Pleated Tweed Trousers

Boy, is it cold here in New Jersey. It’s time for some lined wool trousers

I try not to keep an extensive fabric stash, but this fabric has been in my pile for at least 5 years. Near as I can tell, it is a wool/linen blend. I love it, but I could never come up with quite the right project for it. Enter Sherlock Holmes, the movie, which I saw last weekend. This fabric is very Sherlock Holmes.

For a pattern, I used Burda 11/09 111, lengthened. It is part of their Folklore series. It seems like, a few years ago, I used to laugh at all the Folklore styles. Now I seem to be making quite a few of them. I wonder if they changed or if I did?

Here is the back. I did not notice the drag lines before I looked at this photo. I may adjust for them the next time I make a pair of Burda trousers.

For the zipper, I used the “Cut-On Fly Shield” directions in David Page Coffin’s new “Making Trousers” book. It’s a really good method, resulting in many fewer layers of fabric than I generally wind up with when inserting a fly zipper.

I underlined the front with China silk, which is a tight weave, and may help prevent the trousers from bagging at the knees. I underlined the back with silk georgette. I chose georgette because it has some give to it, and you need some give in the back of trousers for sitting and bending.

I’m trying to improve my embroidery skills. I bought a couple of books with small embroidery motifs, and I’m going to put a small embroidery in everything I make from now on. This one turned out fairly clumsy, but my skills will improve with practice.

Advertisement