Print Suit Part 1 - Trousers (B6898)

I have long been a lover of tailoring, yet I realised when I started this project back in September (God I'm slow!) that I didn't even own a suit, or have any real experience in tailoring. In between starting this project and now, I managed to make the Velvet Suit as well, but this one came first! This has been sitting in my wardrobe for about 3 months, waiting desperately for some sunshine and some other me-made items to pair it with.


But how can it be so difficult to coordinate an outfit for a suit, you ask. Well, that might have something to do with the ridiculously garish fabric I chose to use. It's a cotton satin with a paisley-type print on a goldey-beige background. I knew I needed it in my life the moment I saw it.

I realise this fabric isn't exactly what most people would have in mind when they think of a suit, but I think print suits are something the world needs more of. I was quite inspired by outfits like the below, which I wrote about last June in my short-lived Fashion Fridays.

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2017 Ready-To-Wear (image taken from vogue)

There are more inspiration images on my Pinterest board.

I started with the trousers (or pants, for those who use American English...). I had considered self-drafting the pattern, but I thought I'd better get some practice actually making trousers before I try and design them from scratch. The pattern I used was Burda B6898, which was the same pattern I then used for the velvet suit trousers (these were the ones I mentioned in the post, that had already been made).

For some reason, I didn't take any pictures while making the trousers until the last few steps, so forgive me if there are any omissions!

First off, I made very basic toile of just the front/back legs and hip yoke to check the fit . They were a fair bit too baggy, and wanting to do things accurately, I unpicked the seams, and redid them in the size below (which was the smallest size the pattern came in). They were still a bit baggy at points, but now a bit too tight around the posterior. Given that the fabric I'd be working with had absolutely no stretch, tightness was something I wanted to avoid as much as bagginess. So I customised the pattern to start with a size 10 at the waist, going down to just below an 8 toward the ankle. Third time's the charm, these gave the fit I was looking for.

Here's a picture of the pattern laid out, complete with my version of fabric weights.

Overall, the pattern was pretty straightforward to follow - don't think there were any issues on that front. Here's an exciting shot of the leg cuff about to be sewn. I hand-sewed these down using a blind stitch. 

Another action shot, this time of the belt loops. With hindsight, I feel like I could have omitted this step. As I don't really wear belts, it would have given a much given a much smoother line to just have the waist band. But this is more me being a perfectionist than this being an actual problem.

Aaaand that's all I can think to say, so here's some pictures of the trousers on me!