To be honest, when I had the grand idea that I would make myself some trousers just under a year ago, I thought it might have been a little less complex than this. Or maybe it’s just me- why did I think drafting (not just making but drafting) the pattern on my first go at trousers was a good idea?!
That being said, I like the idea of drafting my own stuff, not just because I want to make my life difficult, but because, one, you learn a new skill and two (most importantly), you can make exactly the thing you want, without having to compromise- which defeats the object of making your own clothes anyway. Well, at least it does in my opinion. One of the main draws to making your own stuff is that you can (in theory) create a garment to the exact specifics of what you want. When out clothes shopping, I find it extremely difficult, because I often have an idea of what I want, but there’s always something slightly not quite right, whether that be the price, the material, the fit and so on. It also restricts you to what is currently ‘trending’, which might not always be what I’m looking for or what suits me. There’s also the environmental and ethical factors to consider, too, which are big for me. Oh hey climate change and exploitation of workers.
But I’m not going to pretend drafting was at all easy. It was quite the opposite. It was also a very long drawn out process- as you’ll shortly see that I left large gaps between each version due to losing motivation etc, because it felt like none of it was working or looking any good. A lot of this is due to lack of experience/ knowledge. But the more you do, the more you learn. So I persisted. I ended up making 4 toiles before the ‘final’ version. Which is also somewhat a toile, because there are several adjustments I want to make before going into my next trousers using some fabric I purchased last year for around £35. So yeah, the pressure is on to get the next ones right! And yes, I’m sure the perfect trousers don’t exist, but one can try!
The initial drafting for the ‘block’ was following this and this video tutorials. I didn’t need to mess around with darts or zip flys or anything, because in my head I always wanted an elasticated waist for these. I much prefer the feel of a stretchy waist as I find it much more comfortable and less restricting. I hate not feeling relaxed or that my clothes are bothering me in some way, so one of the main components for my design was an elasticated waist. I’ll note here what other requirements I wanted for my brief: side seam pockets, colour to be black, made from natural fibres and the legs to be tapered.
I’ll go through each toile now and the date I made it/ what adjustments I wanted, as well as some ‘making of’ pics. Hopefully you can see the progression as I go through- if not, then what am I even doing?!
#1 24th March
This was the first go at it- I had no idea what I was doing at this point to be honest! And I made a rookie error of sewing two of the same pattern pieces together, so yes, unpicking was required!
But, they look like trousers, so that was a start. Though the main thing wrong with these is that they had very little ease, so yeah, they weren’t the most comfortable of things to wear, despite looking fine in these images.
You can see that the tops of the pattern go straight across, rather than slanted towards the centre back, which gives the trousers ease for when you sit down or walk upstairs/ movement in general. I looked at my current favourite pair of trousers and they go up in the centre at the back several inches than the front.
#2 27th April
Yeah so over a month passed between these two! But, stuff happened and I got ill for two weeks. Valid excuses I think!
The fit of the crotch was much improved here, but as you can see, they’re much too baggy over the bum, which wasn’t the look I wanted. I tested out the pocket positioning in these, plus wanted to try making pockets as that’s something I’ve never done before. I was really pleased with the positioning of them, so I tried to make sure I didn’t mess with the placement of them for any future pattern adjustments. Going forwards though, I should have really drafted them last, because I felt it restricted me a little in editing the pattern.
#3 9th May
Overall these were much better. I also ran out of white material, so went on to the blue stuff! This was a bit annoying as it was a polyester/ cotton blend, meaning it wouldn’t be a quite accurate representation of the final garment, which would be 100% natural fibres (linen in this instance). The colour of these also gives strong hospital vibes!
They still felt a little baggy round the back, so I still wasn’t completely happy with them.
#4 7th July
I was running out of blue sheets at this point, hence the shorts! But, almost two months since the previous toile, I feel I was good to go. This was pretty much to test just the back crotch, which I ruthlessly redesigned, so shorts were sufficient and also that’s why there’s like zero images from the front, because that wasn’t the focus of these. And this picture is an absolute shocker- yes, that is all my socks and that on the drying rack behind me! But cba to take another photo, so it was either this one or nothing!
Finally I was able to make my ‘proper’ trousers! I’ll stick a few images below- some close ups of some of the sewing I’m proud of (I’m getting a lot better at using the sewing machine now), the zig zag stitch finish due to not owning an overlocker, what they look like before dyeing them, what they look like after and anything else interesting I can find in my photo library!
Firstly, I am very proud of these, despite them not being perfect. I’m pleased with a lot of the sewing, as well as the pressing (I love pressing- it’s soooo satisfying)! And to have created some very wearable trousers which actually fit, with zero drafting experience is something not to be sniffed at. But, there are obviously improvements/ alterations I would like to make going forwards into the next pair(s).
An easy fix is the pocket bags- these just need enlarging. It would be cool to make them zipped as well, though that might be too much of a faff, but we shall see… They are also quite tight around the thigh area (thanks skateboarding for quads, but makes trousers difficult)! When I’m standing, they’re fine, but it’s just crouching down or that kind of thing, where I feel they could have a bit more ‘give’ (if this was a stretch fabric that would be no issue, but cotton/ linen are pretty unforgiving in that way). So the fix will be expanding the sides ever so slightly on the back pattern piece- perhaps a cm on each side. I suppose if they do end up being too baggy, then I can always take them in, but if they’re still kind of tight feeling, then it’s a lot harder to add fabric on.
I also want to make the waistband a fraction taller, to account for the top stitching, as well as bulk from the elastic and drawstring inside.
So, those are my main alterations I have in mind, with a few minor things which are too dull to list here!
Watch this space for more- got a lot of ideas for sewing right now, plus some of it is necessary as my current trouser situation is extremely limited!
See you in the next one xo
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