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Monday 25 May 2015

Denim Ultimate Trousers

After I made my first pair of Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers back in October I really thought I was going to make another pair quite soon, but then life gets in the way and there are never enough sewing hours in the week!  In the end though I didn't really wear my mustard trousers much in the winter because I didn't like them with any of my winter shoes but as soon as the weather warmed up enough they have been back in constant rotation.  Me-Made-May has highlighted the fact that I needed another pair which has given me the impetus to get these made.  Perhaps if we had had a warmer May I may not have got round to making them so soon, although I bought this fabric a few months ago specifically for these trousers.



The fabric is a stretch denim with holes punched in that I bought from Croft Mill.  I had some very similar to this a few years ago which I made skirts for the child and I from, so I knew I would like it.  It has a nice amount of stretch to it and was lovely to sew with.  I bought 1.5 metres and have just enough for something for the child (I have just bought a few patterns from Compagnie M and have plans for the Lotta dress fairly soon).


I made exactly the same size as last time although these do feel a little bit snugger than the last pair.  I don't really mind though because the mustard ones do stretch out after a full day's wear.  I had decided to have a lapped zip in this pair and extend the waistband to include a button and button hole.   All this would have been absolutely fine had I not made two simple errors: I got my front and backs confused so as a result my trousers do up on the wrong side with the lap bit facing the wrong way and I put the waistband on upside down so the wider bit was at the top.


I can't really do anything about the first issue so am leaving it.  I am sure no one else but me will notice and the zip went in nice and neatly so I don't want to unpick.  The waistband problem was more tricky though, because it really didn't fit and it was now quite late on and we were going to London the next day.  So I improvised and ran some waistband elastic inside the top of the waistband and secured it with a zig zag stitch all the way round.  

I have no idea what I was pointing at!
I now love the fit and will definitely be making elastic waistbands all the time now!  These trousers definitely do not need hoiking up at all, the feel nice and snug around my waist and no one but me (and you!) needs to know that I've gone all mum style in my elastic waisted trousers!!  I have yet to put in the button hole and at the moment they are secured with a safety pin, but it will be rectified soon.

I would love some stretch sateen trousers next but I have a very long sewing list at the moment so I don't know when I will get time for it.  I still prefer wearing skirts in general but can appreciate the usefulness of a nice pair of trousers.  These are as near to perfect as trousers get for me and I think they will get a lot of wear - especially if the weather doesn't warm up soon!






13 comments:

  1. Perfect! I totally love the denim and the fit! I'm a big fan of the safety pin method instead of a button. If it works it works ;-)

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    1. It does work!! I WILL sew a buttonhole at some point....

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  2. I love the trousers - I love the fit - and I'm off to buy some elastic!

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  3. I'm totally after a pair of denim Ultimate's. I loved your mustard ones, they're the inspiration for me keeping going with this pattern, I need to make a few alterations to get the fit right and I think using that facing as a waistband will be one of them

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    1. Thank you Zoe, that's a really nice thing to say. I'm not a natural trouser wearer but have definitely had my money's worth from these two pairs this month!

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  4. These are lovely and I love a bit of elastic at the waist! It is on my radar to make trousers very soon, I already have a few trouser patterns at the moment so don't feel I can justify another pattern at the moment. But these look great- especially in denim.

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    1. Elastic is the way forward! They are so comfortable and don't fall down!

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  5. These look brilliant! I love the look of that denim, and without sounding too weird, the for kind the bum looks great! I hope you make some more, but also hope that summer comes soon & you don't need to!

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    1. Ha Ha thanks! I do want summer to come but now I have two pairs of trousers and a maxi skirt I'm fine with the weather!

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  6. I love this pattern - I made three pairs recently and they have been really useful this month as it hasn't been warm enough for summer dresses yet - I am so tempted by the idea of a denim pair! I love the fabric you used

    Louise

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  7. The trousers look great. I love the fabric. I'm tempted to get the pattern when I've some money to spend! X




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  8. These look so great. I am now on the look out for a nice stretch denim because yours look so great! I have added a button waistband to each pair of my ultimate trousers and it is such a better fit than the original facing included with the pattern. Your elastic sounds genius though, I might have to give that a go! :)

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