Elastic waisted pants were definitely high on my list during quarantine and one pattern in particular quickly worked its way into my favorites. I’ve been actively trying to get more use out of my patterns, rather than purchasing more, and the Free Range Slacks from Sew House Seven has been a hit since pair one and I haven’t felt the need to try anything else. So far, I’ve made 4 pairs and have to stop myself from making more.
It must be Free Range Slack weather, because I’ve been getting a lot of questions about sizing. If nothing else, I like to be pretty thorough so I wanted to compile everything I’ve done into one post for further reference. Hopefully this post will help you in making your slacks!
Sizing
This is by far the most asked question I get about this pattern and one that I had to work out for myself. The first pair I made was a size 6, based on my waist measurement, and it ended up being pretty baggy so I tried another pair in a size 00, based off my hip measurement, with a longer elastic for my waist. Size 00 is now my preferred size and what I’ve made all but the first pair in. I just make sure to measure the elastic on my waist rather than based on the chart and make sure I try it on before I sew it all in.
My recommendation if your waist size is bigger than your hips: Choose size based on hip measurement and then make sure the finished measurements fit over your hips. Alternatively, choose your size using the finished measurements so you can decide how much ease you want . Either way, cut elastic based on your personal preference to fit.
The Instagram Reel below shows you the difference in ease from size 6 (striped pair) and size 00 (orange pair).
Even though the striped pair is visibly bigger, I still wear them a lot and they’re probably my most worn pair. It’s partly due to the fabric choice (I love the contrasting striped panel) and partly because they’re just so darn comfortable. If you’re worried about sizing at all, I’d suggest sizing up for that extra ease.
As far as height adjustments go, I shortened all slacks by 2 inches.
Fabric
Every pair was made with different fabrics which offer different looks.
Pair 1: Striped Yarn Dyed Essex Linen from Robert Kaufman. This is a cotton/linen blend that is one of my favorite fabrics to work with. By placing the side panel pieces on the cross-grain, I was able to squeeze my size 6 pair out of 2 yards of fabric. I also added the back pockets on this pair.
Pair 2: Slub Texture Linen Blend from Style Maker Fabrics. I made this pair for the Fall Style Tour 2020 in the rust color. It’s a rayon/linen blend which makes it the drapiest of my collection. This was my first size 00 and I really liked the fit so I kept going with this size.
Pair 3: Japanese Plaid Twill from Salt Lake Sewciety. This dark green color is no longer available, but I love how neutral it is. It’s a 100% cotton midweight fabric which is a bit crisper than my other pairs. Because of that, it was harder to feed the elastic through the casing and I questioned my fabric choice while I was doing it, but it turned out really great in the end.
Pair 4: Midweight Linen from Salt Lake Sewciety. I chose the Pacifica color (currently out of stock, but still available in other colors) in this 100% linen and it’s even more gorgeous in person. It’s perfect for this pattern!
Pattern
The pattern itself is very well written with thorough instructions and illustrations. I’ve only made the tapered version so far, but there is a straight legged version that I would love to make at some point. The only part of this pattern that can be a pain are the side panels. Here you can choose to do a flat felled seam which can be the most tedious part and something I’ve had to go over more than once to make sure I was catching the seam. If you want to skip this part though, you can always just finish the seam however you want.
Note: In the flat lay photos above, I accidentally flat felled the seam the wrong way. They’re supposed to be toward the center panel.
You also have the option for french seams at the bottom of the pants where the seams can show once rolled and the back pockets are optional. I added pockets to my first pair, but didn’t love how hard it was to make symmetrical so I didn’t add them to my other pairs. I also like the look without them.
Overall Thoughts
I’m a big fan of the Free Range Slacks pattern from Sew House Seven. There are definitely a lot of great options for an elastic waistband woven pant out there, but the side panel and tapered leg option are features I really like and I haven’t felt the need to try any other patterns. Eventually, I will compare this pattern with others, but for now, I’m basically living in the 4 pairs of Free Range Slacks I’ve made thus far. If you’re eyeing this pattern, I’d highly recommend it!
If you want to see more of my Free Range Slacks collection, I have more Reels and plenty more pics of how I style them on my Instagram.
If you found this post helpful, let me know! Have you made the Free Range Slacks yet?
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