I’ve liked the look of the GreenStyle Warrior Pants ever since the pattern released. But I don’t often wear pants, so I didn’t buy the pattern right away. The idea of making them into shorts/culottes opened up some possibilities. As did the available length of yardage in my stash! 🙂 Originally I considered making them in capri length, but there was no way the pattern would fit onto my available fabric. So I folded up my pattern 6″ above the capri cut line, and decided to make them into shorts!
The pattern recommends lightweight stretch knit, so I knew that Phee Fabrics Rayon Spandex would give me the beautiful drape that is the hallmark of these pants. The pattern has an integrated pocket design that is vital to the construction of the pants. Since I love having pockets on everything, I was curious about the unique pocket technique. It can seem a little confusing, but if you follow the pattern tutorial, you’ll be fine.
When pinning the pocket overlap, the tutorial suggests draping the pants over your ironing board to help keep everything flat and smooth. My quilting ruler is a generous 8-1/2″ x 24″, so it was easier for me to slide my ruler inside the pants and not worry about accidentally pinning my pants to my ironing board cover!
I also employed a trick I first used while making the Sunday Cardigan, previously blogged here, and here. Since I don’t have a serger, rather than “neatening the side edges” by serging or zig zagging, I cut out 3/8″ wide strips of lightweight interfacing using my rotary cutter and clear ruler. Pressing these strips along the edges made it super easy to turn the edges under and topstitch later in the construction process.
Since fuller or flowy pants and skirts look best with a fitted top, I wanted to avoid any possibility of a “muffin top” that you sometimes see when using elastic in a waistband. Using a layer of techsheen (a more powerful version of powernet) worked perfectly! Simply baste powernet or techsheen to the wrong side of the inner waistband, and treat it as one layer while following pattern instructions. It will end up sandwiched between your inner and out waistband, and give your tummy a nice smoothing effect.
I’m happy with my Warrior Pants (turned shorts or culottes, or whatever you want to call them!) and think that they work well with the Staple Tank.
Of course I had to twirl around in them because that’s what you do when wearing comfortable flowy bottoms! I love that you can make the slit as high or low as you want. I haven’t tried tying the bottom in a knot, but I think that might be a cute variation.
These will be easy to throw on over a swimsuit when going to the beach, and are super comfortable for lounging or running errands. They are a bit dressier than regular shorts, so they’d be appropriate when you want to be comfortable but need something a little bit more “put together” looking. They are a fun addition to your wardrobe, and can easily transition into autumn and early winter, depending upon the length, and the fabric you choose. The new Phee Fabrics Ribbed Knit, French Terry, and even Supplex would be fun fabrics to try.
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