Tag: Style Arc

Style Arc Delta Cargo Pants

I made these pants with the intention of them being lightweight outdoor work pants. I help out a lot with yard work at my parents’ house now and weed whacking is a perilous task with shorts. So I wanted something full length that would be lightweight, breathable, and comfortable to wear in the heat. The Delta provide plenty of range of motion despite the non stretch fabric so I’m pretty happy with them.

Shown with one of the several Jalie Tina t-shirts I’ve made recently.
Faux front fly with elasticized waist
Side cargo pocket with flap
My knee patch
Back patch pocket
Pants hem. Lots of double row topstitching throughout these pants.

Pattern Background

The Style Arc Delta is a relaxed fit cargo pants pattern. There’s back patch pockets, faux front fly, and slash side pockets along with side cargo pockets with flaps. The elasticized waist is cut to be just slightly larger than the body hip measurement, which allows you to get them on while eliminating bulk at the waist as much as possible.

As you can see from the back leg piece, the leg is slightly tapered at the hem rather than being a true wide leg from knee to hem. I actually prefer this as it makes for a more controlled silhouette, and you don’t have to worry about your hem dragging the ground or getting soaked when it rains.

Size and Alterations

I made a size 20, with the following alterations:

  • Lengthened the legs 1”
  • Added 2.5” height to the back crotch curve, tapering to 1” at the side seam and then to nothing at the center front
  • My finished measurement for the waist elastic ended up being 34.25”, which is between size 16 and 18.
  • Since I made these to be summer outdoor work pants and the fabric is fairly thing for pants fabric, I added another layer of fabric to the knee area for more durability.

Fabric and Materials

I used the same 100% cotton Robert Kaufman fineline twill fabric from Fabric Mart that I used for my Jalie Denyse shorts.

Note: even though Style Arc only gives the yardage estimate for 58” fabric, I was able to use 44” wide fabric. My size 20 with a few length alterations and doubled up knee fabric took 3.25 yards.

For the waistband elastic I used some 1.5” non-roll Stretch-Rite elastic I had in my stash. It comes in a small retail package so I must have gotten it from Joann’s at some point.

The thread is Gutermann Mara 100 from Wawak.

The interfacing for the pocket flaps is Pellon Shape-Flex from Wawak.

Construction

I constructed these entirely on my Jukie TL-2010Q. The standard foot on it is fantastic for a project like this with the double row of topstitching because you can use the very inner edge of the foot as a guide for the first row of stitching so it is 1/16” away from the edge, and then switch to using the scant 1/4” outside as a guide against the first row of stitching. Eyeballing it works great, no need to switch out for guide feet.

When I did the waistband I wasn’t sure what my finished elastic measurement would need to be since this non-roll elastic is stiffer than my usual knit elastic. To better manage this I used the same method as my Jalie shorts where you sew the center back seam for the waistband but leave a 1” opening inside, then use that to thread the elastic through and trial it before trimming and sewing it. Then I hand stitched the opening closed.

Comparison to the Jalie Denyse

These two patterns seem similar, with similar finished measurements, but the drafting is actually quite different. I would say that in general the Delta is a trouser style draft and the Denyse is more of a slacks style draft. An explanation of trouser vs slack vs jeans crotch curves can be found in this old Pattern Review post. Just for reference, the Jalie Denyse is size CC and the Style Arc Delta is a size 20. These are the corresponding sizes for a 48.5” hip.

Overall the Style Arc Delta has a much higher rise than the Denyse: about 1.5” in the back and 2.5” in the front. The back crotch curve of the Delta is also straighter, with a more scooped out back crotch curve. The Denyse is definitely more angled, with a shallower crotch curve. In the photo below I’ve overlaid the Denyse on top of the Delta. They are actually really similar measurements from hip to center back seam, but the Denyse has it shifted more towards the side so the back crotch curve ends more angled.

Here’s a comparison with the Delta on the left and the Denyse on the right.

Now for the front crotch curve comparison.

The Denyse rise is 2.5” lower in the front than the Delta.

Unfortunately the Delta crotch curve paper got a little crumpled but you can see how the Delta is much shallower and taller compared to the shorter, more scooped out curve of the Demyse.

Here they are overlaid, with the Denyse on top of the Delta. (Note that the Jalie Denyse has inseam pockets and the Delta has front slash pockets, so that’s why the top of the Delta is a lot smaller than the Denyse.) As with the back piece the distribution of the pants is so the fabric is shifted to the side seam, so you get the same amount of width across the hip despite it appearing smaller in the photo below.

Now heres the front view of the Denyse and Delta respectively. Keep in mind they’re the exact same fabric.

Jalie Denyse
Style Arc Delta

So despite appearing to have similar style and ease, the drafts for these patterns are actually quite different. The Jalie Denyse feels and looks a bit slimmer than the Delta. To me neither one is better or worse. It depends on your body type and what look you are going for. For me, the Delta flows over my hips better. You can see how there’s no diagonal lines from the elastic to the my hips. But it also has a bit more excess fabric around the center front, which does correspond more to a trouser style crotch curve/fit. With the Denyse I definitely have more under butt wrinkles than the Delta, but again this corresponds to the Denyse having more of a slacks draft. (This is why you need to think carefully about the intended draft of a pants pattern before trying to remove every single wrinkle under your butt.)

In general I would say that Jalie is drafted more for straight hips and Style Arc is more for curvier hips. You can even see this in their size chart where the Jalie waist measurement is two centimeters (about 3/4”) larger and the hip one centimeter (3/8”) smaller than the same size would be for Style Arc. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should avoid one or the other, just be aware of it and alter accordingly.

Style Arc Andy Maternity Pants

Yup…I’m pregnant! My husband and I are expecting a little boy, due two days before our first wedding anniversary in August! Since I’m tall, long in the waist, and its my first pregnancy I don’t have much of a bump at this point (my doctor said not to expect much of one until around 23-26 weeks), but my waist has thickened quite a bit (3-4″ larger than before I got pregnant) and while they are still big on me, maternity pants feel far more comfortable right now.

Faux front fly detail and stretchy waistband panel
Topstitched back yoke and outer side seams
Adjustable waist, with buttonhole elastic

Background

The Style Arc Andy is a slim leg maternity pants pattern…basically the maternity version of the Style Arc Elle. They are the type of maternity pants that go over the belly and have a stretchy waistband panel. Almost like a built-in belly band.

I struggled a lot during my first trimester, and all I could do was focus on basic survival. I spent sooo much time in bed feeling awful. If I didn’t know I was pregnant I would be convinced that I was terminally ill. Some women seem to love pregnancy and just breeze right through it. I am not one of those women. You could not pay me enough to be a surrogate. Unisom + B6 helped a lot with the motion sickness and nausea, but I still felt terrible. I have no idea how some women successfully hide it from everyone for months, because I looked and felt like such a wreck I had to disclose to a few people at my job very early on. Of course numerous older women in my life would take one look at me and accurately guess right away what was going on!

Due to the hormones, inactivity from feeling so exhausted/weak/dizzy, and eating way too many carbs every 2-3 hours because of food aversions and nausea, I gained 10-15 pounds during my first trimester. (I never realized just how active I was before!) Very little of my original wardrobe was suitable at this point. I have never had an easy time buying RTW pants but I was so exhausted and bloated and needed something to wear to work and out in public. I ended up buying and then returning a ton of RTW because most of what I bought fit really badly, making me feel even more frumpy and awkward. It seems that 99% of pregnancy-friendly “pants” are just leggings and sweatpants, and I really wanted pants that looked like regular pants. Once I was in my second trimester and starting having some almost-normal days again I started working on getting back my strength and making plans for sewing again! I still haven’t gotten that second trimester “burst of energy” they talk about, but life is definitely starting to feel a bit easier and more “normal” again. I feel fortunate that I was able to easily conceive and everything looks good so far (despite being considered high risk due to “advanced maternal age” and “elderly primigravida”). He’s bouncing around in there like a happy little puppy, completely oblivious to all the chaos he’s causing!

Materials

The fabric I used for the pants was a navy viscose double knit/ponte from Gorgeous Fabrics that’s been sitting in my stash since 2016. The pattern description says it is for stretch wovens, but ponte is structured enough to work as well. In my opinion the slight vertical stretch makes it work even better.

For the waistband I used a nylon/lycra activewear knit from Fabric Mart, purchased way back in 2015.

These pants are extremely wash and wear friendly. One of the best things about making your own clothing is you can treat the fabric thoroughly before sewing with it. I washed on warm and dried on high to get rid of as much shrinkage as possible, and the fabric is no worse for the wear. SO much of my RTW ends up shrinking despite carefully following the care instructions…one pair of pants from Amazon seemed to fit ok, then shrunk 2-3″ in the length after being washed on cold! I’ve found this problem has gotten significantly worse since the pandemic. Maybe manufacturers are taking more shortcuts now.

For the waistband elastic I used a 5/8″ wide black buttonhole elastic from Cleaner’s Supply, along with a 3/8″ navy button.

My husband noticed that the fabrics don’t match in color (the waistband is lighter than the pants) but this seems very common in RTW maternity pants. These maternity pants are over $200 and they have a very different color waistband. My shirts will cover it anyway. I’m just thrilled to have something that is machine washable, long enough, good quality, and will still fit in a couple of months…and they cost me only $26 to make. The only $30 and under maternity pants I’ve found online are either polyester or leggings, and none of them come in tall sizes either.

Fit

Fitting adjustments were as follows:

  • I used a size 14 for the waist/back yoke, then tapered out to a size 16 at the hip/thigh/leg
  • Removed 3/8″ length from the upper part of the front crotch curve
  • Added 1/2″ to the upper back crotch curve
  • Added 2″ width to the leg opening, making these more of a slim straight leg rather than a true slim leg
  • Added 1.5″ to the length. Due to the vertical as well as horizontal stretch of my fabric, I ended up removing 1.25″ after hemming and left them a tiny bit on the long side just in case if there’s any future shrinkage. Yet when I compared them to the paper pants pattern after sewing, they were still a bit longer. I think the fabric relaxed a bit during construction.

You probably noticed from the photos that waistband is rather loose at this point, and the back waist is definitely a bit baggy, but I’m reluctant to mess with it as I am sure I will be filling it out in the not so distant future.

Construction

I made this entirely on my sewing machine, and then hemmed them using my coverstitch machine.

I chose to go with the buttonhole elastic option for the waistband. I am not entirely happy with it as it is soft so it tends to roll when taking the pants on and off, but at the same time I like how it is going to allow for plenty of adjustment as my body continues to grow. When I sewed the buttonholes in the inner back waistband I used a lightweight cut-away stabilizer on the wrong side of the fabric and trimmed it away afterward. It worked out great! When making the waistband elastic casing I traced a line 5/8″ away from the folded edge of the fabric with chalk, then used a 3.5mm length and 2.5mm width zigzag stitch to create the casing, making sure the edge of the zigzag stitch just hit the chalk marking. I went with a zigzag instead of a cover stitch because despite my waist getting much thicker I’m still pear shaped and wanted the extra stretch for getting over my hips and thighs. A cover stitch stretches, but a zigzag gives more durability and stretchiness.

I found there’s one mistake with this pattern. The front crotch curve has only a 1/4″ seam allowance, but every other seam allowance on this pattern is 3/8″. Not a big deal to fix, but just something to be aware of.

This pattern has a faux fly. I did a double line of topstitching for the fly, and then a single line of topstitching 1/8″ away from the edge for the front and back crotch curve. I topstitched 1/4″ away from the edge for both the upper edge of the yoke and the outer side seams. (I pushed the seam allowance towards the front when I topstitched the outer side seams, instead of to the back. This helped with some of the bulk created by the back yoke). The topstitching at the outer side seam helped make sure those side seams stay very flat and in place.

When I attached the waistband to the pants I used a 4.0mm length and 2.5mm width zigzag stitch. I pushed the seam allowance up towards the lycra and topstitched in place fairly close to the seam line, again using a 4.0mm length and 2.5mm width zigzag stitch. Then I trimmed the seam allowance after stitching.

Conclusion

I LOVE THESE PANTS. I’ve got two more pairs in black ponte cut out and ready to sew. They’re a cinch to make and I feel so much better having them to wear. They’re slim without being tight and pair well with looser fitting untucked dress shirts (my go-to work style right now). There’s so few modern maternity pants patterns on the market, and I am so grateful to Style Arc for offering this pattern. Highly recommend it to the other pregnant ladies out there!