Category is: Back to Work Realness!

Today I’m sharing my third pair of Tatjana Trousers by Just Patterns (disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of the pattern for free from the designer in advance of its release. The time, effort and fabric I’ve devoted to sewing it three times are entirely my own!).

This was a sewing project which started with the fabric. I came across this absolutely gorgeous wool crepe from The Fabric Sales and I knew it would be perfect for a pair of classic work trousers. I had already purchased the same fabric in navy for these Megan Nielsen Tania Culottes and loved it so much that I knew it deserved to exist in my wardrobe in another colour too!

My mods

My Tatjana Trousers are a size 48, but I have made a few tweaks throughout my various versions. The pattern goes up to size 56, with the largest size accommodating a waist of 114cm and hip of 140cm.

Since this is my third time sewing the pattern, I’m really not going to have a whole lot to say in terms of the sewing details. If you are starting out on your own Tatjana Trousers journey and are searching for the nitty gritty, I’d suggest checking out the posts of either my first pair or my wool lined pair.

Compared to the lined wool pair, which I sewed most recently, I narrowed the leg shape slightly from the bottom of the slash pocket to the knee. I had widened the leg after my first pair, but found that my modifications had given me too much room at the side seam, creating some extra bulk at my last pair. So this pair really just finessed the leg shape a little more to create a shape which works uniquely for my body #sewingismysuperpower.

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I also included a couple of the same changes I made for my last pair of lined wool Tatjana trousers. I have slightly widened the waistband and cut it out as two pieces, rather than one that you fold over. I originally did this for my last wool pair so that I wouldn’t have the scratchy wool against my skin. On this one I wasn’t using a lining and the wool is soft enough to go directly against my skin, but I feel that having a seam at the top might make waistbands less likely to stretch out over time than one which folded over?

That could be a misguided fantasy rationale though. Perhaps, with a straight waistband such as this one, it makes no difference?

Still, even if useless, I would likely have done it anyway just so that I could use the pattern pieces I already had cut out!

I also lengthened the pattern so that I could add cuffs, but I still haven’t quite gotten my lengths correct here as I would have preferred my cuffs to be slightly wider. I know that half of sewing is really mathematics but, somehow, I’m quite talented at just getting my calculations slightly off! I made the cuff by doing a turn-up to the inside leg and then turning it back out for the cuffed effect.

Finally, compared to my previous versions, I slightly increased the size of the front pleat. Not for any aesthetic reason but because the finished product came out slightly too big and since I love me a big pleat it seemed like a good way to lose the extra fabric by increasing the pleat.

No way was I going to touch my precious back darts and their pinpoint prefect ending in those welt pockets!

Also, there was one small construction matter which I noticed this time around that might be worth mentioning. Unless I misunderstood something (again, quite possible!), the instructions for the Tatjana trousers has you sew all pockets with the right side of the pocket lining fabric facing inwards.

Which is fine.

But when I use pretty scraps for pocket lining, I kind of like the little smile it gives me to see that “right” side on the inside of my pants as I put them on. I’m the only one who will ever see it but it makes me a little sad to think of the right side of my pretty pocket lining fabric being trapped inside where no one can see them forever!

So for another version, I will adapt to ensure that my pocket lining fabric will have its right side visible on the inside of my trousers.

A sewing practice

The process of continuing to tweak and improve a pattern that I have already sewn really reminds me that sewing is a process.

And a practice.

We often use the phrase “sewing practice”, but what do we really mean by it?

A “practice” is something that we do repetitively. A repeated movement of the hands or body. Perhaps that act of repetition is something that we do to clear our mind. Or to ground us in the present moment. Or to carve out a space for ourselves.

I’ve probably used the phrase “sewing practice” a thousand times without thinking about it but it’s actually a quite powerful conjunction of words which neatly conveys just how much sewing can mean to us.

And just as the repetition of sewing itself is a form of practice, so is the improvement we can gain from tweaking and modifying existing patterns. I really do find it really satisfying to improve the fit on a sewing pattern I’ve made before.

Although, not going to lie, I do then sometimes have to make an effort to remind myself that just because I’ve improved a garment, doesn’t mean there is anything “wrong” with my previous versions!

So where has your sewing practice taken you lately? Do you tweak a repeat-sew garment just a little each time you make it or do you tend to stick with the same version?