Sunday 18 December 2016

Pin stripe trousers and peacock feathers

Welcome!

I am today showing you my latest pair of 'smart' trousers and a blouse I made a few weeks back that I never got round to blogging about.

I bought the trouser fabric recently while on a trip with friends to Winchester. C&H always have a loaded remnant table which is well worth sorting through. I picked up this 1.5 metres of beautiful and unusual pin stripe suiting for just £11.28. It's a medium weight and feels like wool but it handled well and didn't shrink in the prewash. It holds a crease and is soft and warm to wear, ideal for the winter months.

I faced the pockets with fabric and made the pockets from some scrap cotton that was once a duvet cover!

I decided I'd made several pairs of trousers from my original SFD Pants Sloper and it was beginning to look decidedly worn. I thought since my Fit and Sew Retreat a couple of months ago that perhaps it was time to re-evaluate  and redraw a new body blueprint. When I finished I was delighted to see how close the old and new actually were.

I must admit the photos don't do justice to these trousers as I tried to get the camera to focus on my lower half I realise I have tilted the tripod which makes my legs look a lot shorter than they are [I'm 5ft 7in] and the angle has made them look less flattering than in reality.

I am very happy with the fit and feel and have already worn them to a Christmas Function which drew some nice comments that are always a bonus.

I had the peacock feather fabric in my stash for some time and I can't remember where I bought it although it was probably in Nazare, Portugal during our spring trip to the area. I remember falling in love with the print as soon as I saw it and then couldn't quite make up my mind how best to use it.

I eventually made this soft shirt with a faux tie using a pattern I self drafted and made previously here



Although the design I created uses a yoke I tried to match the back so that the design was consistent. 



























Here are some photos of the pieces I drafted that make up these trousers. You will also see how I store them in a plastic folder with a piece of fabric to remind me how I used them.

My future projects will focus around our next big adventure. We're off to Australia in Spring 2017 so I need to make a lightweight capsule wardrobe that will travel well. Any ideas?

3 comments:

  1. Great job with your pants and thanks for your interesting blog post. Where and for how long will you be visiting here in Australia? We have huge temperature variations here, depending on where you are. This year we travelled in north Qld and the Northern Territiry from late April until 30 September and escaped Winter. Now, we are travelling in Tasmania and having what we call Winter weather in Summer! Our home is coastal Queensland, about 500k north of Brisbane. Happy to answer any questions you may have regarding your upcoming visit.

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    1. Hi OzAnnie and thank you for your comments. We have friends in Brisbane so will start there. Our aim is to do a bit of travelling in a motorhome but no real plans yet, very vague at the moment. We'll be there for 10 weeks in total. Can't wait - it's our first proper visit.

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  2. Have a great time. WikiCamps is a great app to help you find places to stay overnight - both caravan parks, low cost sites and free camps. We use it all the time. Just Message me if you have any questions!!!

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Sunny Top from Sew My Style Challenge