I actually called these pants the sewing project from hell!  But now that they’re finished let’s call them the Ponte suede pants sewing challenge.  (still from hell.)

Ponte Suede Pants

the Fabric:

On sale at Fabricland, the hand of this fabric won me over.  It felt like ultasuede on the outside, and like ponte on the inside. The blue colour is my favourite, and the subtle diagonal large plaid print made it interesting to look at.  The inside is plain solid black. And I had already chosen a heavily textured blue knit, and this matched it perfectly.

the Pattern:

I used Jalie’s Renee Ponte pant pattern.  Jalie describes it as “High-waist (at navel), pull-on cigarette pants with concealed elastic at the waist and darts at the back”,  “Inset detailing at the hip where you can use contrast fabric as a design element.”. For me, it’s a TnT, tried and true.  I made my minor alterations to the pattern after I’d traced it.  My adjustments include a flat seat and adding length.  On a good day, I can cut a pair of these out and wear them less than 2 hours later, unless I add a pocket, then it’s 3 hours. 

It was NOT a good day.

The Ponte Suede Pants Sewing Challenge(s)

The fabric looks great and feels great.  That’s a good thing.  Working with it was not a good thing. Pressing left it shiny, so a press cloth was needed.  That’s ok, I keep one hanging on my ironing board.   It did not hold a pressing well.  Thank goodness for “Wonder Tape”.  The suede side clung to the bed of my sewing machine and serger, also to the bottom of the presser feet, resulting in uneven stitch length.  I used “self-fabric” for my welt pocket, duh, big mistake.  I stuck with it, but it’s not my best, but I wear my tops over anyway.

Then I tried them on.

I had used the wrong pattern pieces.  The original tracing before adding length.

They were too short.  Like way too short.  And, I’d already hemmed them.  

So I added a cuff with a slit at the outer ankle. The fabric wouldn’t hold a press, so it was ugly.  I have no pictures, just trust me.  Ugly.  Off they came.  Rrrrrrrrrip.

A “Lightbulb Moment”

Then I decided to add a design feature.  The hip area has a wedge shaped inset, why not add a similar shape to the hem?  It worked.  It took me all afternoon, but the results are amazing.  I drew diagonal cutting lines on the front and back pattern pieces, added seam allowance, and cut.  After serging the pieces on, I used a wide cover-stitch to top-stitch each seam, just as I had on the hip insets. (I used the reverse of the fabric at the hip, but not at the hems.)

A few pieces of Wonder Tape basted the side seams where the insets came together, then serged.  Finally, the hems.

I’m quite happy with the results.  I was really close to tossing the entire project.  Really close.  I’m glad I didn’t.

I’ll put up a post showing the top with these pants in the next few days so you can see how they look on.