Crafting A Rainbow

This summer, I’m hoping to take the big plunge into sewing pants. And not just any pants – stretch jeans! Of the rather momsy variety, to be exact! 

You see, unfashionable as it may be, I’m rather in love with the pull-on fake-fly front pants favoured by small-town Canadian women over 30. ‘Cause hey, I’m a small town Canadian woman over 30, and I like my clothes comfy! (And honestly, I don’t know why I’m even bad-mouthing these pants. They are a great invention!) The women in my family swear by these Reitmans pants: 

I tend to buy off-brand ones, but the concept is the same.

Here’s why they are great:

• They’ve got no bulk around the waist, so shirts sit flat overtop. 
• They have enough stretch that they retain their shape and don’t sag as the day progresses. They also therefore forgiving of large meals and weight fluctuations!
• They end at the natural waist, so there’s no muffin-top and no plumber’s crack! 

Honestly, I love pull-on jeans and workpants so much that I bought THREE identical pairs in Japan. I wear two, and I’ve got one stashed away for when the other wear out! I don’t wear shirts tucked in like the model above, so with a shirt hanging over top, they look like regular jeans but feel like track pants. 

So of course, I want to sew some of my own! The problem is, I can’t find a pattern for this design. There’s the Colette Clover, which has the kind of fit I like…

…but it has an actual zipper, and I *think* it isn’t as stretchy in the waist as I’d like. 

There’s the new Sewaholic Thurlow, which is tempting because Tasia’s clothes always fit me perfectly…

… but look at the bulk of that fly-front! That’s not what I’m going for either, and the legs are a bit flared for me. 

I’m tempted to buy the Clover for the overall shape, and the Thurlow for the crotch shaping… but that would cost me $50 bucks with shipping, and frankly, I could buy 2 pairs of pants for that! 

Instead, I’m going the third route: The Craftsy Jean-ius course! 

It’s on sale until tonight for only $20, so i figure it’s worth a shot. I’m hoping that over the summer I can work up a decent reverse-engineered pattern for my pull-on jeans, and have a few versions by the fall. I’ve already got some dark denim for one version, and bright coral for another! Coraly-orangey-brick is a colour I’ve been loving lately, as you can tell from this part of my stash: 

So what do you think? Does anyone have any pattern suggestions for me? How do you feel about pull-on pants? (In the North American sense, not the British one, thank you very much! :P) I’m not starting this project right away, so I’d appreciate any pant-making insight you have to offer!