I really loved the first pair of Persephone pants I made, despite them being too small. I knew I had to give the pattern another go and attempt to get the sizing right.
Before I get into fit notes, I want to talk about fabric choice. This pattern is meant for non-stretch bottom weight fabrics. Fabrics called bottom weights are meant for skirts and pants, jackets, coats), so these fabrics tend to be sturdy and durable and able to stand up to harder wear.
Some examples of bottom weight fabrics are: bull denim, rigid denim, canvas, and twill. The weight of these fabrics tends to be anything around 8oz or higher. They tend to have less drape than lighter fabrics as well.
Even though all of the above fabrics are bottom weight non-stretch fabrics, each will have its own characteristics and fit a little differently. I talked about this in my stories on instagram, but the reason that I generally skip making toiles is because all fabrics behave differently when sewn up. I think the only toile that will tell you exactly what you need to know, is a toile made in exactly the same fabric as your final garment.
I made the first pair of persephone pants in a size down from what I should have given the size chart. I did this because the majority of people suggested that this pattern ran big and to size down. I used a cotton canvas type fabric (unsure of exact contents as it was thrifted, but something like that). The pants ended up very tight, and the fabric never really relaxed even after some wear.
For this second pair, I decided to size up, given that the first pair were much too tight. This time, however, I used a bull denim. When I basted them together, they were too big. I expected them to be bigger, but they were a lot bigger than I would have expected them to be- and a lot bigger than a size up made in canvas would have been. This is because the bull denim has a natural “give” to it, despite it being non-stretch. I think when I make them again (and likely in bull denim), I will size down.
So- the moral of the story is- toiles can be helpful, but just because you sewed one, doesn’t mean you won’t have fit mods for the final garment. Also, it’s easier to make something smaller, so make sure you leave some extra seam allowance if you decide to size down from a size chart- you can always take away fabric, but you can’t add it (easily) to make something bigger!
FIT MODS: So, since these pants ended up too big, I made a number of changes.
HIPS: my hips are the exact size for the size 12 pant. Even though I made this size, I felt the hips were too loose. Since there is no side seam to take things in at the hip, you need to take in at the centre back seam. I ended up sewing it at 1″ instead of 1/2″. This took it in significantly and gave me a much better fit at the hips.
WAIST: My waist measurement (29.5) was 2″ smaller than the size chart for a 12- 31.5″. I ended up dispersing the 2″ between the two back darts, and this worked well. I left the waistband as is, and just trimmed the extra fabric at the end once it was attached.
CROTCH: I measured the pattern using Michele Win’s crotch measuring tutorial, and it looked to be fine, but I think my ruler may need some adjusting, as I found the crotch a little bit too tight. I ended up adding a little length to the inner inseam which lengthened the crotch hook. I added 1/4″, and did this by sewing the crotch seam at 1/4″ instead of 1/2″, tapering it back into the inseam. In all of my research regarding crotches, I came across an article that said most sewing patterns have crotch hooks that are too short. I’ve definitely found this to be the case, so I will be adding to the crotch hook area for my next pair of these pants, and also tweak my ruler and make changes on other patterns in the future.
OTHER MODS: I shared these in my stories, but there are a few constructions steps that I prefer to do differently.
Waistband ends– In the instructions, it says to fold in and iron the seam allowances at the ends of the waistband, and to topstitch them down. I think this can leave the waistband looking a bit messy. Instead, I sew the seam with the right sides facing (waistband flipped inside out), trim the seam allowance and clip the corner, then turn it right side out and topstitch.
Inside Waistband- like many pants patterns with waistbands, in this pattern, the instructions advise you to attach the outer part of the waistband first, and then fold and iron the opposite waistband edge, which then gets pinned on top of the seam allowance, and top stitched down. This can be quite bulky, and I also find it very difficult to catch the whole waistband on the inside when topstitching, since you can’t see it while sewing. Instead,I like to finish the bottom edge of the inside waistband with bias tape. You simply enclose the bottom raw edge with bias tape, so that when the waistband is folded over, you have plenty of room (the 1/2″ seam allowance that would have been folded under) to catch with the topstitching, and bonus, it looks really nice!
Zip fly- I prefer a zip fly with these pants- I don’t like the creases that appear on the front from the buttons. Anna Allen has a zipper expansion pack you can purchase, but I figured I would try to hack it since I had just sewn three pairs of pants with flies!
Here’s how I did the zip fly conversion:
Step 1: I took piece 7, and folded it in half. I then matched up the small circles on that piece and the front side of the pant piece, and made sure the top of piece 7 lined up with the CF marking on the pattern. I taped it down, and then cut out the pant pieces with this new “fly extension” added onto it.
Step 2: I cut a fly shield piece and I used piece 6 for this, but ended up doing it incorrectly. In the future, I would just use the fly shield piece in the pattern which is the underlap, piece 5.
Step 3: Follow this sewalong for the Ginger Jeans, using your modified pant pieces and fly shield! Simple as that! This sewalong is SUPER clear, and this is by far, my favourite method of constructing flies.
One final thing I’ll mention is that I think the belt loop placement is a bit off. See how in the above picture, the loop on the right side is closer to the fly than the left? I attached it according to the instructions, but I think next time, I’ll move the right one over a bit, as it just looks off to me!
Sew Bake Make 