Sew Over It Carrie Trousers

I've got something a bit different to share with you today - I made trousers! Specifically, a pair of Sew Over It Carrie trousers.

Trousers aren't something I've contemplated sewing before because it's actually been getting on for 10 years since I wore trousers (other than pyjamas!). While this is largely because I love wearing dresses and skirts, it's also at least partly because I always used to hate shopping for trousers as it was so difficult to find any that fit. That doesn't necessarily need to be a problem now that I sew though, and since I moved to an often-windy coastal town last year, I've been thinking that it might be a good idea to try some trousers to help avoid 'Marilyn moments' on particularly blustery days!

The Carrie trousers are loose-fitting through the leg tapering slightly towards the ankle, with a flat-fronted elasticated-back waistband, front pleats and slanted pockets at the side seams. When Sew Over It released Carrie as a PDF pattern (it had previously been available as part of their Ultimate Guide to Sewing and Fitting Trousers online course), I thought that it would be a good place to start giving trousers a go.

The pattern is simple to sew (I'd say only slightly more complicated than an average pair of pyjama bottoms), and the elastic-back waistband made me fairly confident that even if I decided that they weren't very "me", they'd be a comfy option for lounging around the house so would still be worn somehow!

I made a size 14, which is the size recommended for my measurements, and made a toile just of the top of the trousers (essentially a pair of shorts) to check the fit. Even though the Carrie trousers are designed to be loose fitting, I wanted to make sure that there was enough space in the thighs because I have fairly "sturdy" legs. Thankfully the thighs were fine, and the fit was pretty much OK. The only slight change I made was to raise the waistband by about 2cm to make the rise more comfortable on me.

Sewing the trousers was no trouble at all, and fairly speedy - I sewed the toile and the trousers themselves over the course of a fairly leisurely day of sewing. The instructions were very detailed and easy to follow.

The only slight criticism I'd have is that some of the photos that accompany the instructions might have been a bit clearer if a less patterned fabric had been used for the sample. That's just nitpicking though, because it didn't really cause me any problems.

The only change I had to make during the sewing process was to cut the elastic 9cm shorter than recommended, but elastic length is always going to depend on how stretchy your elastic is, and my elastic is definitely stretchier than most.

The fabric I chose is some navy and white spot print viscose from Minerva Crafts. I thought it was a good fabric for me to use for this project because it will go with a lot of my tops (I'm not the only one who thinks that navy and white spots count as a neutral am I?!), whilst still being a bit more interesting (and therefore more likely to appeal to me) than a plain colour.

I'm actually turning into a bit of a Sew Over It fangirl in this outfit, because the top I'm wearing is an as-yet-unblogged Silk (or viscose in my case) Cami. I made it earlier this summer after the pattern was included with Simply Sewing magazine. It's another great pattern from Sew Over It, but this was just a wearable toile and I want to make a couple of tweaks before I make another version and I'll blog about it properly once I've done that.

So what's the verdict on the Carrie trousers? I'd say the pattern itself is a winner - the fit is good for me, and the trousers were easy to sew. As for me wearing trousers - the jury's still out! They're very comfy and it's nice not to have to worry about my dress/skirt blowing all over the place when wearing them, but I did feel slightly like I was wearing my pyjamas and I still think that dresses/skirts suit me better. I'm definitely going to keep on wearing them though, so hopefully I'll grow to love them more, and I might give some other trousers a try at some point. I'm also quite tempted by the idea of dungarees/overalls/whatever they're called in your part of the world. Have you got any good trouser/dungarees patterns to recommend that could convert a dress lover?!