How High Can You Go?

This is the running joke about high waisted trousers and for me, the waistband had always fluctuated between high and low but recently, I decided to go higher. When pattern cutting, the waistline usually sits below the belly button for men and usually level for women. A standard trousers block would always start at the waistline and it is amended to fit the design. My usual high waisted trousers pattern would sit on the waistline but I recently redrafted it to have a waistband above the waistline.

This pattern was also an amalgamation of another trouser pattern I had. This trousers had a low waistband but I liked the detail of the hem (see here). Besides, low waistband doesn’t really work that well with an expanding belly (I blame the ageing process). With a quick measure and a slight change in the pattern, a new one was ready for construction.

In terms of the fabric, I had a difficult time finding the right one. I didn’t have any in my fabric box so went to the shop to see if they had any remnants. Unfortunately, the colour I liked was a dry oil cloth that wasn’t suitable for this design and the nearest fabric I could find was this navy twill that I had to buy off the roll. It had the structure I wanted, was strong enough for frequent use and was made of organic cotton.

This is the first trousers I have sewn this year so I suppose you can say it’s the new season. The fabric was easy to work with and I always love working with new patterns as the paper is still fresh and crisp.

I also decided to make the waistband wider but omitted any belt loops as I think it might look weird.

The detail of the hem worked well on this fabric. If it was too soft, the folding would have collapsed but in this instance, it work. I also liked how this hem behaved when in motion and this was once of the reasons I wanted to replicate it in this design.

While storing this pattern, I had a look at the many patterns that I have accumulated and it made me realise that the different iterations from the original trousers block I did 10 years ago. The change has definitely reflected on my maturity in taste especially as I age. Well, they don’t call it grand-dad trousers for nothing.