red velvet trews

Something else is missing from the blog, In time for our trip to Germany in autumn last year (2017) I sewed the synthetic red velvet that I bought at the 2015 Harrogate show into a pair of trews. I used my non-stretch pants pattern, but made straight flappy legs. No point using less velvet when more is available! These trews are a lot of fun. Comfortable, and I can draw on them with my finger when bored, and then smooth it out, like an etch-a-sketch. They do stretch a bit, so need washing more often than some other trews. Must photograph these too!

moleskins

Almost as soon as we moved to the hills of North Yorkshire, James wanted some moleskin trousers. Moleskin is not very available and is also incredibly expensive. I got as far as ordering a tiny swatch online, but there was only navy blue and really I wondered whether it was the right weight. Then I  found a kind of fuzzy synthetic substitute in Paris in late 2014 (seems I failed to blog this exploration of fabric stores or the result!). Knocked up the trews using James’ jeans pattern, plus some nice big rear pockets. Fabric still performs OK, but is bobbly and J has been asking for a proper pair ever since. Found something that the seller said was cotton moleskinat the Harrogate show in 2015, but it was way too cheap, so I bought it anyway! I remain suspicious that this fabric is not superior to the Paris synthetic, and since those trousers have continued to provide excellent protection against the strong cold winter wind, I haven’t rushed to make the second pair. However, I finished them today, just as summer has started. Same pattern as the first pair but they appear quite a bit bigger, so I suppose that the others have shrunk (I have noticed that they have started to look a bit short in the leg). Just hoping this fabric hasn’t stretched as it has been sewn. Anyway, time will tell. I had better take pics of both pairs sometime!