I’ve had the Bryce Pants from Hey June Handmade on my sewing list for a while – because who doesn’t love a womens cargo pants sewing pattern? – but despite having cut them out back in January, I hadn’t gotten round to sewing them because of life.
This weekend I finally got to them! 😎
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Please note that this is a photo heavy post to help anyone that struggles with the sewing instructions provided! You will need to refer to the sewing instructions for this women’s cargo pants sewing pattern for specific instructions!
Fabric Choice For Bryce Pants
I had cut them in this stunning stretch cotton fabric which I found at the Sew Over It shop in London when they first opened their Islington store. The only problem was that I had less than 2 meters of this fabric. And the Bryce in my size (20) called for 2.5 meters. Yikes!
I also needed a fabric for the hip pockets because frankly, I couldn’t squeeze them out of my stretch cotton. I ended up with a lightweight cotton from my stash that worked well despite not also being stretchy.
Womens Cargo Pants Sewing Pattern Changes
Of course, my low fabric quantity meant that I needed to make some changes to the pattern:
- I know it’s totally rubbish, but I realised I could save on fabric usage by not having any of the back patch pockets or the outer leg cargo pockets
- I cut the back waistband facing in two, because I couldn’t squeeze it out in one piece
- I cut both he front and back legs 14 cm shorter, even though they’re sized to fit a person shorter than me!
- Worse still, both back legs were placed slightly off grain to make them fit
- I also opted to leave off the belt loops because I ended up stitching-in-the-ditch the waistband for a clear finish and didn’t want the belt loops to distract from the finish either
At this point we could question whether the women’s cargo pants sewing pattern I cut out is *actually* still a cargo pants pattern! 😬
Sewing The Cargo Pants
Adrianna (the creator of this women’s cargo pants sewing pattern) does a really good job with the sewing instructions for the pattern but even I found myself having moments of confusion relying on the illustrations alone.
So, I took photos of the entire construction process in case you feel you need something more than just the illustrations!
Step 1: Sewing The Hip Pockets
This was the first thing I just couldn’t wrap my head around from the illustrations, because I’m used to having the pocket facing and actual pockets be separate pattern pieces, or have it as one piece that is than attached to the front leg. Here, the pattern calls for laying the pocket facing onto the pocket, so the fabric is doubled up. Hopefully the photos will help you more than the illustrations did me!
Start by overlocking / serving the inside legs and crotch curve. Be REALLY careful not to cut into the fly section with the overlocker blades!
Place the hip pocket facing onto the actual pocket itself (which will be folded in half!) and stitch in place. I used a zigzag stitch on mine because my overlocking thread was a tad too dark. Then follow the remainder of the sewing instructions for the hip pockets!
Don’t forget to close the pocket bag completely – the directions explain how to French seam them! You should now have something looking like this!
Step 2: Sewing The Darts On The Cargo Pants Sewing Pattern
The next step is to sew the darts. I did my back waist darts and the front leg darts too, and topstitched the front leg ones for some adding pizazz!
And then here are the leg darts.
Step 3: The Cargo Pants Pattern Zipper Fly
I know so many people who struggle to sew a zippered fly! And although it is one of the fiddlier zippers to sew, done slowly and methodically, its definitely a winner!
The cargo pants sewing pattern calls for a 4″ trouser fly. I don’t own any. At least I *thought* I didn’t!
But then when I emptied out my huge zipper basket to find something that might work, buried at the bottom was a 4″ zipper in the perfect colour. #itwasmeanttobe – doesn’t it look fab, matching the blue in the floral print beautifully?
So, try not to make the same mistake as me. I clearly don’t read sewing instructions well (perhaps I should read my own guide to reading sewing patterns? 😬🤣) because I cut two fly pieces (even though they exist as extended fly pieces on both front leg patterns!) and I also fused the interfacing to those two not-needed fly pieces.
And to top it all, I then cut two new interfacing pieces, but not as a pair. So, one side is missing a chunk of fusing!
Next up, connect the two front leg pieces along the front crotch line as marked on the sewing pattern! This is REALLY important. Trust me. I know! 👀
To that end, do follow the sewing instructions that come with the pattern for sewing this front fly.
Start by pinning your zipper as per the instructions.
Then stitch the one side of your zipper in place.
You may need to squidge the zipper pulley out the way.
Pin or baste the opposite leg into position.
Then following the instructions still, sew the other side of the zipper to the other front leg.
This is what it looks like from the reverse when completed, but before the zipper guard is added! (Again, don’t judge my terrible ability to overlock / serge fabric edges!)
This is with the zipper guard pinned in place and ready to sew!
The next step would be to add any back patch pockets and flaps as well as construct the cargo pocket elements. I didn’t do either of these as I did not have enough fabric, so have skipped ahead to the next stage relevant to my pair of Bryce cargo pants!
Step 4: Connecting The Outer Cargo Pant Legs
Now we get to connect the front and back legs together via the outside leg seams!
I pinned both outer leg seams, and then sewed them together. The instructions also call for your to push the seam allowances towards the back leg and topstitch in place. Note that with the two layers of the pocket as well as the pocket facing and the back leg section, it can be a little bulky to sew, so go slow and steady for the best results!
I used my lovely orange thread again and am loving how it looks!
The next step calls for adding the cargo patch pockets to the outside legs. Again, I didn’t complete that section but the instructions cover this step very thoroughly!
Step 5: The Inseams And The Crotch Seam
I have no photos of these two steps because it was super simple to follow the instructions in the sewing pattern for them. Once complete, I used a long stitch along the waistline at this point to prevent anything from stretching out.
Step 6: Attaching The Waistband On Your Women’s Cargo Pants Pattern!
Ok, we’re on the way to completing your Bryce Cargo Pants! Excited? I was!
Now, the finishing on the Bryce pants is gorgeous. It could be considered a faff, because not everyone loved binding, but I think its a fab way to finish the inside of your waistband.
To start with, you’ll want to make some bias binding. I totally missed the need for bias binding and as I had no spare fabric I felt sure the pa ts were destined to go onto the doomed work in progress pile.
Thankfully I had some suitable orange bias binding left over from my DIY summer dress project I made last summer!
I started by pinning the bias binding into place – purely to make sure that I did in fact have enough! I was lucky – I had about 7.5 cm / 3″ left over!
Note that you are sewing the bias binding to the waistband facing – the piece without the interfacing! You probably won’t have a centre back seam on this piece – I do, only because I had to piece the waistband facing together.
Now you get to attach the waistband (the interfaced section!) to your trousers! Make sure you follow the instructions and pin everything in place. It really will help stop any ‘bubbling’ go your waistband!
Don’t forget to press everything upwards; the waistband and the seam allowances! Then, we attach the beautifully bias bound waistband facing!
Then grade your seam allowance to make it less bulky!
Then you need to sort the front opening sections of the waistband before you can turn it through.
I made this bit up as I went – you should most DEFINITELY check the sewing instructions!
The final part of attaching the waistband to this women’s cargo pants sewing pattern is to either:
- Stitching the ditch from the right side along the first waistband stitch line. I did mine this way for a cleaner finish!
- Edge-stitch along the inside edge of the waistband, from centre back sewing along the bottom, to the front opening, up along the top edge and all the way around. Like sewing a very long rectangle. It’s covered well in the sewing instructions!
Step 7: The Button Hole And Button
Because my zipper pulley is a pewter-ish colour, I wanted to use a button that was similar, but not too bulky. I ended up pilfering the spare button from my other half’s military jacket!
Pop here if you need help sewing a buttonhole on a sewing machine!
Step 8: Hemming The Legs
I did my own thing for the hem, and sewed a double fold hem for ease, speed and neatness. Though I was tempted to roll them so the wrong side what outwards! 😬
The Final Pair Of Women’s Cargo Pants (Bryce Pants!)
Here you go! I managed to badger the other half to take a couple of photos of me wearing my new cargo pants! I love them, but they are too big for me. I should have remeasured myself before sewing (these were cut in January when I was quite a bit bigger!)
As well, because of the amount of stretch in the fabric, I find they go saggy after a short period of time. Which I’ve always hated!
That’s not to say I don’t love these – the print makes them look AMAZING! – but I’ll definitely be making them again in a less stretchy fabric.
What do you think? Will you be buying the Bryce Cargo Pants pattern and making some of your own?
