The Philippa Pants by Anna Allen were released last month and I saw tons of people on instagram were really excited about this pattern, and I had been following Anna Allen since she came out with the Persephone Pants. I jumped on the bandwagon.
I’ve been on a pants-making phase the last month and have made quite a few pairs… however I’ve noticed I get really excited about finishing the pattern and often skip the whole “fitting” part – where you can baste the legs together and make any changes to the seam allowance that will help the fit… as a result, I have three new pairs of pants that don’t really fit well.
For this pair, I thought I should change that by actually taking the time to baste-fit.
I’m glad I did, because I ended up taking in the side seams on the legs by 1.25″ and .75″ on the hips.
Pattern Details:
Pattern: Philippa Pants
Designer: Anna Allen
Size: 16 hip, graded to 14 in legs
Fabric: Mystery black cotton twill (originally bought for some dungarees I never made)
My Measurements: (I like to include these so if you’re considering this pattern, you can get a better idea of my body size to compare to your own.)
Waist: 34″
Belly: 39″
Hips: 42″
Height: 5’3″
Inseam: 27″
Modifications:
– Shortened by 3″
– Size 14 leg, graded to 16 hip
– Changed outer leg SA – 1.25″ SA from ankle to crotch, 0.75″ from crotch to waist.
– Used a zipper instead of button closure. (I did buy Anna’s instructions for the zipper closure for this piece.)
What I would change next time:
– Look again at the sizing and Anna’s chart for how much ease should be at each part of the body. Since I took out so much from the side seams, I suspect I could have cut out a different size.
– I also wonder how it would work to do a full tummy adjustment. I haven’t tried that before, but that is where I run into fit issues, so I might try that for my next pair of pants.
What I like about the pattern:
– It comes together really quickly – there is not a yoke or front pockets, so it’s just fewer pieces to manage.
– The waistband foldover works really well. The inside of the waistband comes down farther than the waist seam so you are SURE to catch the inside waistband when you’re stitching.
What I didn’t like:
– Like I said before, I made the size according to my measurements, but had to take in the side seams quite a bit. I’ll just have to double check the recommended ease next time and maybe choose my pattern size differently.
Catherine Wendland 