Joggers for Her – Simplicity 8268

The upside of a unisex pattern is the twofer deal: one for him and one for me. The major upside of fitting into the same size as your husband is using his muslin as your finished piece.

For the non-sewist, a muslin is a “practice” piece made to ensure fit. Sometimes it’s actually made out of muslin fabric, which is a lightweight cotton weave. This time though I made the muslin out of outrageous red fleece with massive sugar skulls all over it. I scored it at Michael Levine on sale for a ridiculous low price, so even if it didn’t work out, it didn’t cost much. Also, bright red fleece! Yay for sticking to the #sigcotm plans!

But it DID work out and I’m totally thrilled. Now I have circus pants!

I have been suffering from an uncharacteristic sensitivity to cold. Usually I LOVE the cold weather (and by cold, I mean LA cold, so about 62 degrees Fahrenheit—or 16 Celsius—and something we don’t get to experience for very long) but lately I’ve been shivering ALL THE TIME. It hasn’t even been that cold (it’s 80 degrees today…), but we live near the ocean so the nighttime temps can drop a long distance from the daytime highs and that change has made my body nutso.

For example, I’ll stand in the sun and be warm and happy but step into the shade and immediately start shivering. Is this what happens when you lose weight??? It’s bizarre AF, but a perfect excuse to make me some fleece pants.

Oh, did I mention: I MADE PANTS!!

So what that they’re super stretchy pants without a lot of fitting issues to present anyway, who gives a shit? They’re PANTS, which means I’ve actually overcome a sewing fear. That’s a big deal for me. AND I got to use my serger again, and NOT fuck things up, so another huge win!

I have the same complaint about them as Ryan did: the pockets are huge. I have an iPhone 8 Plus, which is humongous, and it still has more than enough room for some friends in there. The issue is exacerbated by the thick fleece–which, incidentally, broke FOUR serger needles. Gotta move VERY slowly over those thick seams.

Anyway, with the thick pockets I have some extra fluff at the hips, but these pants are so obnoxious there’s little chance I’m going to wear them outside of the house, so I’m back to the question of who gives a shit? Not me! Circus house pants!

Thankfully I had juuuuuust enough extra ribbing to make my waistband and cuffs from the same fabric I used for Ryan’s. I was short about 5/8″ on the cuffs, but the fabric is stretchy enough to fit. Plus I have really skinny ankles for my shape, lucky me?

I love the pompoms on my slippers.

If I were going to make these for myself again, I would bring the front crotch in a tad. Since I’m packing significantly less than a man in the crotchal region, I don’t need the bit of extra fabric there.

This one seems like it’s going to become a TNT, though. My husband loves his and when I posted them on Instagram, my brother immediately asked for a pair. He’s over 6 feet tall while Ryan is just under, so there will definitely be some added length. And those super baggy Target sweats Ryan has been wearing? This pattern is going to be used as the template to narrow those legs.

I love me a workhorse pattern! And also outrageous sugar skull fleece!

This is my entry for #curvyyearofsewing for Jan-Feb (cuz pants!)

Pattern Recap:
Pattern: Simplicity 8268 Unisex Joggers for Adults
Size: Medium
Modifications: widened waistband by 2″ for more comfortable fit, omitted faux tie in front
Notes for next time: make pockets narrower, shorten front crotch