Vogue V8911 Cropped Trousers

Swingy cream trousers for summer!  We are in the hey days of summertime now, it's been dry and warm here in the midlands and nothing shouts 'there are no muddy puddles on the way to work!' like a pair of cream trousers.  Oh the times I have been proved wrong though, by that little hidden reservoir of dirty water waiting for me underneath that wobbly bit of paving.  But not today!

This cream coloured, light wool mix fabric has been waiting for a pair of trousers to inspire a project, and this pattern is Vogue V8911.  You can also choose to make shorts, a simple stretch vest top in jersey, or an open, kaftan style jacket from this pattern. These trousers are a high waisted, flat fronted style, which I think give a flattering line through the waist and hips.  I have altered the pattern slightly to make these more cropped rather than regular length, which I think suits the wider cut better than having lots of fabric flapping around at the bottom.  Incidentally, the picture on the front of the pattern looks like quite a peg shaped pair of trousers, which isn't quite what you get.  There's a fair bit of width to these and I did cut some of it away to make them a bit less voluminous.

The way the fly is worked out in the pattern is clever and is a great finish, with the zip tucked neatly behind a nice flat front.  The fastening at the top is a flat hook and eye, but you could tweak this and use a button instead.  I actually made the waistband a tiny bit shorter than it should have been, and then had to use some of the selvedge around the edge to extend it a bit.  You can probably just see some of the coloured stitches from the selvedge edge on the front band if you look hard enough!  I'll remember to check I've marked the right sized waistband next time as there isn't a lot of room for error (especially if you're like me and tend to expand an inch around the middle after a large lunch!).

I decided to iron a crease down the front of these to give some shape and definition but you could just as easily leave the legs as they are.  There is dart shaping at the back and front with pockets in the side seams.

The fit was pretty good straight away around the top half, with very little alteration and so now I have a trouser pattern that I know fits well and I can play with it.  One of the things most people who sew find daunting about making well-fitting trousers is that there are so many dimensions and seams and inside/outside/crotch lengths to potentially alter and get right.  I'm tempted to stick with these for a while and make them up in cotton with perhaps a narrower leg. The great thing about the high waisted style and the coverage it gives is that these trousers look great with a higher hemline top, asymmetric or cropped style.  This cropped top is from Topshop.

When making trousers using a pale coloured fabric, always check you have enough opacity to give bum-coverage - unless you've got strategically placed pockets, or you're looking for a cheeky, sheer rear!

Trousers Vogue pattern V8911
Blue, scalloped edged crop top from Topshop
Studded sunglasses from New Look
Tassel and bead neck chain from Oliver Bonas