No word of a lie!

Pattern: Ultimate Trousers by Sew Over It

Size: 12/14

Fabric: Poly-viscose twill from Mason's

I hate trousers. Shopping for them has reduced me to a quivering wreck with an excess of body issues in the past. I am disproportionately large on my bottom half, so all they serve to do is make my thighs look massive, my legs look short, my bum look long (yes, long!) and my tummy huge and round. In fact, I pretty much stopped wearing them for years other than jeans occasionally. Recently, however, I've been drawn towards the idea of having trousers in my life but I couldn't bear the idea of shopping for them, so began the pattern hunt.

'Ultimate Trousers?' Whatever. It's not possible, especially from a pattern that only contains four pieces. I did what I usually do, and checked out the versions other bloggers had made and it looked strangely like these trousers did look amazing on everyone! And I made sure I checked out a good variety of body shapes and sizes, not just the skinny chicks who look good in everything. Fine. I'll be the one to disprove this 'ultimate' theory.

I bought a cheap fabric: £3.20 a metre so I could mess it up and not care. It's a bit thinner that I would ideally like for trousers, but actually feels lovely and drapes rather nicely. I overlocked all the edges, as the pattern instructs, and indeed followed the pattern pretty much to the word. I tacked down my waist facing more than the instructions called for, as it was determined to pop out, so I tacked it through each seam and the darts too.

I cut a size 12 as that matched my measurements, however, when I tried them on they were like leggings. I looked like a gross, poly-viscose sausage. So I unpicked all the seams and let them out by about 1 cm and that's when the magic happened. There is no bit of my body I hate in these trousers. AND they have magic stomach-flattening properties! Bonus! AND these were only supposed to be a muslin!

Magic flattening properties at work

I am so massively impressed by this pattern. It's super simple, but cut just right, and once I'd got the sizing right (I'm guessing they're more like a 14 by now), I didn't have to make any adjustments; they even curve in to my back at the waist! I know some people have bemoaned the lack of a waistband but I think that's what makes these so luscious. They're streamlined and have a simple silhouette.

Crotch shot! Who needs a waistband?

They sit at the perfect waist height and nothing digs in anywhere, even when sitting. I've pretty much lived in these since I made them they're so comfy. I think mine are a little bit looser in the lower leg than perhaps they're supposed to be so maybe aren't quite as ooooh sexy as they could be, but I think they look rather stylish. My concern is whether or not they look like middle-aged mum trousers. But then my mum looks better in trousers than most people I know, so maybe that's no bad thing.

Conclusion: miracles can happen. Thank you, Sew Over It!