I was pretty excited when the Twig Woven Pants were released by StyleArc.  I loved the pin tucks, the elasticated back waist, the barrel shaped legs and inseam pockets.

I knew with so many details this would be a longer than usual project, but I was committed to the outcome.

I sewed these while on sewing weekend with friends in early May.  In fact, four of us made Twig Woven Pants.  There is a dancing reel on Instagram to document the silliness that sometimes goes hand-in-hand with crafty friends and weekends away!

What I find interesting about this pattern is the all four of us sewed the same size, without modification (bar elastic lengths), in different fabrics.  I love how they are all the same, but different, due to our unique bodies, the different fabrics used and design details (like top stitching thread colour).

I do love a pocket that is just so inviting to slide your hand into.  I was a little perplexed with the instructions on attaching the pocket bearer on to the pocket bag… but one of my clever sewing friends advised me that the best way was to overlock both raw edges and then stack the seam allowances on top of each other and stitch to secure.  Clear as mud?  Hopefully the photo below sheds a little bit of light.

The front fly was a satisfying sew.  It was a different method to what I have used before, but it worked and I was pretty happy with the outcome.  Sorry, no photos!

I used a KATM jeans button… actually it was leftover from a Denim Jacket Kit.  It’s always a bit intimidating installing them, but they really do elevate your project.

I recently brought the Bernina ‘Fabric Feeding Aid for Sewing Buttonholes’ attachment from Cutting Cloth (my local Bernina dealer) and used it to sew the buttonhole through the thick denim and uneven bulky seams.  It was such a success.  If you want to know more about this gadget, watch in this video from the 5 minute mark.

I had quite a struggle fitting the waistband onto the pants.  There was a lot of easing.  So much so, I actually went back and checked my traced pattern piece against the hardcopy pattern.  No-one else on my sewing weekend had this problem.  On reflection, I think that my pintucks aren’t as deep as the pattern suggests, making the waist larger than drafted.

I didn’t follow the instructions for the inserting the elastic.  I left gaps in the vertical seams on the inside of the waistband and threaded my elastic through so I could tweak it to my desired length.  I also opted not to topstitch it in place… future proofing if I need to alter the elastic down the track.  Also, I used a narrower elastic than suggested as the wider one didn’t fit!

I added Liberty binding to the hem for a bit of detail when I cuffed my Twigs.

A side note… I finally purchased green shoe polish and these boots (which are 10 years old!) are looking revived and are back in regular rotation again.

And the rear view… it’s good enough for me!

All-in-all I’m pretty pleased with my Twigs. I’ve already worn them several times and they are currently drying on the clothes rack.  I look forward to the denim fading and ageing with more washing and wearing.

Pattern:  StyleArc’s Twig Woven Pants (purchased from work)
Size:  10
Fabric:  Deep stash denim from the Clear It Outlet (no longer in existance!)
Alterations:  Elastic width, elastic length, elastic construction and I left off the belt loops.
Outfit:  Top from Uniqlo (last year), boots from Florsheim (10 years ago!), antique fob/medal necklace, and earrings from Argent Silversmith