Burgundy Papercut Patterns Anima Pants

Today I present the ultimate lockdown sewing project: joggers! Joggers are pretty much all I've worn since the lockdown started, they're the perfect balance between comfort and something that isn't pyjamas. Luckily, I've already made a few pairs and both my grey and my checked Anima Pants have been on contstant repeat. It got to the point where I needed another pair of joggers (and to be honest I could do with yet another!) and I've worn these ones so much since I made them.

I've made the Papercut Patterns Anima Pants so many times now and I still love the pattern, I'm sure I'll be using it again. The main difference between these joggers and my other pairs is that I wanted to be able to wear the others on a day to day basis (I wear my checked ones to school) whereas I made my latest pair with staying at home in mind. This meant that I was able to make them out of a thinner jersey that I probably wouldn't wear out as they look more pyjama-like than joggers made out of thicker fabric. However, I did leave off the cuff and roll the bottom up instead meaning that they look a little bit smarter if I do want to wear them out of the house.

There's another cool twist to these - they're upcycled! So perfect because because I can't go out and buy any fabric at the moment and it's rare to have a piece of fabric lying around that's large enough to make a pair of joggers out of. These joggers actually began their life as a pair of men's pyjama trousers. You may remember my grey ruched front top which I upcycled out of a men's pyjama top; these are the trousers that came with the top. They were actually pyjamas that my dad was given on a long distance flight, he never wore them and gave them to me and I'm really pleased to have actually used both garments to make something out of. The trousers were way too big for me but the change into a pair my size was really easy. I just cut along all of the seams and then lay my pattern pieces on top of each piece of fabric and cut around. This did mean that these trousers are a little bit different to the original pattern though because I didn't have any spare fabric to make pockets. 

The strangest thing about the design of the pyjama trousers is that they had one pocket in the right side seam. Why only one pocket?! I managed to keep the pocket in the side seam so I can use it but I really miss the pockets that I have on my other joggers. It's not a bad sacrifice to make though given that I got a free pair of joggers! The other notable difference is that the waistband on the trousers was much narrower than the width of elastic that the Anima Pants call for. I cut off the waistband and took it in before re-attaching it onto my trousers so it fits, it's just that the joggers are a little bit lower waisted than I would have liked. My favourite detail of this pattern is by far the faux fly, and with a bit of determination (you can't see this but I wasn't able to fold the fabric over as far back as it's meant to go so it's basically just topstitching) I was able to include it on these joggers.

I would probably never have made a pair of burgundy joggers if I hadn't been given those pyjama bottoms, and if it weren't for lockdown the pyjama bottoms would probably still be intact waiting to someday be turned into something else. It's not a colour I would usually choose but they have been so perfect for umm... doing nothing in!