One of my sewing goals for 2017 was a return to trouser making and even more so, trying to solve those pesky fit issues that has plagued me when it comes to pants. The Burdastyle cigarette trousers 04-2016-117 are my second attempt this year and by the end of this project my hate for trouser making came back in full force! I started to notice every tiny flaw and I really struggled with getting the finishing up to the level I aspire to.
But do you know what? After that dark cloud left me, I’m happy to announce that these are my favorite trousers ever! I really liked my last Burdastyle pair, but these ones are even better and I managed to solve some more fit issues so now they are at a level where I don’t feel the need to do any more tweaking, instead I will use this pattern as my base pattern for all slim trousers in stretch fabric!
Also as a side note, I do work myself to the ground sometimes when making clothes, but I rather work hard and love the end result instead of skipping on important stuff just to finish and perhaps not be particularly pleased with what I made. Being less ambitious is great when you are starting out and just want to sew clothes – I don’t want to discourage anyone here with my tales of sewing woes, but at this point I don’t feel happy to settle for less.
Also I think it is important to talk about the struggles – I sometimes miss that conversation on some social platforms where everything looks so effortless. First you see a pretty fabric and the next day a finished smashing garment. That is not my reality, there lies A LOT of hard work behind my makes and I still struggle after 30+ years of sewing. In other words there is no magic sewing fairy at work here at Last Stitch. Instead there is a lot of sweat, ripping, sample testing and constant learning going on in order to get my clothes done.
But lets return to the trousers: Burda doesn’t disappoint with the styling and fit. I know a lot of trendy new patterns with cute names get tons of buzz on social media and that’s great. But there is also something to be said for a company who has been making sewing patterns for decades and have developed blocks that are well drafted, consistent in sizing and well balanced. That is one of the reasons I stick to Burdastyle patterns for the most part when I don’t draft my own. I’ve been sewing from this company since the 1980’s and know that they work with my body and what alterations that are needed.
My number one fit issue is getting rid of a big sack of fabric beneath the bum and I think I have pretty much succeed with this pair. Sure I could get rid of some more, but previous attempts have taught me that it will cause other issues, like being too tight around the thighs, so this is good enough for me.
Side view. I love how they look over my bum, they follow my natural shape and are fitted but not super tight.
Close up of the side pockets. The flap detail was one of things that drew me to this pattern. Very cute. The faced lining is my own addition and here is a tutorial on how to sew pockets with faced lining. And yes it’s the same fabric that I used for my Liberty lawn blouse .
The welt pocket is a real working pocket and has a flap over it. But it was a little messy making welt pockets using a super stretchy bengaline fabric, so I will keep the pocket closed with a hidden snap 🙂
Another nice detail, cuffs that are meant to be worn down. Small details like this makes trousers so much more interesting compared to a generic stretch pant.
The waist is drafted to sit a little slouchy, and I appreciate that Burdastyle explained this in the instructions. As someone whose midsection fluctuates wildly during the monthly cycle, I like this feature as I can wear the trousers regardless of how big my tummy is.
Curious on how my fitting process looked like? Well stay tuned for a separate extensive post on all the alterations I did to make the pattern fit.
My review of the pattern over att Pattern Review.
