Denim Persephone Pants & Plaid Archer Buttonup

I've been bogged down by life for the past few months. All good things, and all time sensitive over commitments, and unrealistic personal expectations. I see what I get from them in the long run, but don't get much out of them right now. Not sewing, makes me not feel like myself. I start to have an identity crisis, I feel a productivity deficit, I start shopping at Uniqlo. It's a brutal downward spiral of cheap clothing and regret. Luckily, my first finished outfit of 2019 (and actually a late 2018 make) feels exactly like me. Like Kristi Morrow in 100% cotton. A handmade Archer Button Up shirt, and custom fit Persephone Pants to help me regain some focus, or maybe just do all that other crap in style.

The plaid was the genesis of this outfit. If you could review my Etsy search history you'd know that cotton Madras plaid weighs heavily on my mind between the hours of 9:30 and midnight. I saw this beauty last spring in the Indie Sew fabric shop and knew I wanted it for an Archer. The Persephone Pants were on my to sew list so I also picked up that pattern and some 10 ounce denim for a trial run. Then we moved, then went away for the summer, then came back to a dramatically different family routine and a sewing room in shambles and my making focus totally went off the rails.

The top. As mentioned before this is the Archer Button Up from Grainline Studio. I've made it many times before, and I have the pattern tweaked to fit just the way I like it. I love to sew a sure thing, particularly when it take a few days of sewing time to make it happen. This Archer is exactly what I wanted, exactly the way I wanted it.

The pants are the Persephone Pants by Anna Allen. Like everybody else I was skeptical of the fit with no side seam. Usually the side seam is the last one I sew so I can easily tinker with the ease. Uncertainty is part of the reason I didn't sew these sooner. My time is short, I don't want to waste it on something that I won't even be able to wear. All those worries were for nothing, these fit darn good with a minimal amount of fuss. I thought long and hard about hacking my own side seam into them. Glad I didn't, the smooth curve across the tush is what sets this design apart.

I did extend the crotch curve of the back about 1", and I shaved 1/2" off the rise at the front to blend into the back. I also made the darts a bit deeper. This was far less that I thought I would have to do. As far as pants go, those are tiny adjustments for me. The bummer is I sewed on, and top stitched the waistband before giving them a final try one, and I ended up taking it off again to make my adjustments. I sacrificed the pocket topstitching for ease of putting them back together. Not a big deal, but the lining peaks out sometimes. The button is a long treasured vintage textured plastic button from my stash. The main pants fabric is 10oz denim from Indie Sew. It's good stuff, and the dark color and dark top stitching hide any flaws that are a result of these being a wearable muslin.

Pants Pattern: Persephone Pants by Anna Allen from Indie Sew
Pants Fabric: 10 oz. Denim from Indie Sew (sold out, similar*)
Shirt Pattern: Archer Button Up by Grainline Studio
Shirt Fabric: Cotton Plaid Shirting from Indie Sew (sold out, also nice* or similar*)


*fabric.com links are affiliate links.

Just a note to say that blogger isn't allowing me to respond to comments on blog posts at the moment.  I love your input and I'm reading them all. I'll try to get to the bottom of the problem soon!