Perfect Ponte de Roma Pants

Hello! I’m Aimee – also known as the Sewing Scientist. I have been around sewing machines since I was a baby. I only took up sewing seriously as a hobby when I was pregnant with my son. My son turned 23 this year and my husband and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this December! I work full time as an environmental scientist and I also enjoy photography and design fabric in my spare time. 

Since I normally work in an office, I tend to focus most of my sewing on work appropriate clothing. I want to look professional at work, yet be comfortable for anything the day may bring. My favorite fabric to use for making work appropriate pants is Ponte de Roma  (Ponte to be brief). Many of the knit slacks you would buy at the mall would be made of Ponte.

Ponte de Roma comes in many different fiber contents. I am partial to those that have a blend of nylon and spandex. Nylon is a strong and durable fiber that is not prone to pilling. My thighs are quite full and pilling from thigh rub is something that I dread seeing on my favorite pants. Spandex (also known by the trademarked name Lycra) will ensure that the fabric not only has great stretch, but it will have great recovery. This will keep my pants from becoming loose and losing their shape over the course of the day.

Other fibers found in Ponte de Roma can be polyester and rayon. A polyester based Ponte will tend to be thicker and will have more body. It is best for more structured pants and best for hiding cellulite on thigh and panty-lines. Rayon based Ponte will be softer, thinner, and have more drape. The Ponte I used for my pants in these photos is a rayon, nylon, and spandex blend. 

My pants are the Fortuna Pants from the book Sew Beautiful: Make Stylish Handmade Clothing with Simple Stitch-and-Wear Patterns by Kennis Wong. The book released on December 8th and contains 8 classic patterns perfect for beginner sewists. My top is another pattern from the book. I made the wide leg version of the Fortuna Pants and love how they look in this gorgeous Ponte de Roma knit. 

Ponte de Roma is not only great for pants, it is a wonderful fabric to use for dresses and jackets. Ponte is a fairly stable knit and typically doesn’t have much vertical stretch which makes it easy to sew on either a serger or sewing machine. Sly Fox Fabrics always has a good selection of high quality Ponte. 

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