MAKING THE Sadie Trousers from Style Arc!

By Jacqui Smith

My fabric choice

Bengaline has a long history and was originally made from silk and cotton, nowadays it tends to be a rayon (plant-based cellulose) blended with elastane. It’s generally a mid-weight fabric with a lot of stretch but also it has great recovery making it the perfect fabric for trousers, where you want some stretch, but also a fabric that gives more of a tailored and smart appearance.

One key factor to note with Bengaline is that the stretch runs along the length of the fabric rather than across. This means that you’ll need to cut your pattern pieces out differently to the layout shown on the instructions you are using. As the fabric I used here is 150cm wide and it takes 1.5m so this wasn’t difficult. Simply fold the fabric in half along the selvedge so that you have a folded selvedge along both short sides and the two raw edges matching along the opposite side to the fold. Then simply proceed with the layout shown in the pattern, this way the stretch will run around your body.

I pre-washed the fabric, but found it was worth overlocking or zigzag stitching along the raw edges before I did this, as the fabric does have a tendency to fray.

My pattern choice

I wanted a smart but comfortable pair of trousers for the summer that could be worn with lots of different tops and shoes. For this reason, I chose the Sadie trouser pattern from Style Arc, as this has exactly the same elasticated waist as I already have on some RTW trousers that I really like!

This design has exposed elastic around most of the waist, apart from the very front, so you will need to choose a matching or contrasting elastic with a nice finish. As with most Style Arc patterns the instructions are fairly minimal. This is not a problem apart from the finishing of the waist elastic. If you need help with this, there are a couple of detailed instructions on the internet plus Style Arc is always happy to help and send more information or images if you need them. They are adding more detailed instructions to their newer patterns and working on revisions to the older ones as well.

The big advantage I find with their patterns is the fit and these were no exception. The trousers fitted very well with no adjustments apart from reducing the length of elastic used for the waist. As the fabric has quite a lot of stretch, I also continued the elastic through the waistband at the front of the trousers, as this gave that section more stability. I also omitted the small splits at the bottom of the legs.

Summary

These turned out exactly as I had hoped! I know that I will wear them throughout the summer. They are so comfortable and definitely secret PJ’s!

Editors Notes

THE PATTERN:

These are a great pull on trouser with a flat front and interestingly shaped pockets. The elastic is a feature and comes from the front panel and continues across the back. The ankle length leg has a very wearable and sophisticated tapered leg with a hem split. The top of the elastic sits on the natural waist.

Other fabric suggestions include silk, linen, crepe or any light weight woven fabric. This pattern comes in sizes 4-16 and 18-30. To view this pattern and others from Style Arc – click here

THE FABRIC:

Jacqui chose the navy tile print Bengaline from Modelo’s Tiaret collection, which is made from 73% Viscose, 23% Polyester and 4% Elastane and is perfect for garments that need a little stretch. It comes in 7 plain colours and 4 print designs. To view the full range of Bengaline from Modelo – click here