Flannel Lined Corduroy Slacks

It's cold and snowy out. And it's going to get colder and snowier next week. The coldest week of the winter is predicted, with highs in the low teens. Ok, so this may not be all that cold if you're from northern Minnesota, Alaska, Siberia, or even Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I will admit to being a weather wimp.

We keep our house at an occasionally toasty 67 during the day and a bracing 57 at night. Warm clothes are in order. And they work well if you keep moving. But sometimes it can get cold if you are just sitting still.

I decided I needed some warmer pants. I have a pair of wonderful flannel-lined jeans from LLBean. We refer to them as my football pants. Perhaps you get the idea. Not too glamorous. And the pockets on the back emphasize The Part of My Body Most Unfortunately Affected By Gravity.

Now in regard to The Part of My Body Most Unfortunately Affected By Gravity, there is good news. I've been taking Zumba Gold since last summer. My perfect fit pants pattern, developed through numerous convoluted sets of alterations three years ago, no longer is perfect. For a start, the rise is now too long. (Think butt lift. Or don't, if you're squeamish or perhaps merely refined.) And the outer thigh area is a little baggy. (Smaller saddlebags.)

Flannel-lined corduroy slacks (with no back pockets) would be a little dressier (the Midwest version of business casual) and perhaps I could avoid any undesirable backside attention. I decided to use my perfect fit pants pattern to make them. The first question was what to do about the fit. With the added layer of flannel, the pants would need to be a little roomier than usual. So I decided to make no alterations at this time and to adjust the rise before I put the waistband on.

The second question was how to attach the flannel lining to the pants. The LLBean jeans are made with the flannel attached with an underlining method. The flannel piece is attached to the corresponding denim piece before the garment is assembled. Then the flannel-lined denim piece is treated as a single piece--the same way you would if there were no flannel lining. This makes for lots of extra sewing to attach the flannel to the denim. Lots of extra sewing for pants to be thrown in the washer and dryer with who knows what else. So I decided to use the same method I use for lining wool slacks--make the slacks, make the lining, and sew them together at the waistline and the leg hem.

The third question was what to use for the lining. I already had the navy blue corduroy, but I needed some flannel. And guess what! Down in the Fabric Storage Cave was some flannel. Vintage? Retro? Old? Yeah. Old. It was a lovely, delicate blue and white print. It wasn't exactly what I'd choose, but it was available and the price was right. After all, who would see it? The person who does the laundry? (That's me waving at you.) An ER nurse cutting the pants off my weakened body? Tacky-looking pants lining would be the least of my worries in that situation. And I promise I'll have on clean underwear. (At least it would have been clean until the unexpected occurance that culminated in an ER visit.)

So I made the pants and the lining, stitched them together at the waistline and shortened the rise as I put the waistband on. Ooooh! Cozy! The seams are zigzagged together and trimmed to limit bulk. I finished the inside of the waistband edge with Seams Great so I wouldn't have to fold it up. Then I stitched in the ditch from the outside to sew it down. To make it even easier, I hemmed the pants by machine.

Next week, I'll see if the new flannel-lined corduroy slacks keep me very, very warm. Now I need to vacuum up all those little navy blue corduroy fuzzies that are all over the house.