Do you ever wonder if you should reuse a pattern again that worked for you when you were a different size? 

That’s what I did for this month’s Minerva Crafts project with Burda 7746 in a poly/viscose/wool blend fabric.

When I first made this pattern, I trialed it and then made it 2 more pairs of trousers. Over the years these pairs of trousers have been my ‘go-to’ work trousers and they’re now looking very well worn.

In February I had Susan Khalje recheck the fit of the 12 size and I added 2cm at the waist and graded it to zero at my hips at the side seams.

Because I added this to the side seams, I also added 1cm at the pocket opening so the pocket placement still looks balanced.

The beauty of this pattern is the pocket bag has a dart that ensures the pocket curves at the right spot. The top of the pocket is also sewn closed so again, the pocket sits flat and it doesn’t look like ‘elephant ears’ on your hips.

I made a wearable pair in a navy medium weight fabric from the calico pattern and added the changes. This was worth doing for two reasons. Firstly, to make sure the fitting changes worked and were not ‘lost in translation’.

Secondly, this gave me the opportunity to follow the instructions without fear of ruining the ‘good’ fabric.

By the time I made this pair, the additional challenge was to add lining to these trousers.

In a previous Minerva Crafts project, I ordered extra jacquard lining and there was enough left to partially line these trousers. It helps the trousers wear longer and feel lighter too.

When I’ve added lining to trousers before I’ve machine sewed the lining onto the trousers before sewing on the waistband. This time I hand sewed on the lining after finishing off the waistband.

I did use some thread basting to sew the zipper into these trousers.

Thread basting, like machine basting, helped get the zipper sewn in more accurately.

One handy tool that made this project more accurate was using this Prym chalk pen. It really does right like a pen and kept my sewing accurate.

Now to make another pair so I can replace the original trousers I made so long ago.

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