First pair of trousers!!!

Finally I found some lovely light fabric that  I could use to create a pair of trousers.  Now I have to be honest trousers are kinda scary for me.  Skirts are so easily adjustable - tops can be fitted or loose and flowing but trousers have all sorts of funny complexities that have scared me off for a long time.

I decided to follow a pattern because although I love the idea of folding a pair of trousers I love in half and going from there I just wasn't convinced that my understanding of trouser construction was solid enough to go with that method.  I used the March Prima pattern which was for a loose pair of culotte style trousers.  I used to own a pair of denim ones and lived in them so happily set to cutting and pinning.

I found that once I had cut all of the pieces out everything made a lot more sense - when I look at the paper pattern it is hard for me to envisage how it will fit together - once in fabric I can see it much more clearly.  I was actually surprised by how simply I found the whole pattern.  Don't get me wrong my finished product is not perfect but in terms of understanding what I was doing the majority of making trousers is about matching seams and sewing neatly.



The zip was my most daunting part - in error I didn't mark the fold lines on the fabric or the sewing lines for the zip.  I think this added to some of the problems I had. I managed to make the zip go in quite neatly just by playing around and seeing what looked best but the problem came with the bottom of the zip.  As you can see in the photo below I have a little twist in the fabric - when wearing you can't really notice it because of the way the fabric falls but I think if I had taken a little more time in the marking stages I would have avoided this problem.

The overall effect however I am pretty pleased with - quite neat with a straight zip which does exactly what it should do and is completely concealed by the fly.

 I do love the pleats and pockets though - they sit nicely and pockets always add a little something to any outfit!

And there you have it - a finished wearable pair of trousers.  I have already worn them once and plan to repeat the pattern again and try to get the zip a little more perfect.  This experiment has certainly given me confidence to try to make more trousers - I love to wear something a little different and I love trousers like these with a little pleat at the waist so hopefully I can tweak the pattern to make full length trousers too!  Hmm I think I need to go back to the charity shops and find more fabric!

:)