Fabrics for the Pinyon Pants

Once you’ve chosen a size and are ready to sew, the fun of choosing fabric can begin! In our photos Meg’s red Pinyons are made with a fine wale corduroy. Ashley’s are made in an 8oz Merchant and Mills denim. Meredith’s yellow pair is Ventana Twill.

You may have already seen the different fabric weight recommendations for Views A and B. That’s purely because of the pockets! I (Judith) had some pretty sketchy moments trying to sew lined pockets in 12 oz denim, so 10oz is the maximum weight recommended for View B. The fabric weight restriction is totally worth the trade-off of the lined pockets because they are so, so cool to sew up.

The pocket lining is so very tidy and makes the turned edges smooth and easy to handle! A lighter lining is important! You also will baaaaarely see it in your pockets, so don’t choose your favorite print that you’ve been saving for 15 years. Something subtle and stable and in a similar color family will do the trick!

Before we list our favorite fabrics, a word of caution: I really don’t recommend using a fabric with rayon/bamboo/lyocell/tencel. It won’t stand up to the utility details, and will fail to hold the shape of the pant leg. Rayon blends will be a far better fit for the Chanterelles if you’re looking to use a particular treasured piece of fabric for pants!

Canvas, Denim, and Twill

Our favorite fabrics so far have been canvas (Big Sur is really lovely and the perfect weight!), denim, and twill. I used a cotton chino for a crisp pair in a warm yellow, and Meredith used Ventana twill for her yellow pair of View B Pinyons.

Interestingly, chino and Ventana are both a twill weave, but chino uses a more tightly spun yarn and a tighter weave, so the fabric is smoother and can even appear a tad shiny before it gets washed a few times. Ventana twill is more loosely woven with a larger yarn, so it has more texture and relaxes more with wear. It is softer after the first wash and is a great, affordable option for pants making!

Because Ventana twill does relax with wear, you might choose to fit a tiny bit more closely than if you were to use chino, so that after the first hour your pants fit is spot on. Meredith used this tip to adjust her Pinyons to suit her fabric choice.

Canvas is really stable, and wears in beautifully. We love canvas for a pair of Pinyons that just get better and better with age. That lovely crinkly pocket edge and the beginnings of a fade on the folded edges are top notch in cotton canvas. The hems hold their shape beautifully in canvas, too, so if you really want to emphasize the leg shape, this is the fabric for you! Canvas also is so easy to handle and comes in loads of cool colors (and even prints!). 

The aforementioned 12 oz denim for View A, while hefty, did result in a fabulous and super utility-vibed pair of pants. I used a deadstock Japanese popcorn denim, and they feel amazing! I sized up so the fabric wouldn’t feel too constricting. I can’t wait for the denim to keep aging!

Corduroy

The fabric that I know we all want to talk about since it’s approaching fall in the northern hemisphere is CORDUROY. A fine wale (pinwale) corduroy is such a gorgeous choice for Pinyon pants! Meg’s rusty corduroy pants give the best ‘90s vibes, and we all want a pair now! (A wide wale corduroy is not recommended – the pocket details will get cumbersome to sew and the wide wales can interfere with the curved edges of View B and the pleated pocket of View A.)

It’s really important to make sure that your chosen pinwale corduroy is non-stretch! Corduroy on its own can grow a little with wear, so using stretch would have all kinds of unexpected fit impacts that you really don’t want. Meg fit her Pinyon pants just a little smaller than her measured size to account for the softness and relaxation of the corduroy.

Thrifting Fabrics

Lastly, if you’re working with a thrifted fabric and you don’t know the weight, this article has two ways of calculating the weight with a swatch and a digital scale. Comparing your unknown fabric with something in your stash that you DO know the weight of is also helpful, though less precise. 

Fabric details for our samples are found in the product listing under the fabrics tab, and our friends at Ewe fibers have put together some lovely fabric selections that you can find here.