Women's Aviator Pants by Winter Wear Designs
/There are times when you become friends with people in the sewing world and they do amazing things. You get to see them grow and flourish and make a mark on the world and see others finally find out how fabulously talented people really are. You kind of get that Buddy the Elf/fan girl thing happen when they release a new pattern and you say, "I KNOW HER!!!!!!!!!" And that, my friends, is exactly what has happened with our dear friend, Suzanne Winter. She is a budding pattern designer with insane amounts of talent and we are SO privileged to be a part of her World Wide Tour, which premiers her Winter Wear Designs Women's Aviator Pants.
After you read this amazing review, make sure you head to Suzanne's Etsy shop and take 15% off any pattern (excludes bundles) until 10/26 with code: AVIATORTOUR. You can also grab both Aviator patterns for a discount of over 30% in the bundle listing! Additionally, post anything you have made from Winter Wear Designs in the Facebook PDF Sales Group with #AviatorTour and one winner will be selected at the end of the week to win 2 patterns of their choice from WWD (selection can be made over the next 12 months - and there are some seriously cool designs in the works!)
I'll let Nichole show you her hot mama, self-care sewing and take it from here!
Hey everyone!! I'm Nichole, and so happy to be able to participate on behalf of Pattern Revolution in this blog tour.
The Women's Aviator Pants by Winter Wear Designs have been on my radar since I saw them in testing. Sweatpant chic is how I am referring to them..and they are awesome. They can totally be dressed up or worn casually. And they just so happen to pair pretty awesomely with a favorite pair of open toe ankle boots I have, that's always a plus.
I used one of my favorite knits from JoAnn, it washes so well and has a wonderful drape while still being a nice heavy knit. You can find that online, or if you are like me and live in JoAnn...then you are probably familiar with it already. The great thing about it is that it's reversible, so I was able to use all one fabric for the pants, including contrasting pieces. For my waistband and cuffs, I used regular rib knit.
The pattern is pretty stellar as is, but I decided to leave off the cargo pockets. Partly because I'm lazy, but mostly because I just didn't want any outer pockets on this pair. I plan to put them on my next pair, which is going to be some sweet camo.
I also chose to put zipper pockets in place of the welt back pockets. Just a little extra something, and zippers are fun ya'll. Say it with me...ZIPPERS ARE FUN!
It was an easy modification from the welt pocket to the zipper. I came across a tutorial, back in my bag making days for a zipper pocket, that is the bomb. And I've never strayed from it. You can easily go check out that zipper pocket tutorial, because it's wonderful. But I'll also leave you with some quick guidelines and pictures.
You will need two 7" zippers and 4 pieces of interfacing, measuring the width of your pocket lining by 3 inches. (see pattern for width)
Cut 4 lining pieces, whatever the width for your size indicates, by 8" length (for example mine was 7.5"W x 8"L)
Iron your interfacing onto the top 3" of the wrong side of each pocket lining.
Place your markings for the welt pockets on the RIGHT side of your back pant pieces.
Cut your zipper down, so your zipper opening will measure 5.75" (PIC 1)
Mark a rectangle centered on the interfacing (wrong side) as wide as the length of your zipper teeth, 5.75 x 3/4" high. Mark a line down the center of the rectangle, with a triangle at each end. (PIC 2)
Center your rectangle down onto the welt marking on your pants and pin in place. (PIC 3)
You will now be sewing along the outer rectangle. Once sewn on, cut along the center line, and triangle lines. Don't cut through your stitching. (PIC 4)
Pull the pocket lining through the hole you just cut, all the way. (PIC 5)
You will now have your lining on the wrong side of your pant leg, wrong sides facing. Press flat. (PIC 6)
Carefully place your zipper in your newly created zipper hole and pin in place. (PIC 7)
Using a zipper foot, sew around the rectangle completely. (PIC 8)
Now, you will take your other lining piece and pin it to your lining that is already sewed on, right sides facing. (PIC 9)
Sew all the way around the entire pocket lining, being careful not to catch your pant leg anywhere. (speaking from experience maybe??) Serge or finish the edge with pinking shears.
Admire your amazing zipper pocket!! (PIC 10)
Repeat with the other leg!
And that is all the modifying I did for these! Like I said before, check out the downloadable tutorial I linked above for more precise instructions for installing the zipper.
I love how my pants turned out, I'm so glad I decided to do the contrasting triangles as well! Such a wonderful pattern! Thank you to Suzanne and Pattern Revolution for letting me be a part of this blog hop! Go enjoy some self care sewing now and make these pants for yourself! :)
