Big ol' flowy Esther pants — Victoria Martinez

I prefer the look without the sash I think

As soon as I saw Victory Patterns’ Arima collection release, I was like, gotta make those pants. Bought the pattern collection immediately. Got some tencel twill from Blackbird. And then I got scared, having only made the one pair of shorts and such, and now knowing more about the potential errors I could make than I knew at that time, and I did not make the Esther pants for awhile.

But after making those jeans, and thinking more about how it doesn’t matter so much if giant flowy pants fit your butt just perfectly (how would that even work), I realized I just really wanted to make them. In the meantime I’d gotten some of this darker viscose twill, which, cheaper than the tencel, let me make a “wearable muslin” ie. a first version to reassure myself I wasn’t gonna just destroy the tencel.

And… this is a super-clear, easy-to-follow pattern. As Victory Patterns are, in my experience.

After the jeans, I made sure that I did my measurements earlier in the day to not be so bloated, which was a good call.

The large front pleats, which are the marquee design element here, were even easier than regular pleats, thanks to their not needing to be pressed super sharply. And since this is my first go, I didn't do any nice finishes on the insides. Just dang ol' zigzagging.

However. I did screw up the zipper rather royally. Instead of thinking, like, at all, about how I should do this, I sewed it in with my zipper foot. Best invisible zipper I've done yet (I am looking forward to eventually getting the proper foot). And then because I was using a way too long zipper, I cut it down and zipped it back up. Which. The zipper pull came off, obviously.

So I managed to get it back on via the bottom, because I was not messing with a nicely sewn in zipper, and stitched the bottom shut. Now instead of also sewing along the tops, I made the poor decision to apply some clear nail polish to the tops. Which obviously left spots on the pants. They are thankfully not overly visible. Not overly. I did eventually just hand sew a zipper stop onto the tops of each side. Ugh.

Also because of this I had to tack down the tops of the zippers, since there was nothing to get caught in the waistband as I'd cut it too short. So I've added small bar tacks.

I feel very nervous pressing viscose... I managed not too over press but more or less underpressed. My iron is not nice and I can't actually see what the settings are supposed to be below linen heat. So that was a fun adventure.

I'm still working on the trick of actually topstitching the waistband on properly. I mostly caught it but there are places I missed, even though I did two go-overs. Skills to improve! And maybe (never) someday I'll handsew those last missed bits back in place.

I'm rather fond of the back button. Not sure about my butt in these pants, but I think that's more me not being used to big pants than a fit issue? Or is it a fit issue. I don't know. Either way, the sizing is more or less dead-on for me. I hemmed them for heels but I can get away with flats barely. I'd be worried about damaging the hem (which I did on machine as opposed to the blind hem suggested, more for durability than anything). I also did a sash, but I'm pretty sure I'll skip that next time. It's not attached anyway.

I'm still planning a second pair in the tencel i originally bought for these and I'm not sure there's anything I'd change (tweaks of course, like that niggly little bit at the waistband), although if someone with excellent fitting skills had suggestions I'd be all ears.

Pattern: Esther Pants by Victory Patterns
Size: 8, no modifications
Fabric: Dark grey viscose twill from Blackbird (and it's washable ^_^)
If there is a next time: Don't get toooo casual about the zip. Think about where you're cutting! And no nailpolish near rayons! CAREFUL. Also some things are easier than you think.