Is this cheating? Is this the sewing equivalent of a packet of cake mix? I’m going out on a limb here, I say not. I say that there is still room for a pinch of the personal, a dash of the different, a hint of the handmade. What am I talking about? My present to myself,

some clothkits cropped trousers
Now, they don’t come cheap. But…if you trace off the pieces before you cut, you’ve got yourself a pattern and suddenly the price seems more reasonable.

I made the size 12 and with judicious slimming of the bum seams they neatly fit my 38 inch hips.  Now, you know by now that I cannot let anything alone. So. Where did I stray from the ‘structions?

I turned the bias binding waist finish to the outside and fancy top-stitched it. I also added a lining, in the last two weeks of ‘what passes for a heat wave in England’ I’ve seen enough knickers showing through clothing to last me a lifetime. No person needs to see my undergarments.
I’m loving those side waist darts, can you see them?

Remember I mentioned about effectively getting a pattern free? Well, my first bonus pair I made in parched lawn beige: