I’ve made quite a lot of Dawns so far (4 pairs of long jeans and 2 pairs of shorts I think) and I made 2 more almost a year ago (I’m behind with blogging, what can I say?!). This is the first of the 2 (though they’re both pretty much the same).

I made this pair in black corduroy (it’s quite a big whale) from Fabric Godmother. I bought the fabric at the same time as the fabric for my coat! I did sew it up pretty quickly, last February. And since I’ve made the Dawns quite a lot, there aren’t any steps any more that trip me up.

I always use zips instead of buttons as I personally prefer how it looks – no matter how carefully I’ve done button flies, they still gape! I also prefer wearing zips as I find them less annoying to undo/ do up.

As with all my other pairs, this is the size 4. I always have to take a wedge out of the back seam, I think around 2cm at the top, tapering to nothing by the time I get to the middle of the pockets. I always use my original pair to measure the pockets too – as I read somewhere early in my jeans making that pocket placement can make a difference to how your bum looks! I think I did take these in a little too much, though, as I find them uncomfortable to sit in all day at work (without undoing the button!). I often over-fit trousers and while I do test sitting in them, a short test is not enough to judge if they’re going to be too tight. I just need to give myself a little more ease in the future!

I’ve been pretty much living in this, and the other (navy) pair I made at work since I changed jobs in October. I have plans to make some more work trousers over the coming weeks because I’m getting a bit bored! My office isn’t super smart, so I can wear jeans, but I also have plans for some new jeans as I have definitely gone off wearing skinny jeans once and for all!

I am going to try some other trouser/jeans patterns but I do love the Dawns, especially this wide legged version. I do like the vibe. I’m finding I want less and less to show off the shape of my body, and gravitate towards oversized and loose-fitting clothes. Is that just getting older and giving less of a shit about what people think, do you think? I’ll be 40 at the end of the year and I just want to be comfortable and the right temperature, if possible!