- the fabric should be loud and jazzy
- the waist should be at least partly elasticated
- everybody needs several pairs
Both Boden and the White Company do lovely house trousers, but goodness the price! And I also notice, doing these links, that The White Company have got a fraction of the stock they had a month ago.
Anyhoo, I decided this was ridiculous and that I needed to make house trousers myself, so I bought a couple of metres of Amy Butler's Daisy Chain cotton and got stuck in. The trousers were incredibly quick - about an hour and a half from start to finish - and that included tracing the pattern onto greaseproof paper first because I want to make these in several sizes. It also included zigzagging the seam allowance, which wasn't in the instructions but which I think gives a sturdier and more professional finish.
I love them, C loves them, and a pair for O - perhaps with extra ribbon around the ankles - is in the pipeline.
The trousers were so quick that yesterday evening I also made myself a keyring to replace the pretty Cath Kidston one I lost in the Great Key Disaster of last week. The felt is pure wool felt and comes from Myriad Toys - a wonderful new discovery. A quick bit of embroidery and a rummage through the button jar and ribbon box, and I was done. There are SO going to be some more of these made as presents this year.
Back to the socks....
I jumped over here from flickr because I loved the way "with love" peeked out of the back of the trousers -- but then once I was here I fell in love with your idea of house trousers! I went through a phase where I made elasticized pants (sorry -- ugly American here) and insisted that they be loud and even a little obnoxious in pattern. Funny how these things sometimes crop up in different lives and serve the same purpose. I might start calling mine "house trousers" too. So much nicer than "pajama pants."
ReplyDeleteyou can't say "great key disaster of last week" and not explain!!! :)
ReplyDeleteann
they're great, I can see them being very popular in my house.
ReplyDeletexx
Oh they look great! I wear some made from the Amy Butler Lounge Pants pattern and they are fab. I made them in a fabric so loud that I daren't wear them out of the house, but I do wonder if I'd get away with a pair in a nice linen. They are so so so comfy.
ReplyDeleteForgot to say thanks for the felt link - off to bookmark their site for future spending!
ReplyDeleteIn Australia we call them (i)"trackie" pants, which is a derivation of tracksuit pants or (ii)beach pants because they are great to put on after a day at the beach. The trackie pants are made from fleecy or knit fabrics in solid colours while the beach pants can be as outrageous as the imagination allows!
ReplyDeleteYou've been busy! Great trousers.
ReplyDeleteI love them! But I think Mr Coffee might leave the house if I suggested something so bright...
ReplyDeleteWe call them pajama pants, which distinguishes them from the lower half of real pajamas, which would be pajama bottoms. They're nice in flannel, too, but they must be loud. Although, strangely, a very dull gray plaid is also nice. Comforting.
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