Modern Sewing Co. Worker Trousers

mental note: remove length from the rise next time

I’ve been trying to branch out with my trouser style choices recently. I’ve become increasingly aware that the skinny jean trend, which I’ve been proudly sporting for over a decade now, is on the wane. I’m not generally one to sew with the trends, I like to pick and mix the styles that particularly speak to me and ignore the rest, but I’ve become more and more uncomfortable with my skinny jeans marking me out as an aging millennial. Maybe it’s my 40th birthday looming in the not-too-distant-future, maybe it’s my personal anxiety about the passage of time, but whatever it is, I wanted to try a non-skinny jean for my next sewing project. I’ve had some success with the Closet Core Morgans (made here in deadstock brown cord but sadly now no longer with us, and here in an old Ikea curtain) but wanted to try the barrel jean trend, after seeing my particularly chic bestie sporting a pair (side note: that linked Elle article states skinny jeans died back in 2016, yikes).

My other motivation was wanting another reliable jeans or trouser pattern that can be made with non-stretch fabric. I try to only sew with secondhand fabric, and non-stretch is so much easier to thrift than fabric with a stretch percentage. Curtains, heavy weight bedding, and upholstery fabric can all be turned into trousers, whereas the odds of thrifting a piece of fabric with the correct stretch percentage for, say, the Closet Core Ginger jeans, is very unlikely.  

I cut these trousers out back in April I think, with the aim for them to be sewn when I was off for my birthday in May. In the midst of all the packing and organising for moving, it almost didn’t happen, but I decided I wanted some joy over my birthday days off and a sewing session or two, complete with audio book and glass of wine, were perfect. I’m so glad I made time for this project, in amongst the melee, because I’ve barely taken these trousers off since finishing them. They’re the Modern Sewing Co. Worker Trousers and are the epitome of the barrel leg trend that’s so hot right now. This is my second Modern Sewing Co pattern I’ve made (I’ve also made the Over Shirt in plaid wool and a second in navy twill) and I’ve been super impressed with both patterns, I’ll definitely be making more of her designs in the future.

One thing to bear in mind, which I factored into the leg length but not the rise, is the pattern is drafted for a 5’6” person. I went ahead and took 6 inches out of the leg length, since I’m 5’ tall, not factoring in leaving myself enough for a cuff. Luckily, I think these jeans look awesome without a cuff, but that’s definitely a mistake I won’t make next time. It didn’t occur to me to alter the rise until I tried them on for the first time and thought “woah, these are SUPER high waisted!” They literally come up to my navel, Andrew exclaimed “they’re giving Grandad Denis vibes”, an elderly relative who famously wore hilariously high trousers with braces. Not quite the style look I was going for, no offence Grandad if you’re reading.

After wearing them a few times, I do feel like the overly long rise is giving more fabric around my stomach than is necessary. It makes me worry these trousers give me an artificial stomach pooch, where the long fly sags slightly (some internal fat phobia I clearly need to unpack). They are super comfy however, which is unusual for me and a pair of non-stretch jeans. Normally I strip off my jeans and jump straight into joggies the moment I cross the threshold, but I can wear these all day with no concerns. You can see from the side the wide-leg design, I might even taper in some of the barrel around the thigh in my next iteration.

I’ve never sewn a bias bound fly before and I love how it looks. It’s a super professional finish, which makes me feel like I’m wearing a piece of clothing that will last for years, and would have cost more than I could have afforded to buy new in a store! It’s also an ideal opportunity to use up some pretty stash remnants, I used vintage kimono cotton for the bias tape and pocket linings.

I also love how clean the fly finish looks from the outside. It came together with some minor head scratching, but the finished garment is very professional in my opinion, and I’m really happy with how they look. The fabric is a heavyweight denim my bestie kindly destashed to me, she’d planned to make a pair of Worker Trousers with it but decided against it in the end. I’m glad I could do it justice and hopefully these will be much-loved for years to come!

The way that waistband is already creasing, I think I’ll use a more heavy-weight sew-in interfacing next time

Why not finish on a butt shot?