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Wednesday 3 June 2015

Black 'Ultimate' Trousers

Black trousers....em...difficult to photograph
Have you sewn a pair of 'Ultimate' trousers yet? I've finally got round to finishing my first pair. I can now see why everyone's loving them! I bought the pattern through John Lewis with their very handy Click and Collect service.

So, how did I get on with trousers for normal height people? Basically I measured all the important bit and compared with the pattern envelope, which extremely helpfully gives you the finished inside leg measurement, hurray! not all patterns do this. I added 1" to the length of the rise and a total of 6", yes that's six inches, to the leg length. Just to be clear, I split this leg lengthening to 3" above the knee and 3" below the knee.

I chose a 97% cotton 3% lycra fabric, to me it seems like it's bordering on a denim and would be suitable for jeans. I just wanted a little bit of stretch for comfort plus the benefit of better recovery in bum and knee areas.

These are fitted trousers with a side zip and waist facings. There's nothing complicated about them apart from getting the fit right, something that's worth spending time on. I did and it paid off.

View of the insides!
The body fit is good but I feel the legs could be cut in a size smaller next time, and yes there will be a next time for these trousers. The only thing I need to alter is where I add the additional leg length because I don't feel like I've added enough length above the knee. I find it really difficult working out where the knee is on the pattern, any ideas how to do this 'cos I'm a bit stuck? When I'm walking, I can feel the upper thigh dragging a bit so I wonder if the length from body to knee is just a smidgeon short? That's my best guess so if anyone knows better, please let me know.

Reasonably good darts & waist facings top-stitched
I'm wearing these trousers today on their maiden voyage along with my Julia cardigan and it's great having an almost complete me-made outfit. Love it! So it's a good sign that whatever is wrong with my leg lengthening isn't putting me off wearing them. I like neat, simple trousers like these so I will make more of them, in fact there's the stone coloured version of this fabric at home, just crying out to be made into a pair! Anyone else got a pair of Ultimate trousers made for the summer?

3 comments:

  1. I most definitely need a black pair of these (black is so hard to photograph isn't it?!)

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    1. I've got a whole pile of fabric waiting to be sewn into Ultimates. I think I've found my perfect pattern! And yes, black is the worst to photograph!

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