It all went smoothly. I've ever worn white trousers in my life, but over the next couple of days I grew to quite like them, and I was a bit sorry that they were only a test pair. Because they were a test pair, and because I was in a hurry to get to my destination of having a finished pattern to use, I didn't bother finishing the raw edges. If I had done, the "test pair" might have surivived the mauling they got.
They went together well, I even got as far as putting the waistband on. They looked.... quite good. Although I couldn't quite work out where my waist was meant to be. If I let the trousers settle, my waist was fairly low down, and the crotch was far to low. If I hoiked the trousers up so that the crotch was OK then the waist was far too loose. I looked at the pattern, saw that we'd marked my knee point (for Yoga Pants), so I measured myself. The knee position was consistent with the crotch being in the correct place, so it meant that my trousers were a little high waisted. That was OK, let's get the fit right and then I can always lower the waistband - that's the easy bit. To avoid any further confusion, I biroed a line on my side to show my where the trousers should sit.
I faffed and pinched, and decided I'd increase the width of the darts. I pulled the waistband off, did the darts, put the waistband back on, and checked again. Better, but still too loose. I pinched at the back and then managed to draw, in red pencil, at the back, two vertical lines. I slipped the trousers off, and looked - yep, if I put the lines next to each other, that indicated how much I needed to bring the trousers in. Tomorrow.
Tomorrow came and I had other things to do. Thursday came. I put the trousers back on, and looked at how far down I needed to go with the change, and then I went to my master pattern and marked the proposed change there. I also adjusted the leg length, and compared the relevant sides of the front and back, making a slight adjustment there to.
At this point realised that I couldn't really avoid the zip any longer. I had been tempted to just put on a yoga wasitband or an elastic casing - but that wasn't really the right thing. I really should do these test trousers properly, and I might as well get on with it.
I looked looked lessons on my Make it Sew sewing series. I thought I'd have to do an invisible zip, but as I sat through 3 different zip lessons, I discovered that wasn't necessary. I also watched the waistband lesson, to see how that works with a zip, and found I'd been doing it incorrectly. It didn't matter for the testing, but it did matter for the real thing.
Friday, I decided I'd start sewing straight away. I ripped off the waistband, I unpicked the seams, and I cut the fabric to the new pattern. I also had a go with a zip. I put it all back together, put the waistband on a bit more correctly.... and they looked really good. Even the zip - which was a bit wonky and the stitching (which was black thread on white fabric) was all over the place - worked.
I was so happy!
I cut our the fabric for a "proper" pair, and made them up - including a zip - before the day was out. I'd pressed open all my seams, I'd done the zip properly. I didn't get the waistband done: they are still a little big round the waist - the fabric has a slight stretch - and I'm thinking about trying to use the waistband to deal with the extra (and I will make a pattern adjustment). I also haven't hemmed them yet, so that makes 3 items of clothing that I've almost finished but haven't hemmed.
The fabric is a bit of an odd choice - a bit floral. I suspect that DH, whose enthusiasn for my achievement was a little restrained, was thinking "Why on EARTH would you make TROUSERS out of THAT".
It's a black fine cordurouy with tiny flowers and stars on, and I'd bought it to make a pretty winter maxi skirt. I'm not quite sure why the fabric pattern would be fine for a skirt but a bit of an odd choce for trousers. I do wonder if people will think I'm wearing PJ bottoms.
Ha! Just wait until I've been back to Ikea, THEN he'll know what floral trousers look like.
