My dear Sewing Friends!

Here are some snapshots of my current project to radically alter the size of these magnificent breeks!

I only noticed yesterday that they're actually a child's trouser! Hehe - that won't stop me! I spent Christmas day with my non-Christian partner and his mum (who is Jehova's Witness), and had a lovely post-lunch session of tacking up the length of the outside legs with a nice visible orange thread.

That way I could assess whether or not they were going to fit me: I'd pinned this old scarf, cut in two long-ways, into the side seams, which I had ripped open: I didn't measure anything, and just hoped that the scarf would provide roughly the right amount of material: turning over the ends of the wool scarf gave a nice continuation of the waistband, too.

I couldn't try the pinned trousers on - the pins were too spikey!

But as soon as got home from the lovely 'alternative family Christmas', I tried them and they were pretty good - even they fastened, despite my pot belly after the big lunch!

I'd usually think of buying a child's pair of pants as a pretty silly thing to do, but this plaid was so beautiful, and they are a style that I absolutely loved as soon as I saw it - it was obvious that they are so very tiny and that my bum and thighs couldn't remotely fit them - but they were just so perfectly formed.... sometimes I like to take a chance on a garment...

As soon as I came away from the 50c stall, and started looking at the 1 Euro stall, I found the scarf which had similar colour theme; I held it up to my newly purchased item, out of my massive sack of goodies - and the length even was just right for the trousers to get widened!

I wouldn't usually jump into a rather ambitious job like this, either! But I felt like challenging my skills firmly...

I now have to do the final sewing of the strips, and then finish them better at the bottoms: I hope that I didn't trim off too much, as I overcut when I was neatening up the bottom as I was tacking - I should have some scraps that'll help with the bottom edging, though.

I'm challenging myself so, because I am really tired of not finding exciting trousers! If I can improve my talent, then I will make a lot of this kind of trousers: I really want winter trews in particular - I love my skipants and baggy pantaloons and yoga leggings, but I want WOOL WINTER TROUSERS IN BRIGHT INTERESTING FABRICS - which actually will heat my legs when I go out in all weathers!

I love having a very small budget and few resources to work with!! If I had a massive material shop nearby, and a pocket full of expendable income - it'd be a very different story... I know that I wouldn't have half the satisfaction - nor would I make more expressive creative choices in my clothing!

There is something even more beautiful about sewing in winter, also; the cosiness and the quiet, the sacred, meaningful inwards time, the long dark evenings by the fire or in bed with a hotwaterbottle....

Then, every stitch feels more significant, more powerful: full of midwinter alchemy and atmosphere, community and family threads, conversations and shared feeling...

Mmm: looking very much forward to sharing more with you all!

LOve!

Clare.

www.claregaiasophia.com