Seamwork Mel Joggers

Hey y’all! I made a lot of pants in January for the Sew Fancy Pants challenge and I’m just getting around to sharing all of my finished makes. I’m going to post about each of them separately.

The Mel joggers from Seamwork caught my eye as soon as they were released. I really liked the curved pockets and overall ease of the pattern. Loungewear is definitely lacking in my wardrobe. I’ve been making many pieces for work and I thought it was time to lean into to comfortable clothes to wear while I’m off the clock.

I used a heathered grey french terry that I picked up from LA Finch last year. I wanted a lightweight fabric that felt good on my skin. This fabric checked all of those boxes and ended up being a perfect match for this pattern.

I made a size 22 based on my 44 inch waist and 54 inch hip measurement. I used the finished garment measurements in conjunction with the line drawing/fit guide to decide on that size. I didn’t make any adjustments to the pattern because I wanted to see how they fit before I dove into any changes. I am really pleased with how they turned out. I am able to move freely without my waist sliding down or the fabric stretching into a sheer situation.

I may lengthen the main pant pattern pieces by 1 – 2 inches for future versions but I don’t really feel that its necessary. I like the amount of ease included in the pattern and how the French terry works with this pattern. My favorite detail of these joggers has to be the waistband. The combination of drawstring and elastic is clever. The instructions are also very helpful because I don’t know if I would’ve been able to get the same result on my own.

I opted to use my main fabric to make the drawstring because it’s what I had on hand. I was so proud of my cute little drawstring that I took a few pictures of it. After that I realized that serging my drawstring created a seam allowance that was too wide to turn right side out. I ended up using a straight stitch on my sewing machine to create the tube and that worked much better. I used my Fasturn to turn the tube right side out and to thread my elastic through the waistband. The only thing I’ll change about the construction process is to determine the exact length I’d like for the drawstring. I made a drawstring that was 2.5 yards long and that ended up being too long for me. Have I shortened the drawstring on this pair? Nope. Am I still wearing them? Yup.

Overall I really like how these turned out and I will certainly be making these again. They have been great for airplane travel and running errands. Admittedly, I wore them two days in a row after I made them. My dad and brother also requested some joggers after seeing mine. I guess I’ll be making some more in the future!