Shadow wizard money gang

Overall review: it makes sense this patternmaker has been operating on Etsy for 2.5 years, this seems like a 2.5 years of operation quality pattern to me. It's very cleanly presented and produces a end result that I'm jazzed about! But it also seems incurious about seam finishes/attention to detail, and I feel that beginner sewists attempting this pattern might not know what they're missing out on.

What I like

Easy breezy fit with no fit mods (except turning the cuffs up 1.5" vs 1") - big fan of gusset and knee dart

Mega comfortable fabric choices using stash only (undyed slightly stretchy twill from Fabrics R Us, Rifle Paper Co Camont - Poppy Fields - Natural Unbleached Canvas off someone on etsy I don't have customer loyalty to)

Pleasant embedded links to Youtube tutorial

Really big fan of the carabiner loop

Cute!!!

What I changed

Hopelessly reliant on crayola washable markers + gluesticks for holding turned-over edges in place. Also got into banging on bulky seams with a hammer. PRO TIP: use oxyclean to guarantee washable markers wash out.

Oh my god the pattern doesn't recommend a denim needle for the many layers of midweight fabric? Denim needle was a huge QOL improvement.

Did not buy topstictching thread. Used regular thread.

To squeeze this out of limited fabric: shortened knee patches ~1", cut pocket facings off grain, bound edge of weird back pocket with selvedge instead of cutting out this shape of piece

Also extended the trapezoid with floral fabric to create a hidden lining for the pocket that layers on top of it (another fabric-saving measure)

Added a patch pocket for my phone on front right, inspired by the Jones Trousers

Skipped hammer loop (despite using a hammer while making this pattern)

Flat felled inside leg seams, butt curve. The instructions simply say "finish" for all seams btw :(. The gusset to inside leg seam join proved impossible to flat fell so I just zigzagged it right to hell.

Added a baste together and try on step while installing gusset before all the flat felling

Bias bound outside leg seams, tacked flat at points along leg. Kind of a Hong Kong seam attempt.

Reinforced outside leg seams at very thick joining points... otherwise pressing open as recommended means you will see daylight through your pants

Used a shorter zipper (the actual length of the fly) (already on hand). This nerfed me on the mandatory-pull-zipper-head-out-of-the-way-so-your-machine-foot-fits step

Hand basted down the waistband before machine sewing. God I hate waistbands.

Made a wretched buttonhole with my zigzag stitch. Could be worse! It's holding the button!

What I would do next time

Check front and back pocket dimensions against each other before sewing to pants; mark with washable marker to ensure topstitching lines up

Trim pocket foldover so it's fully encased in topstitching (it's fraying now in an annoying way)

Extra line of topstitching to completely secure down pocket facing

Either use a longer zipper or a different fly construction method that allows better checking on functionality as I go. I am not jazzed about trimming down a metal zipper (pattern doesn't mention what tools to use for that!) so probably the latter

Shorten legs/add contrast cuffs

Maybe add little darts in the back

Try to figure out a way to do the waistband that I hate less. Sew inside seam first?

Fix weird little gapping at top of zipper/grade in at waist a little?

The knee panel is bait for quilters and I might fall for it

I also don't think this is gender neutral unless you grade the bejesus out of it, as the pattern assumes a 10" waist-hip difference.

Girl this is not a tip. This is just something you have to do for the pattern to work.