I had mentioned in my sewing plans that I would join in Lladybird’s Thurlow trouser sewalong. It was a means to get organised & ensure that I finally got round to making a pattern that I had leaped at buying as soon as it was released but had been languishing in my “to make” list. I’d thought I’d make the shorts up with some silk/ wool mix in mini dog tooth check. I even made a muslin, thinking that being trousers there were bound to be “issues”. But there weren’t as I could see. The muslin fitted trouble free, nice shape, not even a baggy waistband. I fluffed up my feathers & felt confident about making them for real. It just took me a long time to get around to cutting them out. I was in time with Lladybird’s muslin posts, but her sewalong posts had already started to be published before I got cutting.
And then I found I had enough to make longs! (And when I knew this it made me chuckle because they might also look like old man trousers!!) I was a bit dubious of the leg shaping, not being sure if I wanted bootcut trousers, so was prepared to deal with that when the time came, but embraced the even more practical concept of adding another pair of trousers to my wardrobe (far more possibilities than shorts in reality I thought). Lladybird’s step by steps are brilliant, with good useful photos & typically gut laughing sidebars (I will never forget her mention of “ass-windows” when describing what we didn’t want when making our welt pockets).
Making the welt pockets reminded me of making bound buttonholes, but bigger & less fiddly! I feel I could have been more precise with mine….
For some reason though, I completely sidetracked my sewing sense when making them up, totally disempowering myself to the idea of a step by step sewalong but neither reading all of Lladybird’s instructions carefully enough nor Sewaholic’s written instructions. You might wonder what I mean. Well, let’s say that my order of construction, despite not being a newbie to making trousers, was not only irrational, but downright trouble-making. I followed all of LLadybird’s pictures for making the front pockets, making the welt pockets and the fly front. They were really helpful- the detail & arrows spoonfed me & I guess disengaged my brain.
So helpful in fact that I didn’t bother reading about the steps I needed to make in between. By the time I’d sewn the fly I’d realised that I hadn’t sewn any seams at all. Everyone knows that sewing the crotch seam comes before inserting the zipper, but for some reason I had a serious mental bypass which then required me to sew the crotch seam with zip & fly already in situ. Derr! Yes. You’re right, it was exceedingly tricksty & needed some handstitching at the end.
As if this stitching challenge wasn’t enough I also managed to cut the left waistband wrongly so that it wasn’t big enough- but only discovered this once I had attached the waistband (& trimmed the seams).
I didn’t have a large enough piece of fabric left to cut a new piece so I had to do a fiddly fabric jigsaw involving some ghoulish unpicking. (Actually, I have since found that I did have more fabric, looks like my memory was in collusion with my defective brain that day!)
If you look carefully you can see that the pointed end has a seam just to the left of the fastener…it’s the same in the lining as well. I’d allowed my dreams to process how best to resolve this particular conundrum, deciding that this was the lesser evil, as the seam wouldn’t show when being worn as it is hidden by the overlapping right waistband. Do you have faith in your dreams? Do you let them help you when you’ve a problem to solve?
But despite all of my misadventures I have to express my utter love for the Thurlow trousers! The fit is sublime. I love the welt pockets. I adore the amount of lovely lining inside.
I had wondered about the bootcut legs, worried about the shape, but I am a fan of this too.
I want to make more. I think a dark denim pair could be added to the plan.
I LOVE the fit – even the waist fits me with no revisions…
This pair I reckon are dual purpose – work & casual. And these photos have been taken after a whole day’s wear yesterday. Look! It doesn’t crease! I feel as if I have hit the jackpot!
I had a bit of time after I finished them in the evening & wanted to try out some more machine embroidery. This was what I came up with, being a bit stumped for inspiration !
I know I should have scrubbed out the chalk – seems to show up more with the flash…such a great excuse to draw like a kid!
So thank you Lladybird for your ace sewalong. And thank you Tasia for yet another cracking pattern.
love these – the fit is perfect! my next project is a pair of junipers (my first trousers – eeek!) but i keep seeing all these lovely thurlows and thinking i should have gone for them instead! and i love your machine embroidery picture – it’s fab – you should send it to lladybird!
Ahh, what a good idea! But it would need to be updated to show the new hairstyle!
Good luck with Junipers – they seem similar to Thurlows so It’ll be interesting to hear how they go
Omg I love these! Especially that awesome paisley lining… totally makes pulling up your pants, er, TROUSERS, way more fun
Now I want some crazy giant-check houndstooth pants… do you think people would stop reading my blog if I only posted Thurlows from now on? I CAN’T STOP OK.
And I love that machine embroidery! Thurlows for everyone!
DD
Giant dog tooth check (like my embroidery ha ha!) would be ace ! But if it were me I’d be always thinking i was a living walking cartoon!
I dont think anyone would ever get tired of reading your blog, even if you filled it with Thurlows, particularly if giant houndstooth featured! I bet you’d end up with “extreme Thurlows” – fabric choice could be interesting (gold lame, chiffon & leather would be challenges ….;-) )
But I immediately also want to make more ……
These are fabulous!!!!! I love the fabric (and the lining fabric!), and the fit is amazing! The fit on the waistband is great, it looks like it’s meant to be that way.
I am so going to make myself a pair of these, but I have to wait for Santa to bring me “Pants For Real People”.
I think that’s a good plan Lynne. I’ve got Pants for real people as well, & having it in my possession, reading it, made me feel more confident about tackling any issues that came up (with my last pair). Thankfully with these there weren’t any (still feeling so surprised about that!)
Your trousers look fabulous Winnie. I’m scared to attempt trousers myself, but as someone who can never find a pair that fit properly in any shop, perhaps I should learn to make my own.
Love your machine embroidery too.
It is an undertaking, sewing your own trousers…I’ve had patterns that really took quite a bit of tweaking, but if you are prepared for that, then you’ll get an end result you’ll be really pleased with.
They look fantastic! I’ve been wanting to try these but a bit wary about fit. Sewaholic patterns are for pear shapes and I am not a pear shape. Will I have fit issues on the hips you think?
You know, I’m not sure about how they’d fit you – you’re so tiny & even I cut out a size 2 (most unheard of for me!). I’d say there’s scope for adjustments both at side seams for the hips as well as the Centre back seam which is sewn with room for adjustment right up to the end – so you’re still able to adjust even with the waistband on. I do feel it was pure luck that they fit me so well, but then the Cambie dress also fit me perfectly first time.
What great trousers! That fabric is lovely. I really need to get this trouser pattern!
These are amazing Winnie, what an great fit and relatively hassle-free you say!?! I think the bootleg suits you very much and now you have a good variation in your wardrobe!
They look amazing and I love your lining fabric! Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!
Love love love these! They came out great!
yay thst you like them too even after all the slight backwards and forwards constructions. 
I like them! The fit looks really good and I think bootcut are coming back in (I had to go shopping with my teenage daughters recently!) – whatever, we all know secretly they are much more comfortable, flattering and versatile than our skinnies!! X
It took ages for me to go anywhere near skinnies (& then not that close) – it’s funny if bootcut are coming back!! I agree they are generally so much more flattering aren’t they?
Great trousers. I love hounds tooth fabric. They are perfect on you. Contrasting lining is such a fun detail to add. Awesome!
Thanks Bea W & hello! The lining has so much scope for fun, doesn’t it!!
Those are really nice trousers! The fit is amazing and I love the lining!! I have a pair of short, now I definitively want a pair of trousers!
Thank you & hello Marie F! I want another pair now too
!! And then some shorts!!
They look fantastic! I love the fabric. I also think the addition on the waistband was a really clever save. I have definitely done that before and have had to cut a whole new waistband.
These trousers are awesome. The look amazing on you, what a fit! All the amazing Thurlows are making me lust after a pair but I suspect that they won’t work on me, having established that ideally I need pants to hit my natural waist ideally. About dreams. For my flame dress at this year’s ball I decided to go old school and wear high waisted knickers and no slip. Competitive or serious dancers do this all the time and having your knickers show on the dance floor is completely acceptable. Many dancers wear ruffled or frilly knickers as well. If you’re going to show them, flaunt them, right? The night before the ball I dreamed I had high waisted, red sequinned knickers that sparkled as they flashed on the dance floor. I woke up knowing that that was an incredible idea and that I had no way of making it happen in time and I’ve had a hankering for sequinned knickers since. It looks like your dreams saw you straight, your fix is perfect!
these are splendid – I also bought the pattern the minute it came out and still haven’t done anything with it….
they look wonderfully comfortable while still being sleek.
These look absolutely fantastic – and thank you for letting us see inside your duds, they look superb, inside and out!
They look fab and so very wearable. xx
I read this immediately after reading Lladybird’s post about HER Thurlows and I am struck by how differently you two ladies chose to fit them. Yours are soft and slouchy while hers are tighter and higher. It reminded me of the difference between your Portfolio pants and mine. I wonder if it is down to body shape or fit preference? Which is my rambling way to say – I don’t think these would look like that on me and gosh how interesting that one pattern can look so different on different people!
P.S. And yes I like those on you!
It is interesting isn’t it? It must just be down to body shape, mustn’t it? But I do know that mine feel like I want them to, so whether that comes into how I have made them fit I don’t know. I think I’m as confused as you!
These look fantastic! Can’t wait to make a pair.
You look fantastic on these trousers…
)
These are MARVELOUS! I especially love that you’ve worn them all day and they look perfect
I love trousers like that! The fit is sublime – I really feel like I need to join the club and make a fabulous pair to match yours and Lauren’s!
Those are amazing! They look great on you, and so comfy too.
Yes, I do ask my dreams to help me solve problems!
That’s interesting about dreams, isn’t it. They’re also good for putting perspective on a problem I find too. As long as the problem isn’t keeping you awake that is!
These are fabulous!!! Great job, love the details & the fit!! They look both comfy & chic – can’t wait to make mine!
Oh yes! Go for it! Reading all of these comments makes me want to make another pair – I have already worn them three times this week!
Excellent trousers! I love the paisley lining and your slightly slouchy fit. How fortunate that they fit straight from the pattern.
I keep having covetous thoughts about this pattern and then reminding myself that I prefer to wear blouses tucked into my trousers – is the waistband quite a bit below the waist? It looks that way on the versions I have seen so far.
Hi KBenco, yes the waistband (on me) sits below my belly button. Now I like this, but haven’t tried amything tucked in yet to know how that would feel & look
These look lovely on you, perfect fit! they look like my perfect trousers. I have lots of patterns for trousers in burda magazines – some of them look so similar to each other I wonder if they are actually different! I think I will use Lladybirds sew-along if I ever make any. As Roobeedoo says it is very interesting to see how different people style and fit the same pattern. I’m between projects atm and am struggling to decided what to sew next.
I know the feeling about deciding what to sew next….having a massive amount of choice can sometimes be quite paralysing too! In the end I made a pair of winter PJs in an hour as it was better than deciding!!
Ooh, these look great on you! I’m so glad to hear they fit you without a hitch! But I can totally relate about making bonehead mistakes– I’ve done more of those than I care to think about!
Wow! You’ve just converted me to the Thurlow trousers.
They fit superb and I can’t believe you didn’t have a single adjustment to make. I also like how slouchy they are — they look so comfy. If my backside can look half as good as yours in these pants, I would be overjoyed! Well done!
Coo, thank you Adrienne! I’m itching to make more ..been wearing them loads