Well, I used up the “her name was Lola…” line for a previous blog post.  So that leaves me with this rather more mundane title.  Except my new StyleARC Lola pants are anything but mundane!

And rest assured, I’ve only tucked my top in for this photo so that you can get a better idea of the fit of these pants! That is NOT how I will be wearing them – I’ll show you how I styled them later on. The fabric is a printed rayon from Darn Cheap Fabrics. How could I possibly not buy fabric printed with crocheted motifs?

Unfortunately, the print does obscure some of the details. You can see them better in the line drawing.

The waistband is elasticised, with stitching through the wide elastic and a flat interfaced section in the front. This reduces bulk at the front – which is where most of us are trying to avoid additional bulk. I cut the waist elastic about an inch longer than recommended for this size – size 12 – but probably shouldn’t have. It’s a fraction looser than I would prefer.

There are also front pockets. They are inserted on the diagonal, and you can add zippered closures. I didn’t – I figured that there was enough going on with the print. I did make sure to stabilise the front pocket openings, as they are cut on the bias.

At the back of the leg there is the option to insert elastic into the hem, which I did. This photo has both a front and a back leg. The back elastic only gathers it in a small amount, but enough to add some shaping and style. I used narrower elastic for the back leg than the elastic used in the waistband, and did two rows of topstitching around the hems.

I also shortened the leg in two places, above the knee and below the knee, taking around 3 inches in total out of the length. This seems to have worked well for my 158 cm height.

I love the slouchy fit of these pants – loose through the hips without being huge, and narrowing in toward the bottom. It is a very current style, which is rather nice. And this is how I styled them.

I need to experiment a little more to find out which tops work best with these pants, especially because I’ll be using this pattern again. It is wonderful for drapey fabrics like rayons or silks.