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...