Pattern: Hudson Pant from True Bias

I’ve been working from home since March 2020. Although it has many advantages, especially with the gas prices being what they are, I do miss going to another location to work. My company has said we are going to go back eventually, probably as a more hybrid experience, but the date has been pushed out so often I’m not sure what to think. In the beginning, I tried to wear my normal work clothes. However, after awhile I noticed myself going more for what is comfortable and even wearing the same outfit multiple days in a row (less to wash right?).

Working from home has been great for my sewing. Working in close proximity to my sewing machine means I can stitch up a few things on my lunch break or between meetings. For awhile I was even sewing up masks on my lunch break or just after my work day completed (when I would normally be commuting). Small projects can be completed during the week instead of trying to fit everything on the weekend.

What working from home has not been great for is my clothes wearing. I tend to grab for the same comfortable outfits, ignoring my old work wardrobe and even worse some of my recent makes. I made a cute pinafore last year with some great plaid material. I have not even put it on once. Same with my seersucker dress – and I had been planning that garment for many months before I even got to it.

Sometime during this pandemic, I happened to see a pattern for some casual lounge pants. Realizing that these pants looked closer to my current wardrobe, I immediately purchased it. I cannot remember exactly when, since time seems to run together now when I think about the last few years. But now that my serger is back to its usual health, I figured it was time to cut into the plum bamboo and cotton stretch knit fleece I ordered online at Mood Fabrics. Making them in an interesting color would at least make them more unique than just the pants I have now, right?

I have to say, now that I’ve worn these three work days in a row, I love them. I’ve always been a fan of bamboo knit – it has to be the most comfortable fabric ever and something I need to seek out more often. On my first try, these ended up being the perfect size and the pattern was definitely easy enough for a beginner to follow. I definitely want to make more of these – it sewed up pretty fast and this is one of the first pants patterns that I didn’t have to adjust the length for my average height body! The only difficult part is trying to serge on the bottom cuffs – because the circle is so small it’s tough to keep the fabric stretched right as you sew around. I think basting the cuff in first and then serging would have made it easier to avoid the fabric bunching so that is what I will do next time. The pockets are great and I love the extra detail with the strip at the top.

Oddly enough just after I finished these, I saw a Facebook ad about “Oprah’s favorite joggers” and saw some bamboo joggers that looked very similar to the ones I just made (not in plum of course). It was a really great feeling knowing what I made was currently in style. I guess joggers are now the new business casual. I just hope someday soon I can show off my other clothes, even if it’s just a few days a week.