Style Arc Shelby Sweatpants

I purchased this pattern at least a year ago.  I started a pair in a fabric I hated and satisfied myself with pattern fit.  I don't know why I took so long to make a "for real" pair.  So, finally, I'm working on them.  I'm surprised I've only seen one blog post about these, and nothing on pattern review.  They seem to be trendy and comfortable.

One thing I did know about Style Arc is that some of their pattern instructions beg you to go your own way.  This particular pattern demands it for the pockets.

First of all, the bag was too small for my big hands.  Probably that was my first clue that I should have just gone ahead and redrafted, especially since I needed to draft a facing to turn in and under the edges of the window opening over the zipper.

The instructions (found separately under a tutorial on their webpage) call for you to just mark the pants front, slash as indicated, and turn under. I think that would be pretty tricky without a facing, especially since next step is to slap the zipper underneath and stitch around.  Nahhh.  THEN they wanted you to sew the bags to whatever zipper edges were leftover working around all of that fabric flapping around. That would have been enough to make me abandon project right there. If I do it again I'll draft a new pocket all in one piece, with the facing piece in the middle and insert like a coin pocket in a bag.  I had already cut out the pockets and didn't want to waste that fabric (the ghost of my frugal sewing mother telling me not to DARE)!

Had I redrafted and recut, I might have avoided this.  I was thinking, do the same to the top and the bottom. The one edge was never meant to wrap over the zipper, and when sewed to do so it meant it could never meet the edges of the other side of the bag and would become much smaller indeed if trimmed to do so.

Don't you hate it when you are sewing something thinking, man this would be a PAIN to rip out and it's really a premonition.  I bought this little ripper for quilt ripping. It's miraculous on cottons, but worked pretty well on this knit as well.  The knobby end feels like eraser rubber and grips and pulls at stitches you've busted with the pointy end.  A plain eraser will work as well, but this is just kind of handy attached.  I think the point on this one is just a tad slimmer than my standard seam ripper too.

So, I've just got waistband and cuffs to finish these.  I didn't like the ribbing available at my closest Joanne's, 50 miles away, and I'm a little leery of trying to get the right match online, so I'm using self fabric for cuffs and band.  I hope to make another trip to NYC's garment district this spring and will stock up on some in basic black and white in different weights and widths.

much better, much less trimming needed.

AND I learned how to knit a pair of socks!!  The toes are only different shapes when toes are not in them.  I'm pretty pleased with these.