holiday sewing: ultimate trousers, except not

A couple of weeks before we were due to leave for our holiday, I was looking at the list of activities on offer from the hotel (rainforest tours, zip lining, hiking in the Pitons, all sorts of terrible stuff) and it occurred to me that I had literally nothing practical to wear for that kind of thing. My long skirts would be too cumbersome, my short skirts wouldn't protect against chub rub, and my culottes are too floofy and don't go with anything else I own. Sigh.

I decided I needed a pair of shorts. I still hadn't got round to making my Thurlows so I thought I might try a shorts version out of denim. When my denim arrived in the post, I realised I'd been looking at the fabric requirements for the lining and not the actual shorts, meaning I didn't have anywhere near enough. I considered buying more denim, but money is a bit of a thing right now so instead I dug out my Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers pattern.

Please allow me to apologise for how terrible I look in these photos. This was the wettest day of our holiday but also still stupid hot, so make-up wouldn't stay on my face and I was feeling a little, shall we say, harassed, by a combination of personal and world events. These are not attractive pictures. Please try to ignore that.

This is the pattern I used to make the only pair of trousers I've so far made, and I've almost excised it from my pattern drawer several times. I really liked the trousers I made, but I definitely had to do a lot of bodge work to it to make it fit. It's not designed for my body shape, I didn't like the lack of waistband, and overall I thought I could do better with a different pattern. Something told me not to throw it away, though, and I managed to get a pair of (lengthened) shorts plus a waistband out of the metre of fabric I had. I wanted them specifically for doing a lot of walking in, and while I understand that some people can prevent chub rub by wearing a tiny pair of delicate hot pant things, my thighs are a bit more substantial than that. This is definitely longer than they need to be, but also in lengthening them I tapered in where I shouldn't have so if I'd shortened them again I wouldn't have been able to cuff them comfortably.

I did my first exposed zip on these shorts, because why not. I followed the Papercut Patterns tutorial because that's what came up in my search, and it was all pretty straightforward.

I already know that I don't get on with straight waistbands, but I didn't have enough fabric to make a curved one, so I made it straight and put a dart in the centre back. Not the most elegant solution, but hey, it worked for what I needed less than 36 hours before flying out (procrastinate now!).

I also made this T-shirt last month based on the Anna bodice. I've got and will continue to get wear out of it, but I won't be making another one. It's just a bit weird.

I'll tell you now, I was SO GRATEFUL for these shorts. I knew we were going to do at least one walking tour and that's what I made them for, but little did I know that "guided tour round a rainforest nature reserve" actually meant "hiking a steeply sloping barely visible trail during a pissing thunderstorm". We made it about eighty per cent of the way before I insisted on turning back (back the way we came, UPHILL) and we came out of it soaking wet, ankle deep in water and mud, hair plastered to our faces and blisters on our hands from the hiking poles. At least we weren't the other couple who'd chosen to do this for their honeymoon. 

 UNIMPRESSED FACE.

(Also, you see that bruise on my leg? A waterfall knocked me over. I shouldn't be allowed out.)

You know those inspirational memes that people share that go on about the wild romance of walking through the jungle in the rain, kissing under a waterfall, communing with the elements and your lover at the same time? I have now tested these things, and I can officially confirm that they're not romantic, they're rubbish. Soaking wet shoes and almost falling over on a muddy slope and water literally battering you down do not make you feel closer to God and the earth and mankind, they make you feel clammy and grumpy and in need of a lie down. You saw that post with the pool, right? That's much better. Try that instead.

These shorts aren't going to have much to do in a British winter, but I'm incredibly glad I made them and will be breaking them out again next year. I also think I might have another go at the Sew Over It trousers - having a waistband makes a huge difference and I felt much more comfortable in these. If I can draft a curved waistband for them, so much the better. 

(I saw a hummingbird, which we then failed to take a picture of. These was a running theme of the trip, because it turns out hummingbirds are bastards.)