Wholecloth: His & Hers Compagnie M Charles Pants

Have you seen the new Charles Pants by Compagnie M? This was my first foray into pattern testing, and with mixed results. I was in the midst of a (not yet released) deadline driven project when I signed up and I didn't read the instructions quite like I should have. Honestly, I never read the instructions quite like I should (husband has stopped reading at this point as a frustrated affirmation of my negligence! :). I'm a visual thinker, a faithful believer in the show-me-don't-tell-me philosophy of life. Lesson learned, I will be more careful next time. These are my second and third pairs of Charles pants. With the messy first pair out of my system, I'm pretty happy with these.

My favorite thing about the Charles pants is their gender neutrality. Either kid could wear either pair of these pants without a sideways glance from the most conventional passer-by. They are even wearing the same shoes! I love a full skirted dress as much as the next sewist, but I get a real thrill from making something for child #1 (male) that child #2 (female) can wear a few years later without compromising style. Compangnie M is know for little girl clothing, but this boy friendly design has got me excited to see what Marte comes up with next.

PATTERN: Charles Shorts/Pants/Dungerees by Compagnie M. Can be made as pants, shorts, or overalls. This is a simple skinny leg pant pattern with a functioning double sided button fly, and an elastic back waist.

FABRIC: Both the fabrics and buttons are Fabric Row finds. Both are 100% cotton prints sturdy enough to be a bottom weight. The brown on J has the added bonus of being flannel with a subtle herringbone print. I wish I had bought more, by the time I realized J could use a bigger size the fabric had sold out. L's cream and black fine lined plaid has a streak of mustard in it. When I first saw this fabric it brought the Mara Blouse (pattern also by Compagnie M) I made over the summer to mind.

Sadly my go-to PA Fabric Outlet is going out of business. PA Fabric Outlet is my favorite place to blow a spare 1/2 hour recreational shopping. The main appeal is that I can walk there, the button selection is second to none, the sales people leave you alone, and there is a park around the corner to satisfy by shopping companion(s). I'm gonna miss this store, until then I've been burning money there.

FIT: Both kids are wearing a size 6. I had to let the side seams out of J's because they pulled to much with the shirt tucked in. Next time, I would make him a 7 or even an 8 (though he measured as a 6). L probably could have worn a 5, but after seam ripping J's I didn't want to take any chances with them fitting her for the whole winter.

ALTERATIONS: The only alteration I made was to widen the legs about 1" on each side of each leg piece on L's pants. I like the skinny look (particularly on J) but thought I'd mix things up with the second pair, so they aren't too matchy, matchy.