Checked Anima Pants

These trousers are my latest favourite make and possibly even my favourite make ever! Everything about them is exactly what I envisioned. My love of the Anima Pants sewing pattern by Papercut Patterns is by no means about to end soon. After a traditional pair of jogging trousers and a blue jersey pair I really wanted to make the pattern out of a non-knit fabric. I really like the current trend of jogging trousers made from non-traditional fabrics such as denim (or in my case some kind of wool blend) and I love the feeling of a make turning out just the way I hoped it would!

I think it's the combination of the fabric and pattern that has made these trousers so successful. I already knew the pattern to be a winner and I have wanted a pair of large-checked trousers for such a long time but the fabric proved impossible to find. I was so delighted to find this one! It was avaliable in black too which was intitially the colour I was looking for but decided that I actually liked the navy  more. As I mentioned this fabric is almost wool-like, although much thinner than an actual wool. It has a very slight stretch to it and the wrong side is really lovely and soft. I've just about mastered the waistband by now but it is still very time consuming and requires a surprising amount of strength to sew!

The only issue with checks is that they are a nightmare to pattern match! I wasn't too worried about perfect pattern matching but I was careful when cutting out the front pieces, especially the pockets. I thought the crotch would really annoy me as the angle of the folded fly meant it was impossible to pattern match, but I've realised that I don't actually notice it when I wear them and even when I do notice it I'm not really too bothered about it. Having said that I am really pleased with the pockets!

These trousers are hands down my new favourites. They're smarter than jersey joggers but super comfy thanks to the elastic waist and have been perfect for wearing to sixth form. For the tie, I chose a white cord and I'm really pleased with how that looks. I really wasn't happy with the tape I used on my other joggers and have since replaced the tape on my grey ones to the same cord as these. I tied a knot at the end and then left the ends in pva glue overnight which worked perfectly: they don't unravel at all and the glue is completely transparent when dry.