pattern a lot! See below. I also did not like that there wasn't a top pocket facing. I ended up adding one. Fabric Used: A vintage med. weight denim I bought at a church sale for a few dollars years ago and a vintage floral sheet for the pocketing I got for free when I first started to sew. Yay for stashbusting! Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Okay...here we go... Like I said above I made a size 4. I was a big-ol-idiot and thought that I would make the pants straight from the envelope and not have to make fit adjustments. I even overlocked and topstitched the sides and back rise before checking fit. Derrrr. So I had to unpick a lot and make as many adjustments as I could without recutting and redoing the entire pant. I ended up taking in the side seams from about low hip to waistseam 1/4" (1" total circumference). i also took in the CB seam 1/4" (1/2" total). Of course then my facings were the wrong size! My seam allowances for the CB facing pieces ended up being about 1 3/8" and I left my front facing pieces seam allowance 5/8." This was my quick and dirty fix. I hate recutting pieces. Also, I drafted a little top pocket facing because it is one if my pet peeves to see pocketing fabric exposed inside the pocket. I still need to address a little bit of "hungry butt" but overall, the fit is pretty good for my first real pair of pants. Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I might make this again, but I would have to transfer all my fit changes to the pattern and I'm not up for that right now. Plus there are so many other patterns I want to try. Conclusion:  Overall, its a pretty good pattern, just not great for the hipless.

 Here are a few detail shots of the pocket and the trouser closure.

 If you made it down this far, VOTE FOR ME :)