Slouchy, loose-fit harem style pants are everywhere right now and they got me thinking of a beloved pair of peg-leg paisley cotton trousers I wore in the 1980s. They were homemade from fabric bought at Stourbridge market and I wore them with an oversized bobbly brown jumble sale jumper with socks and sandals. Perhaps it's the flush of perimenopause that makes me want to recapture my awkward youthful essence, or maybe my style hasn't really changed much since then, but it's an outfit I want to wear all over again.
McCall's M6514 was the only pattern in stock at C&H Fabrics that looked approximately like it could satisfy this urge to run up a pair of baggy trews. I cut out a size 14, mindful that a smaller size wouldn't fit comfortably over my girth and rear, but needn't have worried. The design and sizing turned out to be über generous and I had to reduce them by 4cms width from hip to calf to stop myself looking like a one-woman MC Hammer revival.
The McCall's pattern suggests stretch knit fabrics but instead I used an African wax print cotton which is closer to the look and feel of my original 1980s baggy trousers. Once I'd cut out the pattern they were a very quick and easy sew (just like it says on the packet) even taking into account necessary alterations.
They have a flat waistband at the front, are elasticated at the back and have deep curved pockets - so comfortable to wear. They came up very long in the size 14 so I've given them a permanent turn-up hem (stitched down at the side seam) which also smartens them off nicely. I love them!
