Purple Seagull Trousers

This is version 3 of my first RTW rip-off. You can see more detail on the fitting in this post where I've grouped all 3 versions together to show the progression.

The jeans are fully-fledged jeans and I'm proud to say that I can just about complete a pair in a day (6-8 hours). This includes all of the cutting, fusing and stitching with a good level of detail. If only jackets took that long!

While my dream of bright pink trousers still hasn't been realised, these are the best possible alternative. The fabric is a beautiful burgundy/mulberry/plummy colour and it was very easy to work with. It comes from Ditto Fabrics and did have a designer label attached to it, though I'll be damned if I remember which one. Thankfully it has lost a little of its sheen in the wash, at first it looked a little shiny under artificial light.

I've been wearing them practically non-stop since they were first made. The fabric is being broken in and I think these will become perfect once they've been laundered a few more times. The fabric is also quite dense and is fairly wind resistant and warm - which is a relief as we're heading in to winter.

The pocket lining and waistband facing are both seagulls again. I think this'll be the last of it. There are two lines of top-stitching, one in a a similar colour, which ends up nearly invisible, and one contrasting dark blue which pops a little up close. It's quite subtle but draws the garment together quite nicely.

I finally remembered to take a photo of my bar tacks! Yay!

Inseam topstitching

Up until now I've been freestyling a bit with belt loops, for future versions I'll actually measure and cut pieces that look a bit more normal.

Look at how this toptitching lined up across the waistband and the fly facing, yeah!

You know the problem though? By the time I get around to belt loops I'm so close to finishing and so excited to be nearly done that they get forgotten a bit. They definitely don't get the care they need. There's always next time.

I'm still getting my head around waistbands. My most recent pairs have been good, but I may do a whole post on the little nuances that make a difference.

It's probably about time for some normal-looking trousers, don't you think?

K