Doctor Scrubs (Simplicity 4378)

My husband is a radiology resident and happily gets to wear scrubs to work a lot. But at just over 6'6", he has a hard time fitting them well, and he needs several sets to get him through the week. I've been meaning to make him a "custom" pair for a while.

It was hard to pick a pattern because they are mostly designed for nurses, who wear them differently. And they usually have different pockets and trims than traditional doctor scrubs. 

But based on the advice of this blogger I found on patternreview.com, I tried Simplicity 4378 in size L with some (several) adjustments.

I ordered wrinkle-free poplin uniform fabric from Blue Desert Co. My first choice color was slate, but they were out, so I got sage.

I got black polyester twill tape for the drawstring, but it isn't strong enough—I need to find something closer to the cord in his standard-issue scrub pants.

I followed Kadiddlehopper's tutorial for binding the v-neck rather than using the facing pieces in the pattern (which seem to give people trouble on the pattern review).

I also made the top reversible by putting a breast pocket on the inside and outside (standard for doctor scrubs—A.J. keeps his wallet on the inside one), and by using flat felled seams all over. This also makes the seams much sturdier.

The pants were more tricky. I had to lengthen them about four inches, and they still turned out almost too short! I ended up with a pretty narrow hem. 

I had intended to omit the slash pockets at the waist, but ended up cutting for them without realizing, so I went with it. The pattern calls for an elastic waistband and a ribbon casing, but I just made it straight drawstring and folded over the fabric for the casing. I flat-felled the outside leg seam, and serged the inseam.

The pattern's pants leg is also a bit flared (why?!) so I tapered them a bit—but it turned out not enough :-/  They are a little bit too baggy, too. (A.J. asked subtly, "Will they shrink in the wash at all?" Ha, no.) 

It wasn't the most fun project, mainly because it is hard to deal with such giant swaths of fabric, when I am used to one-yard kid projects. My friend asked if I was making curtains when she saw it spread all over my dining table.

Not terrible for a first try, though!