Is Lauren of Lady Sewalot the youngest sewing blogger to have stolen our hearts? Aged just 19 years old, she sure has inspired and excited me with her fabulous makes, not to mention her kooky pictures and chatty writing style. If I had an ounce of her creativity and drive at her age I'd have probably done much more with my life!
Hello all! I'm very excited to be taking part in the #VintagePledge July Extravaganza, as I have of late fallen out of practice with using vintage patterns and I have missed them. The making of these trousers was a bit of an extravaganza in itself, but I got there at the end.
I have decided that Begin Again, starring Keira Knightly, is one of my favourite films. Her character's wardrobe is to die for. So simply chic, so elegantly nonchalant. I wanted some of her elegant nonchalance for myself so I set about making a version of her navy pleated high waisted trousers for myself. The pattern I used was New Look 6871, which I heavily suspect is from the 80s, although I can't find any solid proof to confirm that. It features a high waisted trouser, pleated at the waist with a slightly tapered leg. Bingo.
I sewed them up in some gorgeous navy blue linen, found on Goldhawk Road for around £12 per metre. I was running out of money at this point so I had to stop at 1 metre which wasn't quite enough for full length trousers. It's alright, I was going for the cropped look anyway. I do wish that I had enough for pockets and cuffs. They would have been the icing on the cake.
The sewing up went super smoothly until I got to the fly front. This was a nightmare. I attempted to understand the pattern's instructions and then looked at Heather's Ginger Jeans fly insertion post and then got thoroughly confused and went back to the pattern instructions again. I think I ended up sewing some sort of fancy lapped zip by accident.
Next time I would add the fly onto the pattern pieces instead of cutting them separately like the pattern dictates. This way I could follow Heathers instructions properly. I'm still not happy with how it looks, as the metal part of the zip is really obvious so I think I'll rip it out, sew that seam up and insert an invisible zip down the side seam instead.
I am really pleased with the fit though. I was expecting to have to pinch out masses of ease, but they are perfect. The first time I tried them on I practically cried, because they are so out of my comfort zone, style wise and I felt horrible in them. They are just a totally different style, and I must admit, they are growing on me!
Thanks very much to Kerry and Marie for having me, and to Mum for taking these pictures!
At 53 I was brought up thinking sewing was for older ladies. It thrills me to see women of all ages blogging and on tv shows empowered by being their own people with unique styles K xXx
ReplyDeleteI love how your pants turned out.
ReplyDeleteThese look so good, simple and chic - just what you were going for! I was pretty impressed with Keira Knightley's wardrobe in that film too.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, this pattern is from the eighties and I still have it in my pattern stash. I made the shorts and shirt in 1989 for a special family/school picnic when my daughter was 6.Your pants look great too.
ReplyDeleteBoo sucks to zips! you can always go back to it, I used a fly tutorial from Youtube when I made jeans but you have to find one you are comfortable with. Jo x
ReplyDeleteThis outfit looks great on you! And good for you trying something out of your comfort zone too, that can be daunting
ReplyDeleteThese look gorgeous and so well made! These will be perfect for the summer, it's lovely to see someone in my age group also sewing & doing an amazing job at it! XxxX
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