Corporate Chic, DIY pants – McCall’s Pattern 7982

Hey fam! Here’s another one of my fall/winter pieces. Still hugging that neutral palette with this glen plaid blend from Fabric Mart Fabrics. It was a dream to sew with and it has the perfect drape for dress pants. This fabric is out of stock, but any light weight suiting will do.

I particularly liked this fabric because upon pressing, it produces and holds a sharp crease. However you must be certain of the crease placement because it cannot be pressed out…i.e. it’s permanent. Also, this was a bit of an exercise in plaid matching with this DIY look, but nothing prohibitive.

I used McCalls Patterns M7982 which is has both pleated shorts and pants options with a yoke, mock fly zipper and slant front pockets. You can opt to have a waist band but I chose not to and skipped the belt loops as well.

I concentrated heavily on the fit through the seat and front, particularly focusing on crotch depth because the pant leg is pseudo wide. So to keep a clean look, the fit had to be perfect in that area first, allowing the full legs of the pants to fall properly and look tailored. In my opinion, some wide-leg pant patterns can look sloppy if not crafted well.

This is an unlined pattern, so one was added. The glen plaid has a smooth finish, but I still prefer the feeling of lining against my skin.

Construction

Plaid matching

• Each pattern piece was cut one at a time. I either drew a rough outline of the plaid fabric underneath onto the pattern piece, then matched the pattern to its corresponding fabric piece or used the fabric piece itself for placement on it’s sister piece.
• I matched the plaid across the fly front and yoke. I also matched across the yoke back center pieces as there is a center seam. A soft attempt was made to plaid match along the side and inner seams, but it wasn’t crucial. Plenty of RTW doesn’t, so I didn’t stress it. I came surprisingly close along the inseam.

Lining

I used the pattern pieces for the lining with the exception of the front leg. The pocket pieces were taped together to make one pattern piece and then sewn to pant front to make one continuous piece. This was then attached to the yoke front and fly.

Alterations

• Shortened through the front and back pant leg about 1″ to decrease the crotch depth.
• Added my curvy bottom adjustment that is now standard.

Styling

SWEATER: Ribbed knit black sweater from Nordstrom Rack. This Michael Stars rib knit is a good option.
SHOES: Aldo “Nichy” mules reptile print
EARRINGS: Franscesca’s “Penelope” earrings are a good alternation to the one’s I’m wearing.

My overall impression, I love this pattern! I was fairly conservative with my fabric chose because I made these specifically for work, but I plan to make more in something more vibrant. This isn’t a challenging pattern, but probably not a beginner pattern either.

Just so you can see that this piece in relation to my ongoing neutral collection, here are the pieces posted so far:

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