We received a wedding invitation for a colleague of my husband. It was to be in the function centre of a winery and “formal”. My husband used the opportunity to dry clean several suits and replaced a shirt. Lucky him. I decided to use the Frocktails top I made in 2017, this would be its’ third outing. When I made it I had intended to also make trousers and now I was finally getting around to them.

McCalls 6901 came with the Palmer/Watson Craftsy course on tissue fitting trousers. These completely fit the brief for Kibbe Classic trousers: Soft, slightly tapered, straight leg or boot cut silhouettes, classic tailoring elements such as slanted pockets. Clean, tailored styles with a minimum of detail. Plain front or trouser-pleated. I had followed the instructions and cut them out early in January. At the start of March I decided to sew them up.

Fifi puss was not happy. She was very comfortable on my pattern pieces.

The pattern has huge seam allowances, to allow space for alterations. I selected size 22 (going on my hip size) and set about overlocking all the edges. I didn’t want any fraying while I fiddled with the fit.

The pockets went in easily, the zip insertion was adequately described. The waistband was also easily attached. I used ribbed elastic instead of interfacing. I pulled it through the waistband so that it decreased the waist measurement by a couple of centimetres. This prevents me from re-adjusting trousers all day and allows for the continual up and down in my work. I used a press stud and trouser hook for closures. All good.

I took out a lot of fabric from above the hips. Each dart was deepened and lengthened. I took in the centre back seam and the side seams. I removed almost 12 cm from the waist, tapering to 2cm at the hips. After cutting the pieces I had a break of several weeks. In those weeks I did bootcamp and lost some excess flesh. It would have been better if I had started with the 18. I have traced off a new pattern, starting with the size 16 at the waist and blending to other sizes as per my alterations.

Costs

Fabric – Black poly suiting  1.8m                   $15.00

Elastic – black 2.5cm ribbed elastic                 $1.50

Pattern – McCalls 6901 + Craftsy course      $25.00

Totals = approximately $46.50

Annoyance factor – Medium to low.

Do it again? Yes, with the improved alterations and a better fabric.

I’ve worn them several times and I like how they feel around my waist and calves. Around my thighs is a different story. They are rather baggy! I have tried valiantly to get photo’s but black is impossible!