I’ve never really been much of a refashioner. The refashion challenge on the Sewing Bee has always felt like a bit of a mystery to me. How to visualise how something could become entirely different! This means that I usually start with cuts of new fabric, nice and flat and without seams or other features to work around. So it’s a bit of a change for me to be cutting two things for Toby from some of my maternity and post maternity clothes.
I found a pair of linen/viscose Capri length trousers which are far to big on the waist and a Raime Miette skirt that I made after Toby was born, but hasn’t seen much wear. They were both perfect for turning into summery trousers for Toby. I recently downloaded the High Tide Trousers from Made By Jacks Mum so then it was just a case of planning how to make the most of the fabric available.
It definitely took a bit of figuring out how to get all the pieces out and on grain. I had to let out the hems to manage it! There was a lot more usable fabric available in the skirt than the trousers so I decided that the best route forward was a contrast waistband and pockets.
It really is ages since I last sewed a woven garment, so I was a but unsure as to how well these would fit over his nappy. Toby is also quite a bit shorter than the age 3 size at the moment, but I figured that being as these trousers are designed to be rolled up anyway I wouldn’t worry about shortening them. I can always add an extra button to give an additional length option.
At the moment, the rolled up length is ankle grazing when standing, and about knee length when sitting or on his bike which is actually really lovely for this current beautiful weather. Being covered up but loose fitting and cool saves too many worries about sun cream!
I used a nice new fine needle to sew, and then finished the seams on my overlocker because the fabrics do both fray. I didn’t want this to be a really complex sew, so I decided to skip the back welt pockets and Toby certainly wont miss them! The front patch pockets are more than roomy enough for collecting treasures, and I even remembered to pop a handmade label in to the side seam of one pair.
One of my favourite parts of the pale blue pair is that I was able to reuse the faux drawstring from the capris into a functional one in these trousers. The instructions tell you to use buttonholes for the drawstring, but I already had some 5.5mm grommets which were perfect and speeded up the final few sewing sessions too. Because these have an elasticated waist they are still really easy to pull on and off for changes, but look pretty smart too!
Now I’m just hoping that the good weather holds so he can get lots of use out of these for the summer!
Naomi Sews 