Person wearing patchwork pants with blue, brown, and plaid patterns on a white background

Weekend Chore Pants

The Weekend Chore Pants are designed for light to midweight woven fabrics. Your fabric choice will shape the overall look—from soft and casual to more structured and workwear-inspired.

Sew them up in a single, sturdier fabric like our workwear twill and add a little ric rac flourish. Also try your hand at patchwork, scrap-busting, and color blocking for a one of a kind garment.

How to Estimate Yardage for a Patchwork Make

Weekend Chore Pants

Decide How many fabrics you want to use

A great place to start is choosing how many different fabrics you want in your patchwork. We typically recommend 3–5 fabrics for the most cohesive look. Keeping them within a similar color palette or tone helps the finished garment feel intentional rather than chaotic. More fabrics can be fun too—but for most projects, fewer fabrics with thoughtful placement tend to shine. 

Eyeball the Pattern, Not the Math

Before pulling out a calculator, take a moment to look at the pattern visually. Ask yourself:

  • Do I want most of the garment in one main fabric?
  • Do I want smaller accents throughout?
  • Is the patchwork evenly distributed, or weighted toward one fabric?

If you’re aiming for a dominant “main” fabric with a few accent fabrics, a helpful rule of thumb is:

  • Purchase about half of the total fabric in your main fabric
  • Then add smaller amounts (often around ½ yard each) for a few accent fabrics

This isn’t a hard rule—just a starting point that works well for many patchworked garments.

Why We Don't Give Exact Yardage for Patchwork

We intentionally don’t provide exact yardage requirements for patchworked garments because patchwork is designed to be adaptable. One of the joys of patchworking is using leftover fabric, scraps, and smaller cuts that might otherwise go unused. Every patchworked piece ends up slightly different depending on what fabrics you have on hand—and we see that as a feature, not a problem.

If you want (or need) to purchase fabric specifically for a patchworked project—great! Patchwork doesn’t have to mean “only scraps.” It just means thinking a little more flexibly about how fabric is used. If you’re buying fabric, the goal is to give yourself enough material to work comfortably while still leaving room for creative decisions along the way.

Patchworking is Meant to Be Creative

At the end of the day, patchworking is about experimentation, play, and making choices as you go. You don’t need to plan every cut perfectly before you start. Adjustments are part of the process, and flexibility is what makes patchworked garments feel special and personal. Trust your eye, work with what you have, and most importantly—have fun with it.