Blue trousers

A while ago I made royal blue satin jogging bottoms on a whim, and then last year I was inspired by the all-blue outfit in the photo below to make a royal blue jumper to go with them. The combination of satin joggers and jumper didn’t get a lot of wear because the satin joggers aren’t a very practical garment. But the idea of wearing royal blue head to toe wouldn’t go away.

A model wearing an all royal blue outfit walks down a catwalk. Her top is crew necked, close fitting, and has long sleeves. There are metal fasteners no on the shoulders. She has matching cropped trousers and belt. She also wears blue pointed toe shoes, sunglasses, and chunky bracelets.
Look 51 from the Saint Laurent Spring 2022 collection, vogue.com

This is my second try. I knew I probably wouldn’t get much wear out of delicate cropped trousers like the Saint Laurent ones above so I went for a full length straight legged style in a sturdy cotton canvas fabric. It’s a great colour but the fabric creases like nothing on earth; I ironed them before going out for photos but it looks like I might as well not have bothered.

A woman wearing an all royal blue outfit walks in a garden in front of a tree which is trained to grow up a wall. She wears a cropped boxy jumper with a high wrapped neckline. Her trousers are floor length and straight legged. She has yellow trainers on her feet. Her hair is short.

The pattern is a tried and tested one: Burda 112 03/2012, a pattern for very simple canvas culottes or straight legged trousers with slanted hip pockets. On the original design the front is completely flat and there are a couple of darts and patch pockets in the back. I added front pleats and changed the back patch pockets to welt pockets to match the Saint Laurent trousers, but somehow missed that the originals had turn-ups. The waistband’s a bit narrow compared to the inspiration as well. I really needn’t have bothered coping the pleats and pockets as the basic shape of the pattern is so different that there’s very little resemblance to the inspiration garment.

Incidentally there’s an odd thing about the pattern. I’ve made it three times and on every pair the waistband side and centre back seams have come unstitched after a bit of wear and required fixing up with hand sewing. I haven’t had this problem with any other trouser patterns, and I’ve made lots of different ones over the years. The waist on the pattern isn’t unduly tight and I use interfacing. Is it something to do with the lack of width in the waistband? Do I trim the waistband seams too aggressively? But then why doesn’t it happen on every trouser pattern? I like the pattern enough that I have diligently fixed each pair as it failed despite my hatred of mending, but I wish it didn’t happen at all. I’m writing this here mainly so that next time I make these I remember to stitch the waistband seams with the triple stitch.

Line art for a pair of straight legged culottes with slash hip pockets and angled back patch pockets.
Burda 112 03/2012 line art, burdastyle.com

The back welt pockets on my version are effectively just decoration because I made them too narrow. It’s a pleasure to make welt pockets in cotton canvas though. No wobbly welts here.

A woman wearing an all royal blue outfit walks away from the viewer towards a well trimmed hedge.

This was a very simple sew. The worst bit was the cutting because my fabric had a big fade mark that I had to work around. Oddly it wasn’t down the centre crease but slightly to one side of it. I had enough length to get all the pieces cut while avoiding the faded bit, but I’d be wary of buying this particular fabric again which is why I’m not linking to the source.

Closeup of a woman wearing an asymmetric royal blue jumper with a wrapped neckline. A long diagonal dart is visible across the front. She also wears trousers in a matching colour and a grey metal bangle. Her hands are in her pockets. Her face is not seen.

Despite all that I think they’ve come out wearable. I wasn’t aiming for an identical copy of the Saint Laurent outfit in the first place, but I think the fabrics I used give the same vibrant effect while the style of the garments is more practical. No cold ankles for me.

Thanks to my husband for taking the pictures.

A woman wearing a royal blue asymmetrical jumper and trousers stands by an ornamental pond with her hands in her pockets. She also wears yellow trainers.

19 thoughts on “Blue trousers”

  1. I love the too. What pattern is that? Thanks. Love everything you sew. Maureen

    1. Thanks! It’s another Burda, 115 08/2021. It’s designed for a lighter weight stretch fabric so the neckline drapes, but mine is boiled wool.

    1. Thanks! The top is Burda 115 08/2021 made up in boiled wool. The neckline is great but there’s something off with the shoulder fit on it.

  3. The two blues match each other perfectly! Better than in the top+joggers pairing. On the waistband, do you catch the belt loops in the seam? Maybe that could be the reason why it comes apart–too many layers of fabric for the thread to hold there? No real idea, though.

    1. Hmm, I hadn’t thought about the belt loops but they’re caught in the seam between waistband and facing, and then the other end is stitched down to the body of the trousers. I’m starting to wonder if I need to extend the interfacing further into the seam allowances.

  4. I’m all for the “one-color” look from top to toe. Yours is wonderful. Please link to the post about your top. I seem t have missed that one,

  5. Some call the top to toe “one-color” look the crayon. Whatever it’s called, I’m all for it. Yours looks wonderful. Please give us a link to the post about your blue top. I like it very much.

  7. Great outfit. The blue color looks good on you. The canvas fabric will probably wear very well.

  10. !! What an odd phenomenon! I’m not sure why the unstitching occurs – hole in space/time maybe? The color is terrific, and the overall vibe is very Big Bud Press. Hopefully this waistband survives!

  11. I know it isn’t the subject of the post, but that sweater is *gorgeous*. I arrived here via an (apparently fruitless) search for a plain sleeveless maxi dress, and found your Simplicity 5349 post. I’m really happy to know you’re still sewing! And if I can’t find the dress I’m looking for secondhand I may well join you. I’m picturing a dress with a square neck, though – where do I even start with browsing old patterns to find a particular neckline? I’m not a good enough seamstress to design my own!

    1. Thanks! It’s very difficult to find details like a particular neckline isn’t it, it can take hours of browsing. Good luck with the search!

  12. PS – just gone back to the start of your blog to read them in order and realised Simplicity 5349 was the first one! What are the chances of that?!

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