June 6, 2019

The Art of Being Extra | DIY High-Waisted Wide-Leg Pants – McCall’s M7726

I absolutely love wearing my new camp-inspired, extra high-waisted, extra wide-legged, extra loud-printed pants! But they almost never were…

You see, I was worried about drawing too much attention to myself. I had planned these pants for my trip to Venice last fall, but the fear that I would be too extra crept into my mind when it came time to cut and sew the pattern. I was too ashamed to walk out of the hostel, tour around the city and pose for selfies while wearing something so intentionally designed to draw attention. My own self-judgement was muting my fabulous.

And then I saw Billy Porter carried into the Met Gala 2019 on a velvet-draped litter by 6 muscled men and then rise and literally peacock with 12-foot golden wings up and down the pink carpet. Camp is, Porter explained, “The art of being extra.” Camp is transcendent style; it’s deeply saturated self-expression. Camp is letting your light shine, never diffusing your brilliance.

I woke up the morning after the Met Gala and immediately cut and sewed these pants. The pattern is high in the waist, long in the inseam, and super wide in the leg. The print is high contrast, abstract but repetitious, sunflowers and sun rays. These pants are EXTRA and FIERCE! They are the epitome of the style I want for myself – shining.

No more second-guessing, muting, diffusing, slouching, or dulling fabulous style.

Let your light shine, sis!

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I was worried my pants were too extra for the event…and then I spotted the life-sized cow with a platinum blond wig 🤣🤣! Absolutely love wearing my new camp-inspired, extra high-waisted, extra wide-legged, extra loud-printed pants! These are definitely on the list of things I can't buy at 6'2" but now I can make 😁🐄🏕 — #memademay2019 #m7726 #sewingtall

A post shared by Robyn Andrea Burgess (@stylesinseams) on May 14, 2019 at 2:42pm PDT

Fabric

Printed stretch cotton sateen from Chic Fabrics, bought in NYC
The stretch in the fabric makes these pants very comfortable to wear

Pattern

McCall’s M7726, View D Pants
Sewing Difficulty – 2/5
Fit Difficulty – 2/5
- I made this before – Shorts here
- The trick is taking out most of the ease so you’re not floating in the pants
I’ve already made this again. Details coming soon!

Fit & Modifications

Same complaint as before, I cannot understand why McCall’s drafted this pattern with 5 inches of ease at the waist and 8 inches at the hips. I cut 2 sizes smaller so they would stay up.
These pants are designed to rise even higher than the natural waist. To maintain that look, I added 2″ to the rise in the front, back, and side front pockets for a #sewingtall adjustment
I didn’t have enough fabric to do the floor length pants with the pattern’s 6-inch hem so I stole 4″ in length from the hem to make pants with a 34 1/2″ inseam that hit right at floor length when I’m wearing platforms.

Tips

It’s usually a safe bet to buy a little extra fabric when you’re sewing tall and need to add length to a pattern. You can determine how much more you’ll need by opening the envelope and reviewing the cutting layout. If the pattern pieces are so wide that they need to be stacked vertically end to end, you will the length you’re adding throughout the pattern x2 in order to have enough.
- These pants are stacked vertically for size 14 and above
- I added 2″ to the length of these pants when cutting (and took 4 more inches of length from 6″ hem)
- 6×2=12″ or 1/3 yard of extra fabric length needed
As before, you can lengthen the pockets and side front panels to accommodate the extra length in your rise. See my tips here