After years of me saying I’ll never bother making my work wardrobe, I finally caved and started on some work trousers!

I picked out the Closet Core Patterns (formerly known as Closet Case Patterns) Pietra pants for this. I liked the high waist, flat front and elasticated back! It has large pockets set into the side front panels and a seam down the centre front of each pant leg. I opted to make the version with the slightly cropped tapered leg. I’ll be honest I don’t think I’ll be using it for the other versions (shorts and wide legged) as I wasn’t keen on those at all.

I ended up making two versions of this pattern!

I made one in a lovely blueberry stretch tencel twill that I got from Sew Me Sunshine. The fabric has a lovely drape to it and the perfect amount of body for trousers. The second version I made out of a firm ponte knit from Simply Fabrics. It’s dark grey with a faint mustard check pattern. I think it was a bit heavy for this pattern especially with the elastic casing and stitching in the back waistband. It works just about but I wouldn’t recommend it as it gets quite bulky.

The construction is quite fun. I like the way the front pocket folds into place! I found the insertion of elastic into the back slightly tricky to follow but it’s a nice method once you get the hang of it!

I managed to eke the tencel version out of 1.5m of fabric – it seemed illogical to me that it needed a full 1.85m for a slim leg pant! I ended up cutting it flat and although it did mean I had to place a couple of piece fractionally off grain, I got made it with way less fabric and a lot less waste. Especially good as it’s a pricey fabric! Win!

After wearing a pair for a full day at work, I can say that having that having an elasticated trouser is worth it! The extra stretch in the fabric makes it that little more comfortable though not necessary. I found it rose up quite high and I might even lower them especially at the front if I made another pair.

These trouser are definitely fit for purpose though I’ll be honest this is not a style I would have made if I wasn’t planning to make them for this specific use.