And another one...

As I mentioned yesterday, my first pair of Thai fisherman pants was kind of nice but not really what I had expected. When I was "researching" the look, I mostly liked examples which were a bit wider (at the top of this Pinterest board of mine, you can see some). 
So, I tried again this time using this tutorial from salty*mom. This pattern has piecing in the legs and the downloadable pattern pieces are for the pointy and curved pieces which form the crotch curve and inner leg pieces. All other pattern pieces are just rectangles.

This time, I made the top piece from a double layer of fabric and I attached the ties well below the middle of its height at center back. This is because I think it looks nicer if, when folded over, the top of the top panel covers the seam which attaches it to the bottom panels. 
And I added a simple patch pocket. I miss pockets in the first version...

These are wide, really wide. They can look a bit like a skirt if I stand with my legs close to each other. And the back looks a bit odd but I don't think I did anything wrong there. It is just a feature of this kind of flat shape, I should not expect this thing to fit like normal trousers...

I hemmed at calf length because I thought that looked better with this width (I had cut these long enough for full length). They're a bit odd, but for casual summer wear, they're quite nice. 

A trouser experiment

Thank you for the nice comments on my previous post! Now that someone has brought it up, it would make a lot of sense that the combination of knitted and woven fabric is a reason why not many other people have made things like that dress. But take it from me: if you can make a simple t-shirt, you can certainly make a dress like that!

Now, on to the next thing. I kind of announced I would put two items in one post, but now I think I will save the second one for tomorrow.
A few weeks ago, while I was still working hard on all the end-of-year stuff that comes with teaching, I decided I wanted a simple, fun sewing project. Something kind of relaxing. And for some reason, I remembered Thai fisherman pants (I know I always insist on using the word trousers for trousers, not "pants" but in this case the idiom seems pretty much fixed on pants). 
I spent some time looking on Pinterest for inspiration pictures and pattern suggestions and I found a lot.

So, one Saturday morning, I used this very simple sketch as a guide and cut into some black linen from my stash. 
I went with a single layer top panel with flat-felled seams and a turn-over hem.

The end result wasn't bad but didn't quite look like these things do in most pictures.

At some point during sewing, I even wondered they might be too tight around the thighs, but they're not.

In fact, this strange shape actually allows a lot of room for movement.

This, just in case you are not familiar with this phenomenon of Thai fisherman pant, is that strange shape:

You've got the completely flat shape of a huge pair of trousers (without shaping on the crotch seam, that is why they are flat) which is wrapped around the wearers body and tied with ties attached to the center back of the top panel. After tying, you fold over the top half of the top panel, covering the ties.

There are a few different options to construct the legs and I think this is one of the simplest. I made these pretty much the way the pattern tells you to (although I may have forgotten to add seam allowance on some straight seam somewhere). Based on the result, I wouldn't recommend doing that if you wear more than, about, a Burdastyle size 38. If you do, add some width and height and go from there, or use one of the many other tutorials floating around on the internet.
The beauty of this style should be that it is truly "free-size" and this version isn't really. It still makes for a nice pair of summer trousers for me though.
Tomorrow I will show you my version of one of those other tutorials.

New loose shapes

This past month, I have been sewing and I have enjoyed it... It just took me a long time to take pictures of what I had made. I finally caught up. Today, E took pictures of three different new garments. Actually, four new garments but two of those are in the same outfit. That's the one I will show you today.

I've had this heavy mystery-fiber (definitely synthetic but luckily without static cling) crepe in my stash for a while. Originally, I had it earmarked for a dress with elaborate draped and pleated details but I never quite got around to making it. I think I was right not to. This stuff is too bulky for such use. So, some weeks ago, I decided to make something else I liked the idea of: Retro-style very wide trousers.

I always liked the idea of culottes/trousers and I have made a pair before. And now that my increased level of exercise (all that climbing!) has made me loose some of the roundness on my hips, they look even better than before.
So, I thought that would be a great use for that fabric. And did I mention I love the colour? That bronze-ish tone tends to look very good on me and it can be combined with so many other colours I like!

The previous pair of full-length culottes were drafted as culottes, based on a skirt sloper. This new pair isn't, these are actually very wide trousers. The only real difference is in the shaping of the crotch seam and in the angle of the center back seam. 

I also made a better informed choice about the pockets: The old pair had in-seam pockets. Not the best choice in a garment that is at its most fitted from waist to hip. Here, I have made slightly curved slanted pockets.

Oh, and I didn't want to make a fly front in a fabric with so much drape. Nor put a zipper a the side seam, come to think of it. So, the closure of these trousers is another of my odd zipper-less inventions. There is a button on the waistband at the left pocket, not a the right side. The inside of the left pocket extends to center front and is buttoned to the inside of the waistband there. So, the trousers open far enough through the side of that pocket for me to get in and out of them. 

Making these trousers, I was thinking about vintage lounge pyjama's, like these from Beyer's Mode from 1937,

or these from Gracieuse magazine from 1931.

I have some patterns for those but I drafted my own anyway. I have studied the patterns of those 1930's examples and they all have very loose and low fit at the crotch. I didn't really want that here, I think it would have made the trousers less wearable in a "normal" setting...

Oh, and I also made the top (this is not a great picture, E took it while I was putting on my shoes. It looks a bit odd but it does show my work with those stripes). I used the loose fitting, dropped shoulder shape I made earlier this winter and tried my best at matching those very thin wavy stripes (and gave up on that half-way through). It's simple and comfortable and in this thin jersey, it is perfect for tucking into high waistbands. 
The combination is quite loose all-over by standards but I still really like it. There is a sort of laid-back glamour about wearing lots of flowing fabric... 
And I actually like the idea of these trousers so much that I'm already dreaming up lots of other outfits to create using them. Outfits for which some parts still have to be created...

Stripes and more

It is Saturday and E is back from a three-day trip for work. So, the perfect moment for him to take some pictures of the clothes I've made recently ;)

This is what that striped top looks like when worn.

As I mentioned before, it doesn't allow for a full range of movement but it is nowhere near as confining as the first version. 

And the thing I wasn't sure about? Well that would be those points at the shoulder which came into existence as a result of my decision to graft the big rectangle for the back and sleeves onto the original shoulder seam, keeping the corner where shoulder and armscye met in the front bodice block. I could have made a curve there. In fact, I could still do that but I kind of like the points. Curves at the shoulder would weaken the impact of those stripes. Yes, the point are a bit odd but E said he thought they looked intentional, more of a design feature than a mistake. I think that is good enough for me.
Oh, and it actually nice to wear. 

The other thing, which I made over the past days, is a new pair of slightly cropped trousers.
I love the denim ones which I made last winter and thought it would be nice to have another pair. Slightly longer this time (the length of that pair had been determined by the amount of fabric I had). 
I had a fabric in my stash which I thought would work for it: A cotton (probably blended with something synthetic) in mid-weight satin weave with a sort of floral design woven in (in the texture of the fabric). It is a peculiar fabric. I have made fitted dresses (the most recent one is here, the first one here. They both look better in the pictures than they did in real life) from it before but I never really like the way it behaved in those: the bulk of the fabric makes skirt creases really visible and its stretch (it has a bit of stretch) always meant things had to be taken in.  
The fabric doesn't have a nice hand either so I've never really been tempted to make a skirt from it. Its properties might be good for trousers but there was that floral pattern... I could never imagine trousers that didn't look silly in that. Until this week that is. Somehow, probably because this style is sort of between trousers and culottes, I think I can get away it. 

When it came to cutting out, I made some more alterations than length alone: Instead of a curved waistband just under the natural waist, I now made a straight waistband on it, I made back darts instead of a yoke and changed the the shape of the front pockets from scoop to slant. 
Then, when I had started sewing, I also started second-guessing myself about the fly front. The vast majority of the trousers I sew have a fly front but the combination of this design and this fabric didn't seem right for one. So, put in a side zipper instead and I am glad I did. 

Loose fitting and too short to reach the ankle, I suppose these won't be to everyone's taste but I like them. 
Now, I should really get going on those trousers for E...

Feelin' groovy

There is one New Year's resolution I came up with after all: Sewing from stash. And I do not mean that I will try and find a fabric in my stash for the items I have just dreamt up. I always try to do that. I mean I will try and make myself go through my stash (which is pretty big) regularly and come up with projects based on the fabrics which are there (the only item which is getting a fabric buying free pass at the moment is that 1920's dress...). 

These trousers are a first example of that new policy. I have three large pieces of corduroy in my stash, bought at about the same time as the material for my orange dress. The fabric was very cheap at the market, only 1 euro a meter if I remember correctly, and maybe a bit retro in style but made of cotton and nice. I think I had earmarked all af the corduroy for 1950's style dresses but I tend to do that, get carried away with a type of sewing project I like. 
When I had a look at those pieces last week, I realized that the very dark brown fine-wile corduroy actually had stretch. Stretch which made it a lot less suitable for the dress I had mind and very good a pair of 1970's inspired flared trousers. 

So, I made those. 

Nothing fancy really. I used the pattern I had made for these jeans but changed the back, from back yoke to darts. And I made the legs flare out a lot more. I also made them longer. When I made the jeans, I had only just enough fabric and I prefer trousers like these to be on the long side. In fact, I could have made them longer yet.
There's nothing that can make you look so long-legged as flares and heels...

I used to wear and sew flared trousers regularly but I seem to have veered away from them in recent years. It is still a a look I feel comfortable in though. And I wanted to experiment with 1970's looks in this year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge anyway. 

Oh, and these trousers finally give me an excuse to wear my big floppy hat! 

Odd trousers revealed

Since Monday, I've been at home with a nasty cold... I shouldn't complain, I rarely get ill. It's just that I had so many plans for those days. Including interesting things, involving other people which I would definitely have done otherwise.

Anyway. Fortunately, in the weekend, just before it hit me (although I did have a sore throat on Sunday) E helped me take pictures not just of the orange 1946 dress but also of the pair of loose fitting casual trousers I had talked about in this post and in this one.
It's a far cry from the glamorous dress that followed it but it is the kind of garment that's comfortable and easy to wear under different circumstances. It's very likely it will see a lot more wear than that lovely dress (and I don't usually shy away from wearing lovely dresses for everyday activities).

As I mentioned before, I set out to make loose trousers with a functional wrap detail. In the earlier posts, I explained the pattern and the sewing (which is actually easier than making a normal fly front).

Here, you can see what it actually looks like. I made a tie in this case, but you could also close these with a button.

And this is how it works:

I didn't put a waistband on the extra width of the wrap. This reduces bulk. So, you have an interrupted waistband with a snap at one end and the tie at the other.

You fold the end with the snap against the body, past your center front and connect the snap to its other half on the inside of the waistband.

Then, you fold the other end over it, and tie a bow.

Whether or not trousers like these are flattering is entirely based on your own preferences. If by "flattering" you mean "showing off every curve" then they're certainly not flattering. However, I do think they have a kind of cool that makes up for it. At least on some days ;)

Sewing the odd trousers

You may have noticed that I edited yesterday's post a few hours after it was posted...
I was sewing up my trousers and I had just found out that I had made a rather stupid mistake in the pattern. A typical example of over-thinking and flawed logic, especially when you know that I actually did it right the first time, while drafting the pattern, and then altered it. 
The mistake was that I had doubled the amount of width needed in the pleat. 

Like this. The fronts of these trousers should be wide but this is just ridiculous. And I had faithfully copied this mistake in the instructions here. So, I took out the "add two more" point and added a warning about the last two drawings. And just before I started writing this post, I re-did those and removed the warning. So now the drafting instructions are as they should be. 

Luckily, fixing this in both my pattern and my trousers only meant cutting a piece off. So, I could continue to make them and to take the promised pictures to illustrate that.
Obviously, you should treat the front pockets and the construction of the back as you would in any trouser pattern. 

Then, you sew up the center front seam (all of it). (I could only take the picture like this because it wasn't until I had sewn one of the side seams that I realized my mistake). Because my trousers are in jeans-blue chambray, I'm using yellow topstitching thread for flat felled seams. 

Sew the inner and outer legs seams.

The unusual bit of construction starts here:

Narrowly hem the edge of the fabric around center front, between the notches closest to CF. I like to taper this hem up so its last bits fall inside the seam allowance.

Sew the curved waistband. This is actually even easier than normal because these have a symmetric waistband. When you start on this, you should decide how you want to close your trousers. If you want buttons, you can just go ahead and make the waistband. If you want a tie, like I used here, you have to insert one tie in the right front edge and another in the left side seam. 
My waistband is is curved and 3 cm high and the ties are 70 cm long and 3 cm wide (finished sizes).

Pin and sew the outside of the waistband to the top of the trousers. the front edges of the waistband should reach exactly to the notches. Press seam allowances up. 

I often use bias binding to finish the edge of the waistband facing and keep its seam allowance pointing down. This keeps the amount of bulk, in the waistband just above the seam, down. In this case, it also helps with finishing.

On the side which will overlap, the right side for the wearer, fold the end of the hemmed top edge back on the seam allowances inside the waistband. Because you tapered the hem, the rest should easily stay on the outside. 
On the left side, don't fold it back.

Pin the waistband facing in place and sew. I usually stitch-in-the-ditch from the outside. 

Now, all you need is a snap or a hidden button at the left side of the waistband. Or if you didn't use ties, also a button at the right side.

My trousers are finished and I'll try to get some pictures soon to show you the end result and how these actually work to wear. 

An odd pattern

There's nothing like listing your sewing plans to remember other plans... I won't tire you with additions to the list. My mental to-sew list could stretch on forever. 
I'm now working on something which was and wasn't on my summer sewing list. These will be sort-of summer weight trousers but not the wide legged ones I mentioned (I still want to make those as well).

Here's the sketch/technical drawing. wrap-over trousers with tapered legs.

I used a similar style in this jumpsuit I made last year and thought it would also be nice to have separates in this shape.

I know there have been patterns for wrap-over styles in sewing magazines but those are usually 'fake'. That is, the wrap-over is real enough but it's just a styling feature not a functional one. Those designs usually have a zipper at the side. Because I'm a bit of a purist, I like mine to use the wrap-over in a functional way, as the actual means to get in and out of these trousers.
And I thought it might be nice to try and explain how to make such an odd thing out of a normal trouser pattern.

For a style like this, you will need a basic pattern which is loose fitting in the seat and thigh areas. I'm using the same adaptation of my sloper as I would for pleated trousers. This version of the sloper has a slightly lowered crotch and a bit of added ease at the hip and thigh.
I'll show you the alterations to the front leg pattern piece. The back leg doesn't have to be changed at all.

If you are using a sloper, it will probably have a small waist dart. Remove that by taking out its width at the side and/or center front. 

Draw a line from where you want your overlap to end (I usually put it at the point where the dart used to be) to the knee point on the inner leg seam. Trace the top edge from the beginning of the line to center front on a new piece of paper connected to the rest of the pattern and then cut along the line.

Now, to create the wrap-over fold, mirror that front piece and connect the tops of the center front line and the point at the knee. Trace the top line again.

After that, put the center front piece back on, connecting it two the pleat you've created. 

Make sure you mark the beginning and end of the pleat (the black notches) and its center (the red one). The straight grain remains in its original position running along the length of the leg.  
Add pockets if desired (and who doesn't want pockets...)

This pattern piece will be used for both the left and right leg and needs to be finished with a waistband which either connects to the entire drape/pleat or only to from the side to the notch closest to CF (which I prefer because it doesn't create as much bulk at the waistline).

I will take pictures while I am sewing to show how this thing should come together.