Anniversary

This year was Lawyerguy and my 13th anniversary. Traditional 13th anniversary gift is textiles, so I made him a pair of pants. They are made of undyed 11oz hemp canvas. Hopefully they will be indestructible, because that is not easy fabric to sew through. Hemp is a very durable fiber that is supposed to be stronger when wet, which I totally believe because it was significantly harder to get the needle to pierce the fabric when damp from ironing.

My pattern came from a favorite pair of shorts that disintegrated last summer. I had already used them once as a pattern for shorts that turned out very well but were never mentioned here (it was a very busy time). They have some nifty touches, like cool stitching along the pockets and cargo pockets large enough to hold a hefty paperback.

They look really great, but there are a few things to consider should you choose to work with hemp. Get extra yardage, because it shrinks lots. LOTS. Wash it 4 or 5 times before you cut. Also, it wrinkles like linen but is harder to iron.

All in all I think they look great and I enjoyed the project enough to stay up until 2 to finish them the night before we drove to Orlando. I am also lucky that while pants for a leggy 6'3" takes nearly 3 yards of 58" fabric, there is plenty left over scrap to make a pair for me :)

Happy Anniversary Handsome!