Searching for the perfect fabric

Oh my goodness I wish I could get into some pattern of regular writing / blogging again. I know no-one expects it and it shouldn’t be something that I feel I have to do, but I really enjoy it - weirdly I find it immensely calming - and it’s frustrating not to be able to make it even a little closer to the top of my priority list.

I hope I can change that this year.

These trousers are a case in point. I finished them before Thanksgiving and have carefully worn them a few times, finally taking photos last week and now thinking about what to say about them.

As with so many of the clothes I make, I saw an image of some teal-coloured jumbo cord wide-legged trousers and had to have them. Again as with so many of the clothes I make, finding or adapting the right pattern is never the issue, finding the fabric to fit the vision is often the tricky part. I quickly came to realise that finding teal jumbo cord was a non-starter.

So often, when in stores, you see absolutely stunning fabric that is impossible to replicate with what is available to the home sewer. I know many fabric stores stock designer ends, where they will have sourced the remainder of a designer’s roll of fabric. They also look very hard at stocking what is of the moment. But by its very nature designer ends will be at least a couple of seasons old, so what we are able to get our hands on in any particular season isn’t necessarily reflective of the current fabric trends, both in substrate and in colourways and prints.

And conversely what is available in any given season might be a little dated.

Of course, the reason many people sew - myself included - is to step off that fast-fashion bandwagon of seasonal trends, so this brain-babble of mine could all be academic.

However, I think we are being disingenuous if we think that we are not at all susceptible to current fashions. The Big Four’s new collections are generally on trend (even if sometimes it’s unfathomable what trend they are trying to emulate …!); their businesses wouldn’t be sustainable if they didn’t release new patterns regularly that reflected current market desires. Market desires which are always, to some extent, reflective of the catwalk. And the very fact they have designer collections typifies this.

And while the indie pattern companies tend to produce more timeless designs - the nature of their business being such that they want and need to release patterns that have a potential selling lifespan of years rather than months - they are generally still influenced, with a couple of exceptions, by the basic silhouettes that are au courant. Wide legged rather than skinny trousers; ruffles ruffles and more ruffles; midi length dresses and skirts; cropped trouser legs. These are all trends of the moment - albeit an elongated moment.

So my longwinded point is that the patterns we choose to make are reflective of current styles, but the fabric which could really bring those patterns to life, is just not available at the same time. It will be eventually, but not when you - or at least I - reallllly want it.

So, you can see that I didn’t come up with any teal jumbo cord. In fact it was pretty hard at that point to find wide wale cord anywhere. As often is the case I was rescued by an Instagram commenter who pointed me in the direction of Stitches in Seattle, which I hadn’t come across before. And later on I know that Fabric Godmother had some lovely stuff in unusual colourways.

So I got some of the navy from Stitches and it is seriously wide wale - I mean not even three wales (you know the bumps that define corduroy - thems are wales) to an inch! It is pretty hard to see in these photos, but the below gives you some idea!

I had a moment of consideration about whether to make a fourth pair of Persephone Pants out of this as I absolutely love them. But I’d been wanting to try the In the Folds for Peppermint Patterns Wide Legged Trouser pattern for a while and the inspiration image had side seams which Persephone cleverly does not, so Peppermint it was.

I’ve made a couple of the Peppermint Patterns now. I find it staggering that they are free to download, especially as Emily of In the Folds, who designs them, is so talented.

I really like this pattern. If I would change anything it would be to change the leg shape slightly - I think that is because I love the shape of the Persephone’s so much. But these are obviously a different pant with different styling, so this is just personal preference.

Very surprisingly for me I had to make very few adjustments to the pattern. Because I made them so long ago and can’t find the pattern pieces to refer to, as a result of numerous sewing area tidy ups, I’m having to dust off parts of my brain. But I think I just raised the back rise half an inch and took the back seam in a little. I don’t think I even added length.

I absolutely love the pockets. They are anchored by the fly which makes them roomy and keeps the front of the trousers nice and flat. I think the only other place I’ve seen this is on the Grainline Moss Skirt. I also love the curved waistband. I have a very curvy bottom and lower back and curved waistbands always prevent the dreaded gape. This makes them so comfortable and I’m so thrilled with the fit, although they are getting a little big - either by fabric stretch or Charlie shrinkage.

I don’t think I’ve yet to find a perfect set of fly sewing instructions. These are pretty good, but I always end up in some type of tangle. Which is hilarious as a few years ago I couldn’t understand all the fuss!

I was so proud of myself that I remembered about the nap on corduroy (why is that so hard to type?) and got it all going the same way. This cord is very soft and these are particularly strokable trousers and when worn with my fancy new fake fur coat, garner a lot of weird looks as I walk down the street variously stroking parts of my torso and limbs.

My only concern with the cord is that the valleys between the wales are quite wide and fragile looking so I wonder how long they’ll stand up to wear. It also frayed terribly and the fluff from finishing the seams totally clogged my serger. (Although that could just be that I haven’t had it serviced since I bought it four years ago.)

I’d thoroughly recommend the pattern and sewing with cord is a doddle as it all kind of sticks together like velcro. Pressing less easy.

Sourcing the exact fabric I desire is also less easy, and as I’m a “choose pattern, buy fabric” rather than “buy fabric, choose pattern” kind of girl, it can involve a lot of detective work, emailing suppliers to see if they do actually have more than they say on their site and making do with what is available even if it isn’t in the colourway you want. There is always dying (fabric that is), but that kind of leaves me cold.

So, even though these aren’t as my inspiration/ vision, I do love them. They nod to trends. But ultimately they’re one of a kind trousers which I love wearing and will wear for a long time. And that, to be honest, is all that matters.

I’ll have to remember that next time I’m sighing at my keyboard because I can’t find that just right fabric.

See you soon x