Willi Smith trousers in pink cotton twill
Ok so these pants! Look at the front pleats on the Hollywood waist - THEY ARE BELT LOOPS. The design is 80s Willi Smith for WilliWear, and it’s truly beautiful, elegant… even if the 80s streetwear/big 4 ease meant I was swimming in them initially. I had to take out a bit over 5" of ease to achieve a... Less 80s fit. See the fitting pictures below, they fancy.
I love it how it fits now, though I maybe cut off the seam allowances up top and then had to make up the 2" loss on my waist, so it was touch and go for a minute. This mostly happened because I initially fit the pants in May 2020, then set the project aside because as much as I had a strong vision for them, noone was working in office then. And summer beckoned. Fittingly, the summer project I started then has halted at 3/4 of the hem hand-sewn and a bit of shoulder refitting required, and I’m sure I’ll finish it in May as summer looms.
princess bubblegum the business lady cosplay
So when I picked up my toile from the fittings in May and copied it off to the pattern, I clearly made a mistake in not trying on to remember how everything was meant to work. While the leg felt very lovely this way, I had removed the 5/8” seam allowance at the waistline (which, incidentally, fit perfectly off the hop), resulting in a whopping 2.5” too small situation. To resolve without recutting, I sewed the side seams at the waist at 1/4”, gradually returning to 5/8”, sewed the back seam at 3/8”, and narrowed the back darts. Still a bit snug, but wearable. I’ll return the proper seam allowances for he next one.
I was specifically inspired to make these when I finished up the capelet blazer (from the pbubs costume I posted for halloween) last year, but Matchpoint Fabric was out of this organic cotton twill. Then I spotted it on @blackbirdfabrics, got a sample to double check, and was off to the races! Next time I wanna make these in wool for a less crispy effect. I’m also planning a bit more salmon twill work wear to really get the most I can out of each piece and this fabric, which has a lovely drape, even though it’s very much a crisp cotton twill.
A pleat marked and assembled
The pattern instructions annoyed me to no end because the first instruction is backwards, but of course I forgot that by the time I went to make these properly until I did it and growled. Essentially, the lovely belt loop pleats are formed by slashing the fabric where the centre of pleat meets, and then you form it as usual. But this dang pattern has you put right sides together instead of wrong sides together.
Other than that I have no major quarrels with the instructions, though I think getting the main design element backwards suuuuucks!
I added a fly shield on the fly by laying fabric out where I felt it should go, which was nice because it allowed me to cut it on the selvedge which I figure is a nice look. That’s probably the only really nicely finished part of the inside, the rest of which I zig-zagged. Well, the pockets are french seamed, but I also did not do the greatest work inserting them (in part because I didn’t account for how much pulling losing all that waist ease and replacing it would cause), and I’m still partially debating sewing one closed. Buuuut when my dad saw the pants he commented on how nice the pocket inners looked so I probably won’t. Fashion!
The waistband I tried something new and I’m glad I did, since I suffer from waistband crumple and have yet to find real Ban-rol and whatever is at Fabricland is not cutting it. So I used waistband elastic as interfacing, sewing the elastic to the facing and waistband seam with the tiniest bit of stretch, then enclosing in the facing. The facing I also cut on the selvedge, so I didn’t bother to fold the bottom back up - gotta say that’s a quick and easy way to finish a waistband and it doesn’t look bad either!
The hems are a bit itsy bitsy, I think I need an inch or two more length for a nice deep hem next time.
Actually, on this pattern I wasn’t drawn to the amazing belt loops originally. I didn’t even really notice them, just that it was a Hollywood waist and I’ve wanted to try a Hollywood waist. What a nice surprise. The other draw was Willi Smith himself, a bit about whom now:
One of the few Black designers you can find in big 4 patterns, he was committed to making creative and fashionable clothing on an accessible mass scale through WilliWear (and hence the sewing patterns). He was a big part of the avant-garde scene. He was expelled from Parsons for having a relationship with another male student. He died at 39, in '87.
In short, reading about him is well worth your time.
My Measurements: 30w, 39h
Fabric: Organic cotton twill from Blackbird
Size made:
Pattern: McCalls 8191
Next time: Try this pattern in a drapier fabric, probably a wool to maintain the pleats. Make the waistline 1/2 larger to make the belt loops larger. Transfer the needed pattern edit of returning 2.5” to the waist!!
truly the drama of this edit, i love it
Worn irl
