Made by a Fabricista: Wide Leg Cropped Pants

I am still loving the wide leg cropped pant silhouette- and I have no idea if they're still fashionable- but for my part I'm going to wear the heck out of them this spring and summer! I had some moments of wondering what tops and shoes would look the best with them so I took pictures of a lot of (mostly handmade) tops with my new pants to see how they paired.

The fabric I chose for my pants was PERFECT, it has no stretch (I prefer pants with no stretch but they're hard to find) and it is a nice crisp cotton. There are lots of wrinkles in a few pictures from sitting in them a large part of the day but I just love the feel and fit. There's still some available here, and you should notice that its 68 inches wide so your getting a lot of bang for your buck.

This pattern is from designer Melissa Watson for McCall's (7445) and I have said over and over that I love the Palmer Pletsch patterns and I'll say it again, the alteration lines are already on the pattern...its wonderful! I am in the process of accepting the fact that I need to scoop out the back of the crotch using the provided lines to accommodate my back proportions. It really improves the entire back fit for me. I also really prefer a pocket stay that makes everything look nice and smooth in the front of the pant, so I used the Palmer Pletsch Pants fitting book to figure out how to make a pocket piece with a stay and love the resulting fit.




So this is the parade of varying tops, and I tried on three different pairs of flats (accidentally cutting my feet of in some pictures with the animal print shoes- whoops!) to see what I liked the best.
I don't know that I feel strongly about any one pairing, but I feel confident enough to wear any of these combinations to work.


The dark brown top is The Sewing Worshop Eureka Top pattern which I recently purchased in a kit from Fabric Mart. I love this top, its made from a dark brown sparkle knit I received in a Fabric Mart mystery bundle a few years back.


The blush top and the seafoam green were both made from rayon jersey precuts. When I first received these precuts I was a little stumped as to what to make with them, they are somewhat thin, slinky and very stretchy. I researched a lot of knit patterns trying to find patterns specifically for this type of knit. The Hey June Santa Fe was in my possession and was perfect. I LOVE these tops, love them, and can't wait to make more. Another contender for this fabric was the Grainline Penny raglan, its specifically drafted for this type of stretchy knit.



This final top is from a few years ago and its Simplicity 1690. Its a great little woven top that is very straightforward to sew. I think its a great match for my new pants.

All of these pairings are pretty basic but will go great with my cute jewelry and jackets, plus it will make getting dressed in the morning easier! So what about you, have you ever though of giving the Wide Leg Cropped Pant a try? Also, do you like your pants to have stretch or no stretch? Do you have any secrets to styling this type of pant? I'd love to know how others style them.