Two pairs of strides and a curtain shirt

A little bit of soothing sewing for a hungover Sunday post!

First up is a second pair of Hudson Pants. My first pair is the most worn item that I've made, and my mum was keen for a pair herself. She chose this lovely "Shroom" fabric from Fabric Godmother. I didn't make any changes to the pattern apart from leaving out the twill tape I'd bought as drawstring and leaving off the ankle cuffs. O let Mum's ankles be unconfined, Shroom trousers!

They look great on her, and Mum says they're very comfortable (though she didn't want to pose for lots of pics - not the absolute veteran har har I am at this). We are planning her next pair, with an extra 2" in length to compensate for the no cuff look.

Shroom with a view.

Meanwhile the Cigarette Pants course at Sew Over It in Islington has just finished. I loved the class, and Julie was a wonderful and fun teacher - I always learn new things in these evening classes, from better ways to cut patterns, to making a fly front zip.

I'm going for a sort of Marcel Marceau thing here.

They're a nice green wool fabric, which is amazingly unitchy, thank goodness.

Weird side view.

 Weirder back view.

 I was happy with these as a practical success, but I'm not sure they're super flattering on me. I foresee little trouser sewing in my immediate future - there are so many tempting tops and dresses to make; trousers feel like too much faff!

The last bit is a pattern I've been trying to draft myself, based on a beloved old Jaeger shirt. I had a go at it once before when I'd just started sewing. It didn't look great on me, but happily found a home with Mum.

I made some adjustments to this pattern, taking in about 6cm at the sides, lengthening the arms, and making a 1cm adjustment at the shoulders so that the neckline didn't gape (does anyone know what this particular problem is called? I'm finding that I'm having to do it on most bodices.) 

I sewed this guy up while watching the Great British Sewing Bee on repeat - bliss!

Not tucked in - it's a bit tight round the bottom, so works less well this way I think...

Sadly the whole thing looks like a weird 70s curtain refashion. Not much about it is appealing - it kind of works open, as a jacket... but also not really. The fabric seemed so pretty until it became this chap - and the off-white buttons add a certain je ne sais pourquoi to the whole thing that tips it into downright depressing... never mind, I learned from it - maybe the main thing being to wait to draft my own patterns until I'm a lot more experienced!