Hi, my name is Rosey Huf and I live in Adelaide with my two beautiful boys (aged 4 and 34). I learnt to sew on my mother's lap and am passionate about sustainable garment construction and minimising textile waste in landfill. I am in the beginning stages of launching my own sustainable clothing label for dapper little dudes called the.tiny.tailor on IG. Rarely do I sew for myself, mostly I make gifts for friends, and family. Case in point - the Mini Hudson Pants for my littlest one.
While the rest of Instagram and Indie pattern makers in the northern hemisphere are swanning around in their new swimwear and flowing Ogden Cami hacks - it is freezing here in Adelaide! To keep his little legs warm, my son has taken a particular fancy to mum-made leggings. Specifically, french-terry with colourful prints. That's a tough sell to find for a fussy boy but I discovered MaaiDesign stocks an amazing french terry fabric collection!
I have a straight leggings pattern, but this time I wanted to try something a bit different- the Mini Hudson Pant by True x Bias for the pockets. In addition, as I clicked through the store, I was intrigued by the fold-over cuffs that Maaike stocked. I love the end result. Fold over cuffs and french-terry are a match made in heaven for sweatpants!
Here's what I ordered to make a straight size 3 of the mini Hudson for my son.
- 75cm 'Scribble Cloud' French-Terry
- 180cm Folded Cuff
- 1 packet of 'See You at Six' Shoelaces
- 1m white Iron-on Interfacing
- 1 packet of 'Kylie And The Machine' labels (previous purchase from Maaike)
Kudos to Maaike for the best turn around on orders. I was impressed by the speed in which my parcel arrived, and moreover, the packaging is biodegradable!
The fold-over cuff was stable enough that I decided against the reinforced stitching that the pattern suggested, and inserted KAMsnap grommets instead of buttonholes for the drawcord. Due to the thickness of the cuff and the finished edge, I simply attached the waistband by encasing the top of the pants inside the cuff, and used a twin needle to stitch it down. Ta-da! I love the final clean look and lack of bulk in that area. And because my little boy likes sparkly things, the shoelaces are the perfect finish. I used this tutorial to shorten the shoelace and replace the aglet (apparently that's the official name for the hard bit on the end that stops it from fraying). The superglue finish is rock solid and more than up to the paces of a busy 4 year old.
Things that I would do differently next time
- I considered using jet black ribbing for the pocket trim, but I didn't have any in my stash. The jury is still out on that one for next time.
- I made the straight size 3 Mini Hudson Pant and even though the pattern said "relaxed fit around the hips" I think my little man was swimming in the extra fabric. Next time he grows I will lengthen the legs and leave the waist measurement 'as is'. (Thanks for this suggestion Maaike!)
- I was too slow to snap up a packet of Kylie And The Machine's new "YOU CAN'T BUY THIS" tags, but I would love to incorporate one into the side leg seam.
- The created shoelace aglet works well, but cosmetically the two aglets are different. Next time I will either trim both ends and apply the new aglet or just purchase some shrinkable ones from Etsy.
Things I love about this project
- The colour combination is fantastic! Maaike has specifically curated fabrics, accessories etc. so that it is easy to make colour coordinated choices.
- The french-terry has great recovery and durability. The pants have been through several rounds of hard play, washing, and tumble-drying, and only slightly faded on the knees.
- One packet of shoelaces equals enough for two projects - huzzah!
- Now I want a pair of Hudson Pants too! I really love the unique look of the waistband and I will be back for more.
- I managed to squeeze TWO pairs of pants out of 75cm! With the remaining french-terry I was able to make an additional pair of plain leggings.
I heard on the grapevine that Maaike has ordered all of the new season See You At Six collection so I'll race you to the French Terry!
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Maaike kindly gave me the supplies to make this post, but all of the opinions expressed are entirely my own.
