Project #8

I made Rowan another pair of trousers based on the Burda 9822 pattern.  However, I made a couple of changes as I wasn't happy with the fit of the previous pair.  I replaced the cord tie with an elasticated waist, raised the pockets as I thought they looked a bit low (I guess the pattern reflects the fashion of the times - wasn't the 90's an era of pockets dragging along the floor?), and folded the base of the pocket flap to hide the raw edges before stitching- when I followed the pattern the raw edges weren't suitably hidden and it's irked me since.

I also attempted contrast topstitching.  It would have been easier with a twin needle, hence some of the quirky lines.  It isn't until you try to topstitch in a contrasting colour that you notice your stitching isn't as straight as you thought.

The completed trouser

My - ahem - super straight topstitching

I had a few disagreements with my sewing machine with this project.  I handcut a motif to embelish on of the pockets (hurrah for Bondaweb!) and wanted to zigzag stitch it in place.  My sewing machine, in a fit of thread tension related anger, decided to only place the stitch on the wrong side of the fabric; the right side was a weird mess.  I ended up threading, re-threading, swearing, phoning my Mum for advice and swearing some more before finally taking the needle plate off and giving the machine an overdue clean.  That fixed it!
I wanted the zigzig stitch to be much smaller around the motif, but after the issues I had with thread tension I wasn't going to risk changing any settings so went with it.  It looks very amateur, but it's all practice and learning!

The troublesome motif