Category Archives: Trousers

Cocoa cord NL6660 with flapped pockets

Pattern: New Look 6660 (my second pair – here’s the first)

Fabric: Darkest cocoa brown fine cord from Simply Fabrics

Pattern & fit notes: Not a lot different from my first pair! Which I’ve been wearing a lot despite the rather garish floral print, so decided a more neutral pair was needed. Just two main differences:

I added self-drafted button-down flaps onto the pockets, inspired by this sort of thing. (Front pockets always look so unevenly placed when you throw fly topstitching into the mix, huh?). Buttons are my forever-favourite copper ones from Textile Garden.

I did not mess up the inside fly bit and sewed it properly this time.

Flower Power cord NL6660 trousers

Pattern: New Look 6660, I think scooped up in a recent Jaycott’s sale.

Fabric: Lightweight cotton needlecord from Minerva. I bought this with New Craft House’s 70s-themed summer party in mind, but the evening ended up being really warm so I wore a skirt instead.

Pattern notes: Aren’t these just cyoooot? Perfect slim-straight leg, perfect darted ‘n faced waistband, sweet little front pockets, unexpected interesting fly situation!

Essentially the zip goes right to the top and a concealed inside button helps them stay zipped up. I messed up the construction of the buttonhole extension a bit so it’s a bit mucky inside, but this was a result of trying to be smarter than the pattern and not follow the directions – which for once for a big 4 are thorough and clever. I should’ve used a better-matching zip too but was stash-reliant and it really doesn’t gape or show at all when worn.

Fit notes: No significant mods from memory other than probably bringing in the waist a bit. I made my usual big 4 size, 14.

Thoughts: Dig em! So comfy, cool construction, and a great fit out of the pack. Will definitely make again.

Checked linen flared trousers, & some thoughts on buying patterns on Etsy

Pattern: Margaret Flared Trousers from PatternCos on Etsy

Fabric: Wobble Navy Check Linen from Merchant & Mills, bought in person on a daytrip to Rye.

Pattern notes: This slim-fit kickflare style has been all over the shops (I was particularly channeling these and these and sketched out a vision in Procreate accordingly) but it was surprisingly hard to match to a pattern to make my own. It’s another in my recent Etsy pattern purchase spree – I’ve been increasingly looking there for more inspiring and affordable options than the current indie scene or Big 4 can offer.

In my experience buying patterns on Etsy is a bit of a potluck: they can suffer from drafting/instruction quality issues, fewer made-up examples to reference, and less inclusive sizing. But in return you do get a widely expanded range of stylistic choice and typically some more interesting or trend-driven designs.

At this stage in my sewing ~journey I want more RTW-adjacent styles that can be hard to find in the indie/Big4 world, yet I don’t enjoy drafting from complete scratch, so I’m happy to pay a few quid for some PDF bones that I can mess around with. I can generally set aside weak instructions, make hacks to get the design I’m after, and fix drafting errors and fit issues as I go. Perhaps that approach doesn’t make sense to everyone, but it works for me!

As it happens though, I think this pattern is quite a little gem. This designer has an online sewing school and a lot of avant-garde-leaning designs in her shop which show her drafting prowess, so I thought it’d be a decent bet on good quality. It doesn’t come with written instructions but a video tutorial (with captions) – I didn’t refer to this as I can make basic pants in my sleep now but it looked good and clear. All the general gumph you need like size chart, fabric yardages and seam allowances are clearly laid out as part of the PDF package. Tick from me for usability.

Along with the silhouette I was looking for, this pattern features a jeans-style back yoke, straight waistband, fly front, sweet little shallow front pockets and jeans-style pointed back pockets. For fit and design preference I made a few changes: I converted the yoke into darts, added a slight curve to the waistband, squared off the pocket edges, added belt loops, used a button rather than concealed bar closure, added just one back pocket, and graded the lower half of the leg to the largest size for a more exaggerated flare. Fun story: I also cut some curved-hem front patch pockets to match my reference pics, and only realised I couldn’t use them when I came to start sewing and realised you cant (really) layer pocket on pocket. Doy.

Fit notes: I selected size according to my measurements with a bit of extra safety seam allowance but they turned out generous so ended up shaving off an inch or so from each side seam after basting up. Otherwise the fit is just perfect! I didn’t add length despite them appearing far more cropped in the modelled photo, but decided I liked them full length and didn’t want to lose the flared shape by chopping them off.

Thoughts: Love how these look and feel on. It’s just what I was picturing and will pair with loads of my tees. The linen is kind of loose and slubby and perhaps not the most suitable choice for slimmer pants, so I really hope they hold their shape over time. I’ve got a feeling this pattern will become a very adaptable TNT; I’d like to try it in denim for jeans sometime or with a pintuck down the centre-front.

McCall 8099 Lina Cargo Pants

Pattern: McCall 8099 ‘Lina’, view B.

Fabric: Lightweight (and hard to photograph, apparently) polycotton corduroy, bought locally

Pattern notes: I bought this pattern in a recent McCall’s sale. I feel a bit ‘what is up fellow kids’ / teenage throwback making baggy cargo pants, but to be honest it’s pretty much because I have a new remote-first job and can’t foresee wanting to wear non-elasticated pants very often. They also feature six whole pockets, including some fun voluminous pleated bellows-style ones wrapping the side seams.

The sewing was straightforward and pretty fun; I referred to the instructions to form the bellows pockets and did my own thing otherwise. I decided to add a faux cut-on fly to give the front a bit more detail; I also added a hammer loop to one of the rear pockets and lowered the position of the pockets accordingly. Finally, the inseam of view B is slightly tapered; I decided to straighten this out as I wanted more of a straight-verging-on-flared leg look.

Fit notes: I made size medium after hunting down the final garment measurements on the pattern piece (I will never understand why the Big 4 don’t put this extremely useful information on the envelope or instructions sheet for easier reference, rather than burying it on one of the pattern pieces…). My current hip measurement is 38″ and the medium’s finished hip is 41.5″ so unlike most Big 4 patterns they’re not comically oversized: they feel relaxed but not loose.

Another irritating omission is that nowhere it’s mentioned that view B has a cropped hem, and this is hard to tell by comparing the view diagrams alone. I instinctively added 2 inches while cutting as they looked too short for the full-length pants I was after, and had to take a baby hem to keep them full length.

Thoughts: I think I’ll wear them a ton, purely because they’re so comfortable, pair well with my summer uniform of Birks and a tank (here with a very quickly whipped-up Blomma Tank – pattern available for free on Paradise Patterns’ email list), and make me feel like a grungy 14 year old again.

Pomona Pants

Pattern: Anna Allen Pomona Pants. I bought the pattern last October and just got round to trying them.

Fabric: A cotton gingham vichy and cotton jacquard, both from Simply Fabrics which seems to be one of my favourite fabric sources at the moment.

Pattern notes: Following a similar theme to Anna’s other pants patterns, these are drafted with no side seam, so there’s just one huge pattern piece (besides the pocket). This makes it a bit trickier to fit onto some fabrics: I couldn’t make it work with my original choice of stash fabric but with a bit of jigsaw-laying-out it does fit onto 1.5m of wide-enough fabric with satisfyingly little leftover.

Fit notes: For the first gingham pair I made size 6. I actually used the tapered-leg view B since I’d had it copy-shop printed but added 2″ to each inner leg from mid-thigh to get more like the wide-leg view. They turned out more oversized than I expected from the modelled images which look more fitted, but perhaps they were made in a stiffer fabric. I also felt like the rise was too high and rather than ankle length are full-length on me, which I thought suited this pair so I kept it.

For the second pair I cut the pattern down to a 2, took 0.5″ depth out of the crotch, 1″ off the leg and additionally took in the legs by about another 0.5″ once I’d tried them on. I cut two pockets and sewed them wrapping around the sides.

Finally, rather than make the regular elastic channel I overlocked the elastic directly onto the top edge, folded it to the inside and zig-zagged down: this prevents any risk of the dreaded twisting.

Thoughts: I’ve been wearing both pairs rather a lot since finishing them: they suit the mainly-work-at-home life well. I don’t find the fit perfect due to the unusual draft and probably don’t need more pairs for a bit, but I may try in future with a stiffer fabric.

Vest and pants: a self-draft & Vikisews Britney

If the words ‘vest and pants’ don’t send you into a nostalgic school horror spiral then I’m afraid you didn’t grow in up in the UK in the 90s. ANYWAY, here’s an entirely handmade outfit that in the US parlance we’ll also call a vest and some pants…

Trousers first, these are the Vikisews Britney pattern, which it seems like is still only available in Russian although they are working through English translated versions at a clip. But I am impatient and also enjoy a challenge, so muddling through with Russian it was. It’s actually my second Vikisews pattern in a row after a rousing success with the Ingrid coat (which is now available in English).

Gotta say I’m joining the VS fan club, I have really enjoyed the drafting, fit and construction of both the patterns I’ve made now. The Britneys are a high waisted barrel-leg trouser with pleats, hem darts and facings and jeans-style yoke and fly. I made size 38 which is pretty much my measurements other than bringing in the waist. The VS site has detailed size charts and also ease charts which are very useful to select the right size for your fit preferences. The instructions are also really nicely photographed which helps with the language barrier.

The only main modification I made was to draft and add these front patch panel thingys which have been doing the Instagram rounds. No real practical purpose but I like the additional interest and I think the topstitching looks really nice on this creamy fabric. I used tonal cotton thread and a triple-stitch, and adjusted the back pocket size and shape to ‘match’.

Talking of the fabric, it is a natural undyed cotton and hemp blend denim that The Hemp Shop kindly sent me to try out – specifically their Mid Denim Twill though they have many other weights and blends as well. If you are a linen lover I suspect you will like hemp too – it has the same characteristic coolness, lustre and rumple and this twill has a pleasing soft-slubby finish to the texture. This twill sewed up like a medium-heavy weight denim, although with enough drape for the pleats too, so was a great match for this project. I think it’d make a particularly luxurious boiler suit or dungarees too, and it has excellent green credentials as a fibre.

I did have to be careful stitching over areas with a lot of layers – I didn’t want to go too thick with needle size as I didn’t want to snag it, so ended up hand-cranking some of the fiddly parts with a size 90 needle. I ordered some navy dye too as undyed hemp fibres take well to dye, but actually decided I loved the natural colour as is – however I used cotton thread so I can overdye in future if I feel like it (or they get grubby).

I was oscillating between will they/won’t they work for the duration of sewing these – right up until the waistband and button were in I was worried the pleats and pockets were pulling awkwardly over my hips (pear-shape problems). But in the end they fit and hang pretty nicely and they’re really comfy. Another VS success!

Back to the vest! This is just a fun little number where the fabrics did the heavy lifting of a very simple silhouette and sew: soft-stitch jacquard and brushed check flannel both from Merchant & Mills.

I hacked the pattern from this vintage one inspired by this picture of RTW; I needed to size it down then just added the wavy front by eye. Then outer and shell were just sandwiched together, the raw edges bound with knit bias tape, and a little velvet ribbon closure tacked on.

And yay, it’s reversible! Although I do fancy adding a pocket which will take some thought. I have plenty of fabric left, this taking pretty much only half a metre of each, and it’s already been a staple both at home and out (the sweater under here is an old Toaster). Fast and slow, old and new, in one nice autumnal outfit.