Emporia Patterns Alice Trousers

Welcome to the latest instalment in my on-going quest to add more trousers to my wardrobe. This time I've made a pair of Emporia Patterns Alice trousers, a pattern which I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway the Emporia Patterns held on Instagram last year.

The Alice trousers are a loose-fitting pair of trousers with cut away pockets, an elasticated waist and elasticated ankles. It's a fairly simple pattern that makes a nicely relaxed pair of trousers.

The pattern covers hip sizes from 38" to 50".

Alice was a nice, easy project to sew and the trousers came together quickly. The instructions are clear and I found them easy to follow, although beginners might not find them as detailed as some other indie pattern company instructions. It's a relatively straightforward pattern with no zips, buttons or any particularly complicated steps though, so there's nothing that really needs a lot of explanation.

One thing that wasn't included that I thought would have been helpful was some guidance on how long to cut the elastic for the ankles and the waist. I've used elastic in waistbands quite a bit so I had a good idea what to do there, but I wasn't sure how long to cut the elastic for the ankles to ensure that were gathered enough to look right without cutting off circulation to my feet! In case it's helpful, I cut my elastic to match the circumference of my leg at my ankles, so it ended up slightly shorter than that measurement once I'd sewn the ends of the elastic together. 

I made a size 14, which is the size recommended for my current body measurements. The only alteration I made was to lengthen the legs by 1.5" (relatively standard for me as I'm 5'9"). As the Alice trousers are designed to be loose, they're fairly forgiving in terms of fit. I'm pleased with how my trousers turned out - they're loose without feeling big and baggy.

The fabric that I used is a leopard print chambray that I bought from Dalston Mill. It's a nice quality fabric and a good weight for the Alice trousers. I think this is a good print for trousers for me - it's more interesting than a solid colour, but still kind of neutral enough (I count most blue and white prints as semi-neutral!) to be worn with lots of patterned tops. You'll be seeing this fabric again here in the not-too-distant future because I intentionally bought enough to make a matching top.

The recommended fabrics for Alice also include viscose, and I think I'd like to give that a try at some point. It would be nice to see how they work on me in a drapier fabric, and I think a viscose pair would be really great for summer.

I'm really happy with my Alice trousers. They were an easy, quick pattern to sew and they're really comfortable to wear. I'll be keeping my eye out for the right fabric to make another pair!