Made by Me: Sew Wardrobe Elsa Trousers

A while ago Alison Smith contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in testing one of the kits for her new Sew Wardrobe sewing patterns.  I gladly accepted and she sent me a kit for the Elsa trousers.

I now have a quick apology to make to Alison that it's taken me so long to get these trousers made and written about!

When the kit arrived I was excited to open it and I wasn't disappointed in any way.  It contained everything I needed to make the trousers, bar the tools.  Alison had thought of everything; the kit contained the fashion fabric, some printed cotton for the waist band facing, interfacing, satin bias tape to finish the edge of the waist band facing, thread and even two sew in labels - one a "Sew Wardrobe" label and the other with fabric care instructions.




The pattern comes gorgeously packaged in a sturdy cardboard box, a bit like a gift box.  I loved this, it means that once you've traced the pattern off you've got plenty of room to store your traced pieces in the box without having to cram everything in.  So many times I end up with a squashed and creased mess, but not this time. 




The pattern itself is printed on sturdy brown paper.  The box also includes an instruction leaflet, a little card explaining how to narrow the legs of the trousers from a classic straight legged style and a sheet of pattern tips that covers taking your measurements and some useful information about the patterns in general. 





The instructions themselves are not the most detailed I have seen, they do assume a certain amount of sewing knowledge.  I would expect this though, Alison's classes are not for complete beginners and therefore I wouldn't expect her sewing patterns to be either.  There are plenty of beginner friendly patterns out there, so it's nice that Alison has gone a different route.  Having said that, the trousers are not complicated to make, an intermediate sewer or even an adventurous beginner would be able to make them, particularly if they have made trousers before.  The hardest part is inserting the invisible zip.  I always think trousers are not difficult to make, it's the fitting that's the hard part. 

And that's where I fell down a bit - the fitting. 



I was very good and made myself a toile which didn't actually fit too badly.  I went by my hip size and pretty much the only alteration I needed to make was to bring the waist in, particularly at the centre back.  This is a typical alteration for me - my waist is a good size, if not more, smaller than my hips and I have terrible trouble finding trousers in RTW because of this. 

I made the changes to my traced pattern and then cut out my fashion fabric.  With hindsight I probably should have made another toile, because I now have some weird issues in the front crotch area (goodness, that sounds worrying!).  There is some excess fabric that wasn't there on my toile and I'm not sure how that's appeared. 



Having spoken to Alison she tells me that it looks as if the front crotch curve needs to be deeper.  I haven't had chance to try this yet, but I will and will report back on how that affects the fit. 

The fit elsewhere is pretty good, certainly better than I'd get in RTW and I think once I've sorted out the front issue this pattern will be a great wardrobe staple.  I love the slim fit over the waist and hips and the straight legs, although I'd love to try narrowing the legs on another pair. 



I'd totally recommend this pattern if you want some classic, simple trousers, and if you want to go all out and treat yourself to a kit, then I would say go for it.  I don't think you'll be disappointed. 
 

Disclaimer:  The pattern and kit were kindly provided to me for review purposes, however all views are my own (including those of my poor fitting skills). 

Thanks also to Alison for her suggestions on how to remedy the fit. 

13 comments

  1. Ugh - fitting! It's the thing that keeps me from sewing trousers! Every season I say I'll do it, and every season I just buy a bunch from the shops instead! Yours are looking good though. That front horizontal wrinkle/poof at the crotch is something I see come up a lot in handmade trousers, and not as much in RTW. It makes me wonder if sewing patterns are drafted in a different way than RTW patterns? One of these days I mean to do a comparison to see what the differences are.

    The kit looks really lovely - thanks for highlighting it!

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    1. The kit is fantastic Gail, I'd highly recommend it. Yeah, I'd make far more trousers if the fitting wasn't so tricky. I'll get there!

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  2. I thought the trousers looked great on you, until I got to the picture of you holding up your top! Yes, there was definitely a bit of excess there. I think if you get that fixed they'll be a great pair of trews.

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    1. Thanks Fran. Yes, that bit definitely needs sorting out, other than that I'm very happy with them.

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  3. I think they are a good starting point Sam and to a non sewer (and even most sewers) they look pretty good. Your next version will be even better - don't be too critical of yourself!

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    1. Thanks Manju. Yes, my next pair will be better!

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  4. Thanks for such a well-written review. It's annoying when unexpected fitting issues arise. When you find the solution, please let us all know.

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    1. Thanks Jen. I'll definitely post an update once I've sorted this fitting issue out.

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  5. These look good, most trousers need alterations. I love the kit idea.

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    1. The kit is great, it's really worth it I think.

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  6. Getting the pattern right on trousers is such a bonus..I made a toile of a pair some time back and once I tweaked the pattern it sews perfectly now.- excess fabric like this is good, as it means that you have fitted to your measurements correctly (I had a dreadful habit of making mine too small for a while) I would suggest you pin and sew the excess fabric in place on the toile/muslin, and wear the muslin for a bit to make sure the fit feels good, take apart the muslin, except for the sewed excess, and iron flat the fabric and relay it over your pattern, you will notice it makes a deeper curve. trace the curve and thats your pattern!

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    1. Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely going to sort this out as I really need a go-to trouser pattern.

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  7. pants seem like such a daunting sewing project, but these look so good! I think this pair could still get a lot of wear if you have a longer top on with them, and I'm glad another sewer was able to offer some good advice on how to get a little bit of a better fit in the crotch area for next time. They look wonderful!

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