some Lucille trousers and a bonus Hepburn top

I did not make it to Walthamstow last week. I was not feeling well and stressful things were happening (until Thursday we still had a level of obligation to the horrible old Flat of Doom, which have now finally been dispensed with. Much to our amusement, the landlord apparently thought he could just... sell it? As it was, with the warped floorboards and illegal wiring and massive amounts of obvious mould and water damage? And was astonished to hear that he couldn't charge the best part of a million pounds for that? Both a cheapskate AND a dumbass, it turns out), and I wasn't feeling up to it. You need a certain amount of resilience for a busy local market in times where all restrictions have been lifted but you'd still rather not get Covid. So here instead are some finished things! 

I joined Gertie's Patreon for a few months this year, thinking it would probably be worth it because historically I've got on very well with her drafting and sizing, and I downloaded several patterns I'm planning to try out (I've since unsubscribed because I found the Charm Scout thing insufferable - it's entirely valid to like that kind of branding, but I can't stand it. I was a Girl Guide, and I was extraordinarily bad at it). I started with the pattern I was most interested in, the Lucille Trousers:

I was fully taken in by the original photos, which had several models wearing the trousers in a variety of solid jewel tones paired with black T-shirts, which is extremely my aesthetic, so I just... copied it. You might recognise this crepe from my last fabric haul post, and it makes a cracking pair of trousers. It's soft, it's drapey, it doesn't wrinkle when I sit down, it wasn't an absolute bastard to press. If he'd had this in other colours I would have bought every single one. 

I will confess I had to go back to the market and buy more of this, because I cannot describe to you how incompetent my first attempt at this pattern was. I was deeply unfocused and things kept going wrong in ways I couldn't even parse. It's happened enough times now that I need to make it a rule: if I fuse the interfacing to the visible side of the fabric, I am not in the right mindspace to be sewing and should stop immediately. This second attempt went much more smoothly and I had a nice wearable pair of trousers after a day's work. Once again I found that Gertie's draft works pretty well for my shape, and because the trousers are so roomy I was able to just make a straight size instead of blending out. 

I've worn these a looooot over the past few months. They fit well, they're comfortable, I'm as happy to wear them around the house as I am outside, they have excellent deep pockets, and they're a bit less stupidly wide leg than the 7726 trousers I've been wearing for years (and still do, don't get me wrong, I'm wearing them right now). And yet I'm still not sure if I think they look good on me? The waist is very, very high, which I sometimes think looks cool and sometimes think looks ridiculous. It's less the actual trousers and more that my visual instinct is very sure there should be more space between waistband and boobs. Something I'd quite like to do is to experiment with making a facing for these trousers, so they just hit at the natural waist. I'd need to change the lapped zip to an invisible, but that's not a huge alteration. 

I also made a second Hepburn T-shirt from my spring haul fabric, and while I have been wearing this I don't love it anywhere near as much as my black ones. The standard pontes I buy don't seem to quite work for this pattern as well as I might like, so next time I think I'll find myself a thicker French terry. 

(Please excuse scenery change. There were very weird things going on with the light when I was taking these pictures.)

I definitely want to have another go at the trousers once I find a suitable fabric. After three months of extremely consistent wear I still don't know how I feel about the waist, so I'd like to try additional pairs both made up as is and also with the waistline brought down a little. I'm also planning to continue trying the Patreon patterns I downloaded - I'll definitely be making the knit tops and the shorts, and I'm currently trying to determine whether I like the Swing Coat as a pattern or if I'm just taken in by the photos of the bright red version with the dramatic lining. It's probably the latter, if I'm honest. 

Up next: an actual seasonal sewing plan! Unless I don't make it to Walthamstow again! In which case it will have to wait! 

Charm Patterns Lucille trousers (Patreon)

Fabric: Violet crepe from Walthamstow Market
Cost: £9
Pattern details: Wide-leg, super high waisted trousers with deep pockets, front pleats, a back lapped zip, and a choice of straight waistband or shaped one with fisheye darts
Size: 14
Alterations: None
Would make again/would recommend: Yes/Yes