I have long said that I would never wear a pair of barrel trousers, mostly because I always feel as though they’d make me look like I had left my horse behind. Then I kept seeing the Fibremood Gizeh trousers and felt really tempted. I was finally persuaded by Sheila who is @Sheilalovesfabric on Instagram. I decided that I might like a white pair, so made them from a vintage cotton sheet which had been donated to my stash. It had belonged to the grandmother (Oma) of my step-daughter’s partner. I was the lucky recipient of a lot of her fabric, so I need to start working through it.

The Gizeh trousers have got side panels to create the barrel shape, lots of topstitching and they are supposed to finish at the ankles.

My first problem was size. When I looked at the measurement chart I was a size 12 waist and a size 4 hips, which frankly looks weird when traced out. So I did a 12 waist graded to an 8 at the hips. Then I measured the inside leg and had to add 8.5 cms to the length. Now I am not tall, but had I made them as per the pattern, they would have been half way up my calves. None of the others I’ve seen seem to be really short so I can only assume that everyone else has added length.

I wore them with my Fibremood Malia and found to my surprise that I really like them.

I also teamed them with my Fibremood Havana and a Pattern Union Eva tee, which also worked well I think. I wore this outfit to a social smocking activity, which prompted lots of questions, which is always nice.

I took some photos of just the Gizeh and the Eva tee and quite liked that look too! I will say that the front pockets are a bit high for wandering around with hands in pockets, or even for putting things in, but I don’t really mind at all. The back pockets take my phone and that’s all I need.

The shorter top does reveal a problem:

The fit at the back is not at all what I would like. All the ones I’ve seen on IG have fitted their owners perfectly. I can only think that this is a result of them being too big in my lower hip (or being deficient in the booty department) . I thought about unpicking miles of topstitching to try and bring them in a bit but I would have to modify the two side panels which is four seams. I’ve decided to leave it for now and think about doing more modifications for the next pair. Yes, I might make another pair!

The obligatory seated shot. They are very comfortable, I have to say.

I made some labels for them. Of course I didn’t think about it whilst I was making them, so had to fuse them on after the event. I felt the circular fashion label was quite appropriate given the origins of the fabric.

Speaking of labels, I made some tea towels from a plain but badly stained tablecloth which was in the same box as this sheet. I cut round the stains and sewed the rectangles I had left into these tea towels. The stained pieces have gone into our garage rag box, so they won’t be wasted

I decided to give a couple to my SD and her partner, and added this label to each one, which I thought was quite appropriate.

They were well received, which is lovely!

Finally, here are my girls, being pulled along by their Dad as he participated in a 24 hour relay to raise money for mental health. They came at the end, which was lovely. Little E has just started walking, so another milestone achieved!