Getting comfortable on the couch
Like many people around the world, Australians have been asked to socially distance and to stay at home. Luckily for me that means that I get to spend more time at home sewing. So, not all so bad. A few weeks ago I finished off a project which makes spending time on the couch (or at my sewing desk) a lot more comfortable. Say hello to my Thai Fisherman’s pants!
I will always remember buying my first pair of Thai Fisherman’s pants when I went travelling in 2005. I was walking through a market in Bangkok and picked a pair up for about $1. Since then they have always been the most comfortable pants to wear around the house. When I started sewing I always kept my eye open for a pattern to make a pair for myself. BurdaStyle came to my rescue with their pattern for making Thai Fisherman’s Pants.
Unfortunately this pattern isn’t available from BurdaStyle anymore (but they have plenty of other fab patterns). I have to admit it has been on my to do pile for a while – so lazy of me! But after a quick google search I found a YouTube tutorial from Salty Mom for Thai Fisherman’s pants. And it’s free! Always a bonus. Or maybe you want to do a search for a different pants pattern, one that is more your style. Something you will find very comfy to wear whilst sitting on the couch or working from home.
The pattern and construction of Thai fisherman’s pants are all very similar. This makes it a great pattern for beginners. If you are just starting to sew your own clothes but are finding it a bit daunting this is a good place to start. There are a few reasons for this. You can choose to make these pants out of any type of fabric with little to no stretch. I’ve made mine out of a plain cotton which works really well. There are also not a lot of pattern pieces to keep track of. But the main reason is that the pattern is one size fits all. This means that there is no need to worry about measurements. Yay! It’s something I still struggle with – trying to get the measurements and pattern sizes correct. But I’m still quite new to sewing my own clothes.
I did learn quite a lot from making my Thai Fisherman’s pants. Firstly, I learnt about the importance of making a reverse set of pattern pieces – one for each leg. Luckily my fabric didn’t have a right or wrong side so I got away with that error. Also for some reason my pattern pieces for the crotch weren’t cut quite right so I did have to modify that part of the pattern slightly. But I feel like this has been a good project to make before tackling something harder (and with more expensive fabric!) I’m definitely working my way towards my new year sewing resolution goals.
I have to say, that since I started to spend all my time at home, my Fisherman’s pants have been worn quite a lot. So much so that my housemate asked if I could make her a pair as well! It’s definitely the time to try making your own comfy couch pants.
