Persephone Pants + modified Hilary Top
I made my first pair of Anna Allen’s Persephone Pants in April last year, boldly calling them ‘pair one of possibly a zillion pairs’. I’ve got a way to go but I’m sort of on track with these, my third pair. My first ones were made in a lightweight cotton drill which were ace and have been worn a heap, but the fabric was a bit too thin. Pair two were a pure sewing fail. I used a stretch cotton in the best ochre colour, but a bunch of drag lines ruined that Persephone party. Third time was the charm because this pair are just right, made in a heavier weight Italian cotton called Teal Chino (sold out).
I omitted the pockets on these (as I have on all my pairs) and if you want to make it an even quicker sew, ditch the belt loops too. Through trial and error, I can safely say that these pants definitely work best with a heavier weight, non-stretch woven and the pattern recommends “cotton canvas, bottom weight, twill, denim, duck, non stretch”. Go with that. I wasn’t familiar with the ‘duck’ reference but a quick Google told me it’s “a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric. Duck canvas is more tightly woven than plain canvas.” Who knew?
As we suggested in this post, I also sewed a line between each buttonhole to keep things nice and flat on the fly.
So I made the pants and not long after, this amazing crepe de chine print arrived in store – Stampato Fiore. I most definitely did not have a silk top in my winter sewing plans but with its teal highlights, these two fabrics were screaming to be paired together. Initials plans were to make a shirt but then I saw this lovely peplum-less version of our Hilary Top on Instagram.
I’m always partial to a quick sew and eliminating the pleated peplum on Hilary makes this a really quick sew. I just extended the bodice by another 15cm or so and I also shortened the sleeves to finish just above bracelet length. It’s a perfect tuck-in top for high waisted styles.
So if you’ve been thinking about Hilary but weren’t sure about the peplum, consider making it without. It’s really just as good.
Gorgeous! How much fabric did you use for the top?
Thanks Christobel! From memory, it was around 1.4m
Hi Lisa – just trying to figure out sizing. Can you let me know what you’re wearing in the top?
Hi Lyn – I made the XXS