My second make from the latest Tilly Walnes book Make it Simple are the most lovely pair of wide legged cropped trousers, and I think if I had to choose a favourite pattern from the book right now it would be these.
The trousers are made just using two pattern pieces and don’t need any fastenings such as zips or buttons because the waistband is elasticated ..Oh joy .. and it’s cleverly designed to have a flat fronted waistband (aint nobody need any bulk in that area)! with the gathers at the sides and back. They are super easy to make and a fairly quick sew too – you could have these whipped up in a morning or an afternoon.
The book also includes the extra pattern pieces and instructions on how to make them into a jumpsuit or a wrap top playsuit too!
At the moment I am sewing just using fabric from my stash, and I think if I remember right that this was a purchase from Barry’s in Birmingham. I would describe it a a navy blue linen look polyester – so not the nicest composition I suppose – but the drape and texture is lovely and as long as it isn’t a boiling hot day, where this fabric wouldn’t be the most comfortable to wear, I feel for the most part it’s a lovely pairing with this pattern.
I really enjoyed making this last week as part of a sew-along with Tilly over on her Instagram. Whilst we are all staying safe at home it’s a lovely thing to join in with a sew-along, and this pattern was broken down into 5 easy parts for you to sew along with each day all week. She used a beautiful soft lilac linen for her version.
The only change that I made to the pattern before cutting out was to shorten the length of the leg by 4cm. I knew I would need them to be shorter and this was a starting guess. At 5’2″ I always have to shorten the leg on trousers and even with this alteration I still needed to shorten the length of the finished trousers by a further 7cm to give me the cropped length that I was after, whilst still retaining the 2.5cm allowance for turning up.
Lets talk pockets. The optional pockets on these trousers are massive and brilliant. They are in-seam pockets which are sewn in the normal way and then the top edge of the pocket is caught in when you turn and sew the top of the trousers down to form the waistband. Very clever. I chose to use a leftover piece of bottle green floral viscose to use for the pocket pieces as this always gives a nice pop of colour.
Look how deep they are!
Finally I quickly made up a fabric belt and belt loops for a bit of extra pazazz! This is not in the pattern, and you could easily draw this rectangular shape out yourself, but I just used the template for the belt from another pattern ( my Stylearc Clare Pant pattern).
There are so many fantastic versions to gain inspiration from online, check out the hashtag #sewingsafiya to have a drool.
What more can I say about these lovely trousers that hasn’t already been said? Ten out of ten.
Take care, and I’ll be back soon,
Kathy x
Red mirror acrylic scissors necklace with Swarovski crystal available from my shop. x
Loving your trousers, that style is great. And the colour is gorgeous.
That’s lovely of you to say. Thank you x
I love the belt and belt loops. I think they make the outfit. I’m a bit concerned about making the trousers as I have a smaller waist and am hippy. I can’t decide what size to make. I don’t want to look like a sack round the waist. That’s what’s putting me off making them at the moment,
Hello Anne,
thank you, and I know exactly what you mean, as I am smaller round the waist compared to my hip size too (or larger around the hips compared to my waist size whichever way you look at it)! Ha!
This pair were exactly made to my size at the time ( I’ve lost weight since then so they are a little big now), but shortly afterwards I made the size smaller and they felt much better. I wish I had put my measurements and the size that I cut on the blog as I can’t remember now, and this is something that I am trying really hard to remember to add to blog posts.
For me personally for this pattern I would cut the size for my finished hip measurement (or even the size below if you are inbetween sizes in this case), and then cut your elastic for your waist to your actual size when trying on rather than using the Tilly elastic length suggestion. The lovely flat fronted waist panel on this pattern is great for avoiding looking like a sack around the waist! Also I think the belt tie might distract attention too! Hope this helps. I think though to avoid any fitting problems I would always recommend using cheap fabric (the same weight as you would use for the ‘proper’ pair) if you can.
Hope this helps – they’re such lovely trousers and I hope you love them as much as I do!
Kathy x