Portlander Pants – Liviality

I cannot believe I’ve waited so long to make a Portlander!
Seriously! Why? Why did it take me so long to have this wonderful sorcery in my life?

I’ve had my eye on them pretty much since I started my sewing journey. It always looks amazing on everyone, but somehow I thought that they wouldn’t suit me and all the junk in my trunk.

I’m so glad I stopped listening to the naysayers in my head!

Once I decided to go for it, I had to figure out the best way to tackle it. My waist is a size 10 and my hips size 20, that’s a LOT of grading and it scared me a little bit.
So I asked the New Horizons experts and Anna suggested that I try making a size 20 with a contoured waistband since the pants itself end at the bikini line.

And that’s exactly what I did.
Cut a straight size 20 pants and made a contoured band grading from size 10 to 20. It worked like a charm!!

I made a quick muslin before making these because I always, always have to make some adjustments to the crotch length of my pants. I never had to adjust so little for a pair of pants! All it was needed was an extra 1/2″ to the front crotch curve. WOW!

These fit so nice that I’m even wiling to share a bum shot! haha

I decided to use a stretch woven (bengaline?) for it. The fabric had enough horizontal stretch so sizing up wasn’t needed.
I couldn’t make up my mind on what top to make to go with it, so I made 2:

Marbella Tank – I have a love affair with this pattern, you can check out my other ones HERE;
Key West Tank – I’ve made this one for my daughter before, but it’s MY first one! *this pattern is FREE with a code found in the NH facebook group.

I made the basic Marbella, no details on the back, no mods.
The Key West I color blocked both the front and the back and used the cropped length with the tank side lines and racer back.
Somehow I missed snapping photos of the back of this one, if you’d really want to see it shoot me a message and I’ll take some!

I really love both looks.
With the Marbella there’s the illusion of it being one piece, and I also get the option of wearing it over the waistband.

And the Portlander+Key West combo has a hipper, younger feel to it.

I can’t decided which one I like best! What’s your favorite?
But regardless of what top I pair it with, there’s no shadow of a doubt that the Portlanders are in my closet and sewing arsenal to stay and multiply!

I now need to try one in denim for daily life, one in some sort of velvet or fleece to lounge in, one in CL just because, one in… the list goes on and one!