"OMG I'm just so Chuffed"
"Hey Sam come here, I need to show you something, it's important!!!" B said a few months ago as we were in the studio working on something that I cant quite remember right now. I was then abruptly show a rough diagram and line drawing with arrows, mini maths equations and all the other parts of Birgitta's design mind scrawled on the page.
"I've done it, I've made a zero waste pair of pants that I think are really clever, Im so chuffed with myself", she said and proceeded to show me the lay and how it fit together. At that stage the design itself was obviously super rough but as always B was right, it was clever. Clever in its simplicity, clever in its manipulation of the fabric and clever in its use of negative and positive space.
There are so many design feature we love with these pants and this pattern but lets quickly go through a few elements which we hope you, like us, find clever.
The sizing options we have managed to provide is also something we are really happy with. As you might know the zero waste nature of our patterns can make grading up and down extremely difficult, if not impossible at times. These pants are not that and we have 10 sizes from XS through to 6XL. This size range encompasses a hip circumference of 88cm/34.6" through to 148cm/58.2". There are also pattern adjustment tips in order to size up even further!
Recommended widths for the ZW Block Pant are 140cm-155cm / 55”-61” in a woven fabric. If you are a beginner we recommend using a stable fabric, as we would for all our other patterns. This makes it a much more pleasant experience to work with, especially as you need to draw and cut directly on your fabric. These pants look amazing in both a heavier cotton drill fabric, as well as lighter linens and wools. The fabric usage for these pants varies depending on your chosen size, check out the usage/size chart below!
And now if you want to know a little more on how these pants are put together keep reading! Our super rad intern Sophie made a pair in thrifted curtain fabric and she did a bloody awesome job!
Firstly, to fit the pant into a block of fabric in a zero waste manner, while still being flexible to use with different fabric widths, meant having to step away from our usual "fit it all in one block, cut it all, then sew it all approach". Instead you will cut 2 larger pieces first, sew them together, and after this cut the remainder of your pieces.
The second part of this pant we are super happy with is the crutch cut out. It involves finding the centre point of the long piece you have sewn together and cutting your crutch and front and back pant legs using the back pocket template.
This pant also has a front pleat which makes for a slightly tailored look and the side seams are more into the front than the back, making for a flattering line on the body.
The waist band has an inserted elastic, making them super comfy and flexible in size.
Also, like any of our garments, we see these pants as fully unisex, if you scroll right to the bottom you can see me wearing a delicious drapey linen pant below in a size Medium! And below are Sophie's finished white pants, super nice!
So, hope you're as excited about the release of this pattern as we are. Thank you guys for your ongoing support of our little business, it really means the world to us. Sam xxx