Black Papercut Patterns Anima Pants

 

I'm so excited to talk about my latest make, it was one of those sewing projects where everything came together perfectly and I'm so happy with the finished result! I am a massive fan of the Papercut Patterns Anima Pants sewing pattern. It was one of those patterns that, when I bought it, I had no idea I'd get so much use out of. Somehow it filled a gap in my wardrobe for jogging bottoms that I never knew I had and I've ended up making six versions! Six! Not only that but my original grey Anima Pants as well as these checked ones have been some of my most worn makes of all time.

My handmade joggers really came into their own during lockdown when they were pretty much all I wore. I actually made this pair specifically to wear in lockdown out of a pair of men's pyjama trousers. Wearing them so much made me realise that a) this is a pattern that fits me perfectly and that I love the style of and b) I would definitely wear another pair of Anima Pants if I made them. I really wanted to make myself a classic black pair of joggers that I could easily throw on and would go with everything.

Finding good quality jersey fabric can be quite tricky. There are lots of knit fabrics out there but I hate anything that feels synthetic. Also, with black it's so frustrating when the fabric isn't completely opaque. I managed to find the perfect black fabric for my joggers at Bobbins and Buttons. They have a fab jersey range and for a minute I was tempted to go for pale blue but managed to stick to black which I know I'll wear all the time! The fabric I used for these joggers was a black French terry fabric which was lovely to sew with and is the perfect weight for a pair of trousers like these. I've actually made this pattern in a variety of jersey fabrics ranging from more heavyweight to more drapey ones and all work well, but French terry is a great balance between heavy and lightweight.

I made a couple of changes to the pattern, only small things but they've really helped change the feel of the joggers. One thing I really like about the Anima Pants pattern is that depending on the fabric and details they can look dressier or more casual. For this pair I wanted a classic pair of black joggers, so kept the design simple and casual. The first thing I changed was to omit the drawstrings at the waist and just have the rows of stitching. I like the drawstring on my other pairs but it's more of a decorative feature than a useful addition so it wasn't a problem leaving it off. I copied this from a RTW pair of joggers that I saw and love the effect.

My favourite addition to these joggers is the cuffs! Again, this is something that I've seen on RTW joggers and wanted to copy. With all the other pairs of Anima Pants I've made I chose to simply turn up the end for the cuff, but on this pair I added elastic and sewed a few rows of stitching to mimic the waistband. I love how the stitching looks in the black and it's nice to finish these off a bit differently. I was a bit worried that the proportions would be wrong as the pattern isn't designed to have this finish but it was really easy to do and worked so well.

I love how all the details look together. My favourite feature of the pattern is the faux-fly, not something commonly found on joggers but I think it really makes the pattern more special. The fabric worked really well when it came to adding in the elastic which means that they hang perfectly.

As a final touch, I added a Kylie and the Machine 'You can't buy this' label to the side seam. The label sums up the best thing about sewing to me and I really like how subtle it is. At the same time, it isn't hidden inside out of sight like most labels. Because it's black with silver writing I particularly like adding them to all-black makes like these joggers.

These joggers are going to be worn so much and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I like the details a lot, especially the elasticated cuffs. They're also so comfy to wear! It just goes to show that jersey is the best fabric to make things out of.