Project

Startdate: September 2021

Deadline: November 2021

Brief: 1970s style trousers with an early glam vibe. Despite 70s trousers being tight around the butt, I do want to be able to dance in them.

Fabrics: I'm adapting some old pajama pants I made that honestly, made me look like I was in a prison uniform, they were so unflattering and charmless, the sort of garment you intentionally design to dehumanise the wearer. It's soft denim, which feels gorgeous and creases if you breathe on it. The flare panels are made from an old tote bag. I'm going to recut the pants for more of a 1970s look, and add more fabric to make them high waisted. They already look like a joy. Might add some clouds to it, or a Lucifer-Rising style rainbow triangle over the seat? idk how cruisy i can go with this, it's for a family party.
September, 2021 6 Entries
16,Thursday

Finish Flare Seams

To Do: Machine sew a fell-seam to finish the seams inside
Notes: I'm basically pretty anxious about this. I don't have the right foot to fell a seam neatly, and my seam allowances weren't measured well, so it's going to be a case of form over function (I need to dance in this).
Substeps:
  • Finish hand-basting
  • Thread sewing machine with jean-colour
Glam trousers
17, Friday

Create first-pass Trouser pattern

To Do: Use the 70s trouser pattern to make shorts
Notes: My history with making patterns isn't Great, and trousers are especially tricky - I have an original 1970s pattern, but it's for cis men and my rear is very much not that shaped, so I'll be frankenpatterning bits of it together in a way that wasn't designed. I do have some quite good 1940s books on fit which I'm hoping will help me problem-solve what parts of the leg need to move and in which directions
Substeps:
  • Tidy the table
  • Find suitable paper
  • Cut out patterns
  • Trace patterns
  • Locate calico
  • Trace pockets
  • Sew together shorts toile
Glam trousers

Take Measurements

To Do: What is my size?
Notes: I am lousy at measurements; I have dyscalcula, so the biggest problem honestly - is believing that the measurements are "real" and persist over multiple fittings - I have no concept that numbers, slippery bastards, continue to exist.
My Measures:
  • Waist: 34in
  • Seat: 42in
  • Inseam:
  • Width round hem:
Glam trousers
28, Tuesday

Finish setting coat lining

To Do: Hand-sew lining back into place
Notes: So for the same party, my husband is doing a late hippy Americana look. We were lucky to find a brown baize bomber jacket, that I've taken the rib knit off. I just need to re-set the lining, which is turning out to be Very difficult. The lining is supposed to be gathered, and figuring out how to set it into an existing jacket which is less gathered and shorter (while keeping the grain nice) is hell. So in the process of doing this, I've discovered that - like so many other thigs insewing there's a fine alchemy to it. The first one I did was far too tight and caused the bottom to buckle up. One second pass, some of the jacket is fine (but probably too tight), and some of it is fine (but probably too loose), so it's wearable but there's almost certainly a magic middle point which is more trusting than the former but less generous than the latter. Really i seems to be something to the way the lining naturally drapes, in that I can give it a fair bit more than I feel is right because it'll hapilly pull itself back up. Anyway, it's costume-wearable; and future-Bliss will tinker with it, and the neckline as well.
Substeps:
  • Pin in place again
  • Test on a person
  • Repin for sewing
  • Handsew + movie
Jacket

Thoughts

Aside: but like, I am feeling a really strong sense of wellbeing around my sewing at the moment - which is something of a nice change. I think having a nice studio space at last is a huge help, and so is having a single project in a neat bag to focus on. I'm enjoying working partially with found materials, I think it takes a lot of that "pressure" off when you have a blank canvas of a body and intend to clothe it all yourself; my stash of patches and macrame belts is waiting for me, reassuring me that if I sent my husband out of the house now - I could probably make the costume work - and all I'm doing is refining and finessing. It's also like, I think I do get more spooked than I've acknowledged whenever I am trying a new sewing skill, I think because my brain keeps grouping it as {sewing} rather than the 1000 individual skills that constitute sewing. But so far, I've been using a lot of skills I already kinda know, and it's reassuring and mellow and just makes sure I'm having mostly positive experiences. Good vibes man.
Jacket
30, Thursday

Look through patterns

To Do: Find a better trouser pattern
Notes: So the gents trouser pattern plan didn't work, because of the way the pockets are incorporated into the shape of the fronts. However, i've found a stash of late 60s/70s womens patterns with trousers, so i'm going to try one of those which is hopefully going to be closer to my size. I can feel this nightmarish temptation to just like, pin it and drape which I can NOT do neatly and I know this, but I still don't feel confidence with patterns.
Substeps:
  • Open patterns
  • Study construction, just in case
  • Locate baking paper
  • Iron patterns
  • Trace
  • Toile
Glam trousers

Prepare hippy flares

To Do: Measure and cut hippy flares
Notes: Found some gorgeous mustard cord pillowcases at the community shop, as well as a top with a paisleyish pattern. The pillowcases will provide the structure of the flare to fit into the jean, but the top will give the colour. Bit worried about proportion: my husband is tall, so worried that there won't be enough height in the flare to flatter him - but I have so many patches now, I think it can balance out well.
Substeps:
  • Tidy table
  • Find components
  • Measure coloured fabric
  • Cut
  • Interface
Hippy trousers

I just feel so bowled over and stressed by the prospect of trousers. I've got half-finished trousers all over my sewing space. Trouser fit is a big deal in terms of like, you've got to be able to move in them but they also have to look sleek. & you can't really drape them on a mannequin either, and they take up so much fabric while you're experimenting with them as well. A big part of the problem is like, my trouser drafting book doesn't give you vital information about the seat angle, it just says "now adjust the seat angle"

I spent a goodly chunk of time trying to make the Vincent trouser draft into a sewable state (lol Victorian Tailor why did you publish a pattern you knew to be unuseable because commenters on your paid-for article told you it was unusable before you went to print? When are we going to see a single photograph of anything you have personally sewn, anywhere on the internet?) So I have a handful of like, bad drafts with earflaps and which are overly tight; and from that I kinda established how to frankenpattern something Victorianesque with any ole pattern, if only I could find one.

I just feel quite badly freaked by the prospect of trying it all again, and the awareness that maybe soon the fat distribution of my butt will change is also demoralising me, like I don't want to waste the fabric I have

But like obvs all my horrible shirts will look a lot nicer coupled with a proper high waist trouser? & I just need to suck it up and use a women's trouser pattern because literally nobody but me will know; but like, literally nobody but me will care either, and I care a LOT.

Sewing is hard for me because it's a feelings sink for all these shitty parts of my life, like wanting to be in a creative career where I'll be judged on what I can do rather than arbitrary white collar workplace ettiquette, and not wanting to be in the body I have any more; and so it's load-bearing for all this other crap that weighs hard on my ability to complete basic tasks like, choose a pattern cut it out then sew it.

Anyway, this is New Look Maudella 6155. I am waist: 34in/86.36cm, seat: 42in/106.68cm. This makes me a size 16 (76/102), but really I'm a touch bigger so need to leave a bit of extra room. This is what I kinda hate about patterns vs drafting something yourself, and you can't always tell where to add the surplus as well.

January, 2022 6 Entries
3, Monday

Adjust Pattern

To Do: Prepare pattern for cutting
Notes: I have added 0.5" to the adjustable seams in the length. I think I'm just going to take a gamble on the waistline, ensuring I leave extra fabric for tinkering.
  • Current knee width:116.5cm > 46"
  • Current hem width:112cm > 44"
  • Vincent knee for me: 18 1/2" > 37"
  • Vincent hem for me: 18" > 36.0"
I've got to be careful here because basically, previous attempts at Vincent trousers have turned out incredibly tiny on me, like freakin leggins basically. But there were definitely eras in which men liked a sexy fitted thigh, and when I look at my fashion plates I see...tight legs. Again, tho, I think what I want to do is just make the trousers, and then take in the side seams, which I know will be scruffier but I keep messing up on this issue specifically. I'm working through two layers of error here: an afab, nontransitioning body + the differences in male bodies (or bodies, period) across a 100 year gap. So, it should be no surprise that Vincent's own pattern do not work for modern bums. I've marked on the pattern the adjustments anyway.
Victorian trousers

Cut Pieces

Pieces required:
  • Front (cut 2)
  • Back (cut 2)
  • 13 - Waistband
  • 15 - Pocket
The Vincent trousers have a very distinctive waistband and, apparently, it's cut in four separate pieces - it has a little "flick" at the side seam. I'm not sure I'll do that, but maybe two halves makes sense. I've roughly drawn the design onto the length of the New Look waistband. Just putting it against my body, it clearly needs like. A lot of extra length, I guess because there's some overlap and also some turn-in. I forgot to put SA on my waistband which TBH is what I prefer, but I don't want to forget this when I sew it up.
So the waistband adds 1.5cm SA on the end, plus on the sew line, but like I think I need to make the trousers and then cut a waistband to match it, once I've pootled around with the darts?
Victorian trousers
6, Thursday

Test the toile

Notes: First version looks great!
  • I added to the side seams and this has worked perfectly
  • I do not include the front pleats. This causes the SS to sit perfectly - without incorporating the pocket, but I prefer a "clean" block pattern I can then adapt.
  • ~4in total required in darts
  • Waist does NOT come up to the natural waist.
Substeps:
  • Find calico scrap
  • Add more waist to the toile
  • Measure additional waist height required (3in)
  • Attach it to the toile
  • Fit, and do the darts (2in each)
  • I'm gonna have to do the dart trueing trick
  • Looks like the waistband is still a bit too big, maybe requring 1inch off in total
  • Update the pattern
  • Care about anyshit enough to stay off twitter
Victorian trousers

Create a waistband

To do:
  • Open Vincent notes
  • Measure waistband length: half is 18in
  • Shrink the toile by 1"
  • Draft the band
  • Cut out and test
  • Fix the pattern at the back
  • Idk what is going on with the hem
Notes: So the fit on this waistband is incredibly sexy, and holds itself up. I need to shift the position of the angle to the side-seam, and from the widest part of the seat change the curve, because there are little earflaps. The 1" reduction works well, it just needs blending in correctly and I don't own a hip curve. I see the purpose of the Vincent "flick" too, to pull the back of the trouser into alignment but also so I can breathe when sitting down. However tbh the waistband works fine as is so long as I sit upright like a rod, which i guess was the whole Victorian deportment thing so perhaps I just need to fix that.
Victorian trousers
7, Friday

Pattern Editing

Notes: I've got a leg hem I quite like and it's sort-of on the pattern now, tho I can feel the pattern sort of...escaping from me, which isn't a nice realisation.
I have to make a decision about a knock-knees adaptation. I definitely do have knock knees, but not enough finesse to see if it's a problem. More importantly, I need to make trouser leg style decisions. What are the barriers to doing this?
  • Inexperience with trouser pattern editing (what is possible?)
  • Inexperience with historic styles (what does "correct" look like; resolved by research; have I already done any?)
  • Not knowing what impact ironwork will have (I can see where the big fabric under my butt "needs" removing, and that ironwork forms part of the style decisions)
  • Being kinda fuzzy about what era I'm even going for (resolved by accepting this is the first trouser of many I will make)
& maybe I could just go for the full Marlowe Lune idk, but I think that really needs to be in black.
Substeps:
  • Pin in place again
  • Test on a person
  • Repin for sewing
  • Handsew + movie
Victorian Trousers

Thoughts

Aside: but like, I am feeling a really strong sense of wellbeing around my sewing at the moment - which is something of a nice change. I think having a nice studio space at last is a huge help, and so is having a single project in a neat bag to focus on. I'm enjoying working partially with found materials, I think it takes a lot of that "pressure" off when you have a blank canvas of a body and intend to clothe it all yourself; my stash of patches and macrame belts is waiting for me, reassuring me that if I sent my husband out of the house now - I could probably make the costume work - and all I'm doing is refining and finessing. It's also like, I think I do get more spooked than I've acknowledged whenever I am trying a new sewing skill, I think because my brain keeps grouping it as {sewing} rather than the 1000 individual skills that constitute sewing. But so far, I've been using a lot of skills I already kinda know, and it's reassuring and mellow and just makes sure I'm having mostly positive experiences. Good vibes man.
Jacket
30, Thursday

Look through patterns

To Do: Find a better trouser pattern
Notes: So the gents trouser pattern plan didn't work, because of the way the pockets are incorporated into the shape of the fronts. However, i've found a stash of late 60s/70s womens patterns with trousers, so i'm going to try one of those which is hopefully going to be closer to my size. I can feel this nightmarish temptation to just like, pin it and drape which I can NOT do neatly and I know this, but I still don't feel confidence with patterns.
Substeps:
  • Open patterns
  • Study construction, just in case
  • Locate baking paper
  • Iron patterns
  • Trace
  • Toile
Glam trousers

Prepare hippy flares

To Do: Measure and cut hippy flares
Notes: Found some gorgeous mustard cord pillowcases at the community shop, as well as a top with a paisleyish pattern. The pillowcases will provide the structure of the flare to fit into the jean, but the top will give the colour. Bit worried about proportion: my husband is tall, so worried that there won't be enough height in the flare to flatter him - but I have so many patches now, I think it can balance out well.
Substeps:
  • Tidy table
  • Find components
  • Measure coloured fabric
  • Cut
  • Interface
Hippy trousers