My New Oceanside Pants

A couple of months ago, my family and I took a beach vacation, but before we left, I needed some new pants to take with me. Since I was busy packing for everyone and taking care of last minute details, I didn't have much time to sew. No worries though! I tried out the very popular Oceanside Pants Pattern from Blank Slate Patterns (affiliate links) and had my new pair of pants in under an hour!

The Oceanside Pants are my new favorite pants and could not be any simpler to sew. Because there are no side seams and the waistband is formed by folding down the top, there is just one main pattern piece. The pockets (two simple rectangles sewn together) are the easiest I've ever made, yet with the folded edge and decorative button, they add so much detail to these pants!

Using the pattern's sizing guide, my hips required a size small. Because there is no side seam, it did take over 2 yards of 44" wide Essex linen fabric to cut the pieces out correctly; however, I had enough fabric left over to make my daughter a size 7 Betty Skirt (pattern by the Shaffer Sisters)! What a deal!

I'm not very tall, so I was a little concerned that the 30" inseam would be extremely long on my 5'4" frame. After trying them on, I decided to make the hem a little larger (approximately an inch more) than the pattern called for--making the length perfect for me.

I am personally not a fan of belts or drawstring ties at the waist because it adds bulk to an area that I am already self conscious about, so I modified the waistband of the Oceanside Pants from the original design. Instead of using 1/2" wide elastic with drawstring ends that tie in the front middle, I used 1 1/2" wide elastic and omitted the elastic from 9" across the front of the waistband.

At first, I added 2" to the top of the pattern to compensate for the wider elastic I would be using. However, I ended up cutting off 1/2" of that because the pants were a little too long in the stride for me. I normally wear mid-rise pants where the waistband sits just at or below my belly button. After removing that extra 1/2" before creating the waistband casing, the pants were a perfect fit!

These Oceanside Pants are as comfortable as yoga pants but with a more stylish and dressy flare. I've worn this one pair so many times since our vacation that I ordered more fabric and made two more pair!

If you are looking for something simple and comfortable that can be dressed up or down depending on the fabrics used, then the Oceanside Pants Pattern from Blank Slate Patterns is what you need! (affiliate links)

Until next time--have fun sewing!