Last year I rashly said I was done with a particular pattern – Burda 115-09-2012. I’d made two versions, one silver and one green. Neither was a perfect fit and I was fed up of fiddling with the pattern and wanted to move onto something new. But come 2017 I found myself looking for a pattern for a practical pair of trousers; something with pockets that you can wear with boots and sit on the floor in. It’s much easier to use a pattern you’ve already traced so out came 115-09-2012 for a third try.

Here’s the line art for 115 and the variant style 116. My latest version is a cross between the two styles. They have the same main pattern pieces but differ in details. I took the horizontal  in-seam pockets from 115 and the top-stitching and belt loops from 116. I made the pockets larger than the ones on the pattern in order to be able to fit my phone in.

There are no side seams on this pattern below the hip; the curved panels swoop around to the back and there’s a seam down the back of the leg. I went for contrast top-stitching to make the seam details stand out. The fabric is a lightweight non-stretch grey denim from Truro Fabrics (now sold out) and the top-stitching thread is Gutermann top-stitch in shade 968, “denim gold”. The fabric could have done with being a touch heavier, or perhaps just more tightly woven. I didn’t iron the trousers for the photos, and they’d had two days of wear so they’re a little creased and baggy at the knees.

The top-stitching was quite time consuming. It really helped that I had my second machine set up for that so I didn’t have to keep switching thread colours and needles on the main machine. I made good use of the ditch-stitching foot for many of the straight lines, but those back yoke curves had to be free-handed which took a couple of attempts to get right.

Here’s a closeup of the front. There’s a little bit of puckering on the waistband seam that I couldn’t quite steam out. It’s only on one side so I guess I accidentally stretched the yoke out there.

And the back. I’m pleased with the way it came out.

I’m much happier with the fit on these than the previous two pairs. However the pockets are gapping a bit. I wish I’d interfaced the front yoke as that might have helped. I do have things in both pockets in these photos though which contributes to the gapping. People who can manage with trousers without working pockets could sew them shut but I’ll take gappy working pockets over perfect fake ones any time.

I’m very happy with these. I might even make another pair one day if the right piece of denim comes my way! A few notes:

• Vilene H250 interfacing on waistband and fly facing
• Size 90 denim needle for main seams
• Size 100 denim needle and Gutermann 968 denim gold top-stitch thread for top-stitching
• Size 90 stretch needle for overlocking
• YKK 13cm lightweight metal trouser zip (size 3 teeth)