When Phoenix first began designing she was a 12-year-old aspiring dancer, and some of the first garments she designed were dancewear, including a fabulous bootcut romper made from lavender alpaca that had a detachable top.

People (both men and women) want to touch them and invariably ask numerous questions about how they were made, who designed them, and where we got them.

Most of the time she wore it with the top folded down over the fitted bootcut pants, and everyone who saw it went wild for it.

Her hand-made pants never fail to show off the knitter’s skill to good advantage and the wearer’s figure to even better.

The romper’s knitted-in-the-round construction consisted of two tubes for legs and a separately knitted flat crotch panel, all joined and continued as a single tube to the waistband

The crotch gusset closely resembled that of a pair of tights, which was fine for dancewear, but was far from Phoenix’s vision for a real pair of pants.

Let’s say you find the idea of knitted pants intriguing, and you’d like to give it a shot. What are the first things you’ll need to know in order to make a pair that flatters YOUR body

So, a couple of months later when she designed jazz pants (aka, street wear with attitude) for her pattern line, it was my job to sort out the proper pants construction for REAL pants.

Through the trial and errors of Phoenix, several test knitters, numerous tech editors, and myself we’ve learned a number of things about well-made knitted pants, not the least of which is the importance of using the right yarn

I quickly discovered an appalling lack of knitted pants patterns for adults. There are no handy measurement charts for knitters with standard thigh or calf circumferences, crotch depths, or inseams listed.

The only knitted pants pattern I could find for reference was in a magazine, and it was knitted in flat panels and seamed. Phoenix’s legs are 34” long, and she and I hate purling and seaming, so flat construction was out.

Her beloved alpaca romper was certainly a vision, but the 100% suri alpaca was much too fragile for all that rolling around on the floor, and the pants fell to tatters after several months of daily wear.

In the circular knitting camp I found that Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Longies were close to what we were after. I found plenty of baby pants and soaker patterns, and many that paid loving homage to EZ’s Longies.

Eventually Phoenix found that plied yarns with an elastic content are best. Wool and cotton stand up to wear, but both make the best pants when tempered with synthetics, especially in the form of elastic.

Barbara Walker offered more fodder for the makings of a decent pair of knitted pants, and with the help of the doyennes of modern circular knitting and lots of trial and error, Phoenix’s circular pants construction was conceived.

Phoenix has designed capris, yoga pants, leggings (both capri length and regular length), shorts, bootcut pants, straight leg pants, and many other types that still lay, half formed, in the bottom of her project bin

The elastic provides invaluable give across the butt, thighs, and hips, and allows for exceptional wear.

They are all flattering and fitted in the right places. Forget any notions you’ve had of baggy-kneed knits, drooping at the seat and clinging to every lump and bulge.

I wore Phoenix’s Casual Bootcut Pants (pattern featured in this issue) made with GGH Solitaire, a wool/elastic blend, to a conference three hours from our home and found them comfortable for traveling, and wrinkle-free (and fabulous looking enough to elicit comments from random strangers) when we arrived.

Knitted pants made properly defy all of these stereotypes and transcend expectations in unexpected ways. I can’t tell you how many times Phoenix or I are stopped by random strangers when we’re wearing her knitted pants