I’m taking a break from blogging the 80s sewing to record a project from last year. These joggers were made in the autumn when I suddenly found myself craving more colourful clothes. I had a length of royal blue satin in my stash given away by a friend of my mum’s that I’d never found a use for. A search of my Burda archive for patterns for satin turned up 106 4/2017 which seemed right up my street.
The colour of this fabric is amazingly saturated. The photos look as if they’re enhanced, but it really is that vivid in real life. There was no hope of getting zips with a tape that even vaguely matched, but navy blue looks fine. And I got lucky with some royal blue cord for the drawstring. Both came from the City Cycle Centre in Ely, which despite the name is an old fashioned department store with an excellent haberdashery.
The eyelets are gunmetal grey ones from my stash.
What I did have trouble with was elastic; the Burda pattern is drafted for widths of elastic that I couldn’t source, so my elastic channels at the waist and ankles have a bit more space than Burda intended. But I was very glad of that when inserting the elastic; it was a difficult job even with the extra room and I think it isn’t obvious that it’s too narrow.
I finished these a couple of months ago, so why haven’t I blogged them until now? Well the sad thing is that I haven’t worn them because I don’t have a single top that works with them. I made a blue wool jersey t shirt especially for them but the proportions are all wrong – it’s slim fitting and these need something substantial on the top half to balance them out, otherwise all you see is an expanse of shiny blue hips. I’m starting to fear these might be too much for me. Footwear is an issue too – they look best with light coloured shoes which aren’t practical in the wet and muddy environment around here.
I have a blue wool jumper on the sewing table right now which I hope will save them. And if that doesn’t work then I’ll keep them until the summer and see if I like them better when I can wear different shoes and tops.
Catherine Daze's Blog 
They look great and I tend to agree about season suitability…I see these as more of a Spring item, in which case maybe a white tee or long-sleeved top?
Yeah, and white trainers
Wow, these are off the scale! Love the blue and the shiny-shiny! I really want to see how you style these. I’m having visions of you in a neon yellow top with these trousers.
They’re so bright that it’s probably going to take something like neon to stand up to them 🙂
P.S. Wear it with the Montana coat!
Any of the blue satin left? These need a matching sweatshirt and, if you get a loose enough fitting pattern, you can add a strip or two to the stretch fabric. You really only need stretch in the upper body/lower band so a woven lower half would work as well. Almost any solid will be fine…a burnt orange would be amazing! Red, green, black…whatever you like. You can always throw on a pair of clogs with a sweatpant/sweatshirt. Dansko makes some fantastic print ones now but basic black always works.
I never thought of clogs but yes they would be perfect! Thanks! And an orange top sounds amazing.
Those are so vivid! I think blue looks good with almost any kind of gray, so perhaps that gray Burda pullover with the neck zipper would work with them? I agree it’s hard to find shoes that work with tapered pants.
You’ve got a good eye – the grey pullover is the best thing I’ve tried with it so far but the colour still isn’t strong enough. The blue one I’m making now is going to be a similar shape (after I hacked a lot off the length) so hopefully that’ll work.
I love those pants! Such verve, and so welcome to see people wearing color, just as birds and flowers and the sky do. If you Google “color harmonies” you might find interesting color combinations to consider.
Wow when you branch out into colour you really go for it. These are fabulous brighten any grey winter day. Top proportion can be tricky I find with an elasticated waist because there is so much fabric bunched around your middle. Good luck with finding the right top.
I agree with the suggestion of a white tee and trainers, kind of luxe casual vibe. I’ve made these from a viscose, but the gathered waist didn’t sit right on my shape (it was a bit poochy at the front). I lowered the waistband to sit on my hips and they looked good – until they shrank in the wash😆
That’s two votes for a white t shirt then! I shall experiment some more 🙂