Completed: Blue Herrinbone Thurlow Trowsers

I’m participating in this sewalong almost by accident, but being blue my favorite color, it was impossible for me not to join.

Since I made my first pair of Thurlows I hardly wore other pants. I loved the fit and comfort so much that I wanted a pair in every color an fabric to wear those and only those. My RTW jeans are not loved anymore, they feel tight on the thighs, the waist loose, with all those wrinkles created by the belt. No, once one knows better, average is not good anymore.

I coveted a fabric for months. I remember visiting the shop and going to this bolt just to touch this fabric and check the prize tag once again. But the €28 per meter was just too much. Luckily I found exactly the same fabric in blue in my last visit to Vigo. It was in that fabric-by-the-kilo shop, and I bought 2 meters for €8. Incredible! After this precious purchase I was so worried to cut into this fabric and ruin it but I have to say that it went fine. It pressed quite well and it was easy to sew.

The construction went very smooth. This is my third pair and the previous one was made very recently, so the details were fresh in my mind. No issues at all, and I even recognized a problem that showed in my last pair and found a way to fix it. I have done so and I’ll show you very soon.

I was not sure about what fabric to use for pockets and lining, but as soon as I’ve seen this parrots cotton quit I knew it was the one. And Gerry of course approved!

Sorry for the lovebird overload, just a mother proud of her son. And you can clearly see that he’s through a molt and he’s getting a beautiful orange brow.

I feel a bit bold for using such a contrasting fabric, but now that it’s done I don’t get tired of looking at it.

Now that I see this picture I remember the only thing that didn’t go well: the damn buttonhole. My machine makes 1-step buttonholes and when I use thick fabrics or several layers it tends to screw up. I had to finish this one by hand while swearing that I’ll conquest perfect buttonholes one day.

This time I hand sewed the hem, since I thought it was more appropriate for this kind of fabric. It took forever but I like the result.

I used again size 2 but 4 for the seat (big bum, I know) and I didn’t taper the legs down this time. I like the drape of this fabric, even though I should have ironed those creases a lot better.

The length is perfect and saved in my mind for the future. I just need to chop 2 inches off and use the 1″ 3/4 for the hem. Being quite short I have to be careful adjusting the length on broad pants so that they don’t dwarf me even more.

I really really love how these pants fit and I’m proud to say that I adjusted the waist a lot better in these than in previous versions.

I finished the pants last Wednesday and I’ve been wearing them a lot. I was afraid at first, since I don’t own a lot of clothes that need to be dry-cleaned (not going to hand wash these) and I didn’t want to spill food or drinks on them, but hell, I decided to wear them to go out on Saturday night and I loved them. They are warm, comfortable, chic and blue. What else would I ask for?