Valentine Trousers

Nothing says Valentine's Day like handmade trousers! Figures it would take a request form my boyfriend to drive me head first into the world of pants. He's been no-so-subtlely making suggestions on what project I should sew next. This came after he went with me to Joanns and he ended up buying men's patterns for trousers, jeans, coats, and a suit. I am glad he's taken such an interest in sewing, but knowing how picky he is with the fit and feel of his clothing, I will admit I went into this with some apprehension.

I used Burda 6933. This is my first time using a Burda pattern, and I had heard their instructions weren't always the best. Truthfully they did give me some trouble, and I had to read them several times to make sure I understood what was happening.

I had to draft up 2 sizes from the largest size on the pattern paper.  The first muslin fit well through the hips and seat, but was tight around his thighs. So I went back and added some more width at the thighs and carried it straight down to the hem.  I also had to lower the front waistband since he doesn't wear his pants over his belly.

Because I lowered the band, I ended up shortening the pieces for the zipper fly. I figured it wouldn't make much of a difference since the distance from the end of the fly to the crotch was still the same. After a day of wearing them he did mention he'd like the fly to extend lower.  But hey, I think I did good for my first fly front zipper, especially since theres certain "plumbing" I personally never had to consider before.

You can see the fabric's pattern better close up

I used a grey wool twill we bought from a local fabric store. I was worried about cutting the pieces out because I wanted the twill to run in the same direction all over the pants.  I managed to succeed everywhere but the waistband, which I decided no one would really see.

They're not actually crooked, he's just standing off center.

I remember reading somewhere that welt pockets were an advanced technique. Well, good thing I decided to tackle them on my first pair of pants! The first one on the muslin came out horribly, but I figured out where I went wrong and tada!: beautiful lovely welt pockets.

The serged insides

These pants were a great chance to get to know my new serger better.  The wool twill frays like crazy, so I made sure to finish all of the exposed edges. Some areas look really wonky, but for my first time I'd say it went pretty well.

The pants sadly have not survived their first venture into the outside world. When my boyfriend came home from work, he complained that the back pockets were too shallow for his wallet. Then when he sat down on the floor to watch TV (yes, we have couches, sometimes he just ignores them) the crotch seam popped open. So I have some repairs to make and adjustments to consider for the next pair. But I covered a lot of first with these trousers (welt pockets, fly front, belt loops, PANTS) so I can officially say I am no longer intimidated.