The design of the Moji Pants by Seamwork Magazine appealed to me right away. I love the curved pockets, tapered legs and front patch pockets. So when I started making my list of things to make to take with me to Europe these were at the top of the list.
I cut a straight size 8 and added 1 inch to length. My measurements are waist 28-29 (depending on the day) and 39 inch hips. I’ve had a hard time fitting pants in the past because I’m tall (5’11”) and have a longer torso. A pattern can fit the waist and hips but the waist will be too low so the pants don’t actually fit at all. These are great design to avoid those fitting issues because the waist is a drawstring. A drawstring waist can look really baggy and frumpy but these a great hybrid. The hips are almost fitted (no zipper required) and the legs are very fitted so the frump factor is low.
The fabric is Target Twill 7oz Olive from Fabric.com. It’s a medium-heavy weight that I expect will soften with wear and washings. It’s a little utilitarian but I think the drawstring and curved pockets soften that. The fabric was very easy to work with but I think a little too thick for drawstring pants.
I was really nervous about putting in the eyelets. They are one of those things that scare me because if you do it wrong you can’t undo it. I tested a couple eyelets on a scrap of fabric (also my topstitching scrap, I highly recommend testing your stitches) and learned to not hit the eyelet too hard. Installation went smoothly and I did a little happy dance. I think it could look cool to add a decorative eyelet to your pockets too. Seamwork has a helpful article about eyelets here.
I initially installed the cuffs to the pants. Then after finishing, I finally went to try them on to test the fit. And I could not get my foot through the ankle opening. The horror! I truly felt like the ugly step sister. After removing my socks and carefully (or not-so-carefully) tugging and pulling, I was able to put them on. To fix the ankles, I removed the cuffs and let out the seam at the ankle. But that didn’t quite do it for me so I installed little baby sized zippers at the ankle. Alternately, I think a vent would look really cool.
I do have rather larger feet (size 11!) but my feet are fairly narrow. I don’t know if anyone else has had trouble with the ankles being tight but it would be a good idea to try on the cuffs before attaching them to your pants and before topstitching them. For reference, my calf is 14.5 inches at the largest point. My ankle is 8 inches and the circumference around my heel/foot is 12.5 inches.
So after all of those adjustments, the pants still felt too tight around the calves to be comfortable. It was ok standing but not sitting. They are also rather low rise and tend to drift downwards. I’m not blessed in the booty department so that might be the culprit there. I also have a long waist so I probably should have added a couple of inches to the crotch depth.
My mom has been on the lookout for pants so I had her try these on. She is a similar size to me but is about 4 inches shorter. She did not have any problems with the legs and ankles being too tight. But the pants do slide down a bit on her too. These adorable Moji Pants now live with her and hopefully they’ll be getting out for some fun and sunshine.
I was sadly disappointed that this pattern did not work for me. Yet another lesson in why one should always make a muslin or at least take very thorough measurements. I’ve already made a replacement pair of green pants for European Travel Wardrobe and will be sharing those at some point.
