Pattern score: 6! Confusing directions and drawings, but the pants are comfortable and fit well with few alterations.
My first YouTube Pattern Review Vlog!
My first pattern review vlog is up on YouTube! I've spent the last few months working on the Simplicity S8957 pants. Overall, they fit me great with little alterations. It took me likely 15-ish hours to make these pants, even with some hiccups.
The first half of the video starts out with me griping about how difficult zippers are to put in pants (I kept in very few of the minutes I spent complaining about the zipper sewing) and then showing you all the steps and mistakes I make along the way. At around 8:35 timestamp, I do the summary review of the pattern as I show you the final product!
A few thoughts on the pattern and the process:
Zipper directions and drawings are confusing
As a more novice sewist, I found many of the directions and drawings confusing. In particular, the first three steps about inserting the zipper...SO CONFUSING! I spent SO MANY hours (legit 5+ hours just trying to figure it out) on just those steps that the rest felt like a breeze! I couldn't find a sew along tutorial for these pants, but I did end up finding another Simplicity tutorial which ended up being a lifesaver.
The belt loops are silly
I ended up slightly curving in the back seam so I don't need to wear a belt with the pants. I ALWAYS get a bubble at the back of pants and I really don't like wearing belts. When I make these again (I made a test version since I haven't made pants like this before), I'm going to leave off the belt loops and alter the waistband again.
The pockets are teeny-tiny
You can barely fit your Chapstick in these pockets, so I'd suggest making the pockets bigger if you actually want to put anything in them. Oh and the back pocket is nonsense. It's a "welt", so just for design. I'm going to remove that on my next go at these pants.
Pattern score: 6 (1 out of 10; 10 being the highest)
On the whole I like the design of the pants, but since I thought the directions and drawings were poorly done, I'm going to give this pattern a 6.
If you're more of an advancing beginner like me, the zipper and waistband will give you the biggest headaches, but otherwise, the pattern is relatively easy to sew. Happy sewing!