Gorgeous NeedleworkMonday Friends!
I am sooo genuinely uber-thrilled to have just completed and to be wearing, these rebirthed favourite-ever trousers!! The original pair were bought in a street market near Rembrandt's house in Amsterdam, on my way back to Italy from Uganda: a cotton Turkish/ Moroccan style pantaloon for 15 Euros, back in 2015. I practically lived in them for around 8 yrs, until they wore through completely. They are simple, and I'd thought about reinventing them, but it took me this long to actually dive in....
The original trews were so beloved: they were almost transparent in places, from being overloved and overlivedin... They were real adventure trousers; all day every day pantaloons for walking, gardening, relaxing at home, travelling, driving. They were imbued with myriad memories and good vibes - the comfort and freedom I'd lived in them.
They were not completely perfect nevertheless! The waistband and the ankles were slightly too tight, and this made their slightly-too-short length ride up my legs uncomfortably if I sat in certain positions...
This is them laid out flat: I'd actually never done this until I began sewing the new trews, a few days ago - and instantly saw how quickly they could be remade.
I laid them above and below a layer of this gorgeous old sheet fabric, which I'd salvaged from Sergio's house. Pinned them, and then cut around the edges.
This is the sheet: it took a lot of unpicking of edges, which was beautiful and laborious, gentle work. Metaphorical and releasing, to unpick stitches one by one, with a stitch-unpicker.
Being so emotionally attached to the original trousers, I was reluctant to cut them, but I needed to re-use the elastic from the waist, as I didn't have any money this week to buy new elastic, and I was determined to get them done!
Phooooo: the unpicking of the waistband was hard! Three lines of tight stitches, dug into the rubbery strip. The removed elastic was a wee bit rippled, but still very functional.
I love finding the perfect thread colour for a new project, and then setting up the old sewing machine: my hands have been quite sore from heavy garden work recently, and from sewing my pinafore dress last week all by hand! So I needed to give them a break, as I was embarking on this project.
It was exciting how quickly the main body of the pants came into being! I started with a simple copying of the waist form - a measured-by-sight copying of the original waist, and making it a bit longer so it would cover more before flaring out into the 'skirt' of the pant. I 'left' a space in this waist panel, perhaps not intentionally, but it worked out perfectly for the wider, fitted waist - and the space was for a zip panel. Hehe - love how these things come together when I'm not planning a thing!
before
The most work was in the waist panel: lots of pinning, sewing, foutering... And even ironing! I rarely take my iron out: mostly just for sewing projects: I love how it makes the setting of a shape so nice...
after
The zip setting was interesting and quite challenging too: I didn't have the perfect zip, and no funds, so it was a good solution to use this old, much longer zip and just cut it down and sew it securely where it ends. Easy peasy!
At the same time, I was cutting a panel for the space in the waist panel, and cutting it in two (eek!) then hemming it, before fitting the zip between the two sides.
Again, I did all this intuitively and measuring by eye. I like this, as it tends to get me better outcomes; any inaccuracies are absorbed into the instinctive form as it is created by hands seeking harmony.
Though they are a fouter, putting an invisible zip in can be so perfectly satisfying! I LOVED doing the finished stitching to have this panel be neat and nice fitting. I really enjoyed constructing the elasticated part too: fixing the elastic into either side of the waistband, then adding the side panel with the zip, which it was easy to adjust perfectly to fit.
Then on to the elastic for the ankles, which in my older trousers was too tight (and the legs too short!): I had roughly cut the triangle main body of the pant to be slightly longer then the original, but also wanted to add some separate cuffs to house the elastic, which I took from my wedding outfit skirt adjustment from last year. It was a waistband elastic, and had ample elastic for two ankles. YEy!
I made very simple lengths of sheet material, with edges ironed in place, which were longer then the elastic. I'd roughly measured the elastic by putting it around each of my ankles and making sure it would sit just right... Then:
Nice and straightforward: just folding the strips in half to make a tube; pulling it back inside of itself to have the right side on the outside; then using a giant safety pin to pull the elastic through...
And securing it very firmly in place with stitches that joined the two ends of the elastic into a loop.
Weehee: then there were two cute loops for the ankles.... Those more professional than I might notice at this point that I was in a bind - because I needed to then stretch the ankles and the lower legs, to keep the looseness of the elastic and so to have a good fit! Hehe: yes, these kinds of challenges come up now and again in intuitive sewing...
Relatively immediately solved, by using a mini Connect-Four board, to hold the ankle and leg in place whilst I sewed them!
This was a wee bit tension-inducing - but only for me, and not for the ankle join!
And that was them ready to wear! Here I am this morning, just before beginning writing, dancing about in the freshly-completed garment! Heaven!
Another beautiful aspect of these is that they fit very nicely over my large belly: The elastic is very loosely fitted for the waist, and the whole upper trouser sits like a dream over my bump...
Making a pair of beloved trousers again has opened up a font of inspiration for me! I am mapping out other versions of this trouser form in my mind, and have a beautiful idea for a white pair (again from vintage cotton or linen sheet) with side panels using traditional embroidery which is very freely available here on 1 Euromarket stalls - like this tablecloth I bought recently.
