The pattern I used was my straight leg block with shaped waistband.

In February I attended a patternmaking class and came away with at least 5 block patterns that fit me now.

Then in February I received this drill fabric in white. Minerva Core Range 100% cotton drill has no stretch and is 145cm wide. At the moment there are 17 colours to choose from. The fabric was my February Minerva Brand Ambassador commitment.

There is a heavier weight drill fabric that I’d love to try next time.

I chose white cotton drill to build this year’s pantone colour basics. These white pants are one of the first pieces I’ve sewn to fit me. Last year I sewed Designer Stitch’s Peyton Jeans in a skinny jeans style. This straight leg version is a good one to have on hand for dressier occasions.

The original sewing plan was to sew these white drill pants in March before travelling. I wanted to take them to wear in Bangkok. The pants leg is roomy without being ‘wide leg’ or the current ‘bow leg’ style.
I had such high hopes to sew everything before travelling and I didn’t get there.

Today I feel like I’ve finally caught up on my ‘pie in the sky’ sewing plans. It’s really stressful to have such lofty plans that in reality can wreak other plans you have to cover, like packing a travel capsule with all the tech and ‘beauty’ products you need.

When I cut these trousers out on day 1, I thought they would be fine as is. The idea was the fabric is opaque. What I saw on testing the fit is the colours worn under the fabric show through. I did fret for a while about this. ‘Do I line the trousers or not’ kept running through my mind.

My pocket designs and planning was to cover up what I’m wearing underneath. Both front and back pockets are fairly bit and of so useful too.

Well, now that I’m tucking in tops again, I’m all for wearing these pants all the time!

Through a few sewing friends knowledge, I’ve now learnt that I can check the waistline easily by prepping the waistband and trying the waistband on first. That’s like TopDownCentreOut method.

The next versions of these pants will have a lowered centre back at the waist by 2cm. The back waistline just seemed too high when I sewed this pair of pants and tried them on day 2 of sewing these pants.

I did some stealth unpicking and resewing the back waistband so I could wear these pants to next day to the Royal Easter Show.

For firmer drill fabric, I’ll use the bootcut leg style and bring in the waistband for a firmer fit.

Tucking in my top gives me a waistline!

My original idea of sewing this fabric as a shirtdress is now modified to a pair of white trousers and the next make just maybe a shirt.

Sewing my own clothes makes me tinker with the fit, all the time.

However, small fitting adjustments make me feel like I’ve done a really good job sewing clothes that I’ll wear again and again.

The top I’ve worn here is a previous Minerva make that I wear every Summer. Hopefully that proves that once I sew a Minerva fabric, I wear it. And wear it. And wear it again.

As I’ve said before, my unpicking skills are my key strength.

Now to get back to styling my clothes with my new white pants.