After doing Gemma’s class on dressmaking I have been itching to use my new super-duper sewing machine to make Joshua a pair of trousers after Gemma dropped off this adorable pair of reversible / lined trousers for kids at the studio a month ago. Check out her gorgeous Etsy shop here.

Gemma’s ethos is all about waste not want not and I’m becoming a massive fan of up cycling after her workshop because a) fabric is expensive and b) its actually quite lovely to make something out of something else especially when the original item holds some value / sentiment and when its of good quality.  So when my husband put a pair of grey trousers to the side because they no longer fit him I grabbed them and put them in my fabric pile knowing they’ll be useful one day! I bought some tartan fabric to line them and set about trying to sew a pair of lined trousers – eek.

I didn’t have a pattern to hand and unexpected offer of childcare meant I had to take advantage of the morning right then and there! So I used a pair of Josha’s trousers as a template (I do think next time I will buy a pattern however because it was a little tricky doing this without being able to take the actually trousers apart I found). The yellow trousers are the template trousers. One thing I did notice is that when the trousers are folded the back is bigger than the front (must be nappy room!).

You can probably see how one side is larger than the other clearer in the below photos. The trousers don’t fold symmetrically. The waist line is higher at the back and the legs have slightly more width by the nappy/bottom area on one side too (back side).

And so I set off about tracing the yellow trousers onto the Gavin’s old pair of trousers, can you see how nicely they fit with plenty of spare fabric on each side. I used this tutorial to help me along and cut 8 pieces of fabric in total: 2 x grey fronts, 2 x grey fronts, 2 x tartan fronts, 2 x tartan backs. I followed the Sew She Sews tutorial and here are the trousers complete and the next photo shows the lining trousers being slotted carefully (wrong side out) into the grey trousers.

It really wasn’t nearly as complicated as I had thought and I managed to sew a pair in about 4 hours that includes all the cutting and researching (and unpicking my mistakes too!). I am SO pleased with them and can’t wait for Joshua to wear them (they’re just a little too fresh for this weather at the moment!). I’ve always loved sewing but would mainly make patchwork cushions and quilts, I dabbled here and there with dressmaking (very simple things) but Gemma’s workshops certainly gave me that “when you first discover a craft” feeling – do you know what I mean by that? Its that feeling that kind of takes over all other craft projects (and possible your social life too if it could!).

The post A Pair of Trousers for Joshua appeared first on Tea and Crafting.