Panda Pants!

I'm so into busting fabric scraps at the moment, that I've started busting other people's scraps too! After talking to my lovely colleague Linda about my sewing plans for my 2yo, Frankie, she very kindly brought me in a bag containing pieces of leftover fabric from some of her sewing projects. Her own daughter is now a teenager, so using scraps by making tiny-people clothes isn't on Linda's agenda. I was the grateful recipient of some lovely pieces, including this awesome panda Ponte Roma. When I brought it home and told Frankie I was going to make him some trousers for him out of it, he wrapped it round himself and was annoyed when I kept telling him that it wasn't ready for him to wear just yet!

Pattern:

Coincidentally, I had just received the offer to review some sewing patterns/ebooks by German kids' sewing pattern brand Koko & Dolores. They offer a small-but-ever-so-fun range of styles, to make the kind of clothing that you see the kids of super cool families wearing in the playground! But before I even saw their patterns I was into them because of their name 😉. I decided to try the Big Easy pattern: loose, harem-style trousers designed for knit fabrics which provide a great canvas for a fabulous print.

(image source: Koko & Dolores)

These ebooks are written in German, which I do NOT speak or understand, but the instructions include such clear illustrative photos that I had zero trouble putting these together. The Big Easy pants pattern is graded between sizes 86 and 116, which translates to height in centimetres. And priced at just € 4.90, it's a major bargain. 

Fabric:

As previously mentioned, I used a Ponte Roma fabric for the front and back leg pattern pieces, as well as for the ankle cuffs. To get the pattern pieces to fit the leftovers, plus keep the pandas the right way up, I had to add a centre back seam rather than cut the back piece on the fold as per the original pattern. Although this Ponte has moderate stretch (for a Ponte), I knew it wouldn't have enough stretch and recovery for the waistband. 

The waist is finished with a band of fabric, no elastic involved, so I needed to use something with a hefty elastane/Lycra/spandex content for sufficient stretch and recovery. I had some scraps of solid black cotton/Lycra jersey from Girl Charlee that worked perfectly. I love a fabric band waistband for ease of construction, plus it allows for lots of growing room. However, it has to be said that the trousers don't stay up quite as securely as they would do if elastic was inserted. 

I'm pretty sure that the samples shown on the Koko & Dolores website also use jersey for the leg pieces as well. And I'd be really interested to see this pattern sewn up with the leg pieces made from a light weight woven, double gauze perhaps. I must admit that I have little experience of combining stretchy knits and wovens in the same garment...

Thoughts:

We all adore these trousers! When Mr SoZo is dressing Frankie, it's almost always the panda pants that he reaches for, if they are clean. And when given a choice, Frankie himself usually chooses them too. The volume gives him lots of room to move and play: freedom of movement should always be the most important criteria in children's clothes, IMO. I'll definitely reach for this pattern again in the future, and and when another suitable fabric crosses my path.