Usually when I make a dud project I put it into a big box with all the other less than ideal projects with the vague idea that one day I'll remake it into something else. That box is as large as my UFO box! Unfortunately the allure of a new project, from a fresh length of fabric is too strong and those projects sit there for a long time.
Not this time though - I've remade the ridiculous wide leg pants that I made last month (posted here). Partly because my refashion box is in storage with the rest of my sewing room supplies, but mainly because I really love this beautiful rust coloured wool fabric.
The original pants (3/2017 #115) had very wide legs, pleats at the front and angled pockets at the side. I remade them using Burda 10/2016 #113 which I made last year in white and blue pinstripe fabric (posted here), which I thought were really wide leg pants until I made this pair!
These new pants are flat fronted with a wider waistband and slightly narrower legs. I decided to leave off those curved patch pockets because I think that's more of a casual look and I wanted to be able to wear these to work. I also hemmed these short enough to wear flat shoes with them, which works because of the slightly narrower legs:
I still have those annoying wrinkles at the back of my legs though - the combination of my saddlebag thighs and prominent calves make fitting my legs an absolute nightmare.
Now I am much happier with these pants, they are far more wearable in this form. I wore these to work with my new top and a white tailored jacket I made back in 2015 from an old Vogue pattern (posted here) - a far more interesting combination than my usual matching top and bottom suits!
The top I'm wearing in these photos is new too - it's the Style Arc Skye top. This top is super simple - it took me less than 3 hours to cut it out and sew it up at a sewing weekend away I went to in May, but it took me 3 weeks to sew a button on the back to finish it! My approach to sewing is so illogical sometimes....
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| image via Style Arc |
The fabric I've used is a polyester woven fabric called 'Shooting Star' from Pitt Trading, which they still have on their on-line store if you're interested. I don't normally sew with polyester fabric because I don't like wearing it, but this graphic print really caught my eye. The fabric is really spongy though and it was quite difficult to press, although it doesn't wrinkle when wearing it so I guess that's the trade off!
The top is essentially a front and a back with facings so it made up quite quickly. The hem has two curved facings which makes it far easier to finish off the rather than trying to turn up a hem.
I do think the method of sewing the top could be even more simplified though. The back is sewn in two pieces, with the facings sewn to the right side and flipped to the inside, and then the centre back seam sewn below the facings. The Burda method for this style of top - sewing the facing as one piece, stitching a long 'v' down the centre back and then cutting it before flipping it to the inside is far neater, quicker and means you can cut on the fold.
Likewise, the sleeves are finished by turning under twice, and then sewing the side seams from the marked point down which I think could be made simpler and neater simply by folding it over once only so that it goes from the sleeve hem into the pressed open seam allowances without the need for clipping.
The only change I would make to the pattern itself would be to lengthen it slightly. The sides curve up quite high, and if I'm not wearing something high waisted a bit of skin peeks out which is not a good look.
I'm happy that I made the effort to remake these pants and that it turned out far better than the original, which is fortunate because I have a few other projects I've made recently that
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