I’m in desperate need of some new jeans, as my current ones are both slightly threadbare and much too small. I did try on a few pairs in the sales, but the fit was so terrible that I didn’t feel terribly inclined to buy any.

I’ve somehow managed to convince myself that trousers are difficult, and I don’t like making them. This is patently untrue, on both counts, but I somehow never seem to get around to making trousers for myself.

Here are a few patterns that have made me want to get sewing:

Vogue 8397 - three pairs of trousers with elastic at the waist.

Vogue 8499 - trousers and a skirt.

Vogue 8561 - this pattern hasn’t been released yet, I found it on Marcy Tilton’s website.

These first three patterns are all hers. She’s developed quite a few patterns for Vogue, and they all have very interesting and unusual shapes.

I’m attracted to the plus four-like shape of Marcy Tilton’s trousers, although I think they’d probably work better in more summery fabrics, like,linens, than they would in heavier suitings or tweeds.

Artisan Pant - a Mary Ann Donze pattern for Indygo Junction. I’ve had this pattern for about a year, and I haven’t yet got around to making it. For some reason it makes me afraid that Trinny and Susannah are going to come after me, point scathingly, and accuse me of looking like a mad art teacher. Which is silly, because “mad art teacher” is probably my ideal fashion inspiration!

Vogue 2367 - this is a discontinued Vogue Men’s pattern, which made Paul laugh. He said that the zoot suit trousers reminded him of MC Hammer. Charming! I thought they’d look particularly excellent with a pair of coloured spectator shoes, but I’m not certain I’d want Paul to be thinking of MC Hammer every time I wore them…

Vogue 8367 - I have started to make a toile for these, out of an old bed sheet. I’ve managed to adjust the pleats and darts around the high waist to accommodate the odd shape of my stomach, which is a good start! I’m very short waisted though, so I need to shorten the rise quite a bit in order to avoid the MC Hammer effect with these as well.

Burda 2767 - this is a men’s costume pattern. I thought that a pair of drop-fronted trousers might be flattering, and I was thinking of putting buttons on either side of the front panel, for a sailor-like effect.

The fabric shop where I used to work now has a few really nice wool fabrics that are made in British mills. I might go and have a look, and see whether I fancy any of them for a nice pair of sturdy winter trousers.

I was flipping through the February edition of Elle UK, and spotted these lovelies:

I wonder what colour those patent Church’s brogues are in Real Life? Once again they’re Oxfords though, so I wouldn’t be able to wear them even if I did have £190 to spend on shoes. (The Tricker’s pair are Derbys - and they also make a lovely Derby boot.)

I am very tempted to take a wander down Jermyn Street the next time I go into London. Tricker’s and Church’s are both based there, and it would be lovely to have a look at these in person.

I had a look online to see how it would knit up, and it makes nice wide stripes. My immediate thought was to look for a pattern that’s knit sideways, so you can make vertical stripes with it. Apparently Rowan had the same idea, as this is what’s on the cover of the pattern book that goes with this yarn:

After a quick look through my mountain of knitting magazines, and a few doodles of possible shapes and patterns, I decided to just start knitting, and see what happened.

I’ve decided to go for a very boxy shape, with a minimum of shaping that might disrupt the stripe pattern. So, it’s going to be a drop-shoulder jumper, with a deep rib and a cable up each sleeve. This is about two-thirds of the first sleeve, and I plan to keep knitting it until this ball of wool runs out. Then I can make another one the same, and work out how to distribute the three remaining balls of wool around the rest of the jumper.

The fabric in the background is a silk skirt that I bought years ago. It was on all the advertising for the La Redoute catalogue at the time, so I signed up for the sole purpose of buying this skirt. Unfortunately it’s too small for me at the moment, so I won’t be able to wear it with my new jumper. Shame, as the colours are absolutely perfect together!

I might take my knitting on a fabric shopping this week. Perhaps I can make a new skirt or a pair of trousers to wear with it instead. Of course, that means I have to finish the jumper in time to wear it to the wedding… so perhaps I’d be better off concentrating my time on the wedding dress instead!

In the meantime I will start as I men to go on, and talk to you about shoes.

Since I received the Handmade Shoes for Men book, I’ve been thinking of nothing but men’s shoes. I love men’s shoes, especially as I’m mostly restricted to wearing flats, but my feet are just too small to be able to wear men’s sizes. Also, men’s shoes tend to be boring. Men’s formal shoes are black, or brown. Sometimes patent, for really posh occasions, or occasionally you might see a daring two-tone number.

Such is the rarity of interesting formal shoes for men that when I saw Vic Reeves on Shooting Stars the other evening, I may have squealed out loud, and pointed at the television.

This was the best screen shot I was able to capture, but look at those lovely shoes!

The squealing was mostly because I thought they were pink, but on closer inspection I think they’re a tan/stone combination.

I’ve enjoyed the trend for women’s brogues over the past couple of years, but all the nicest ones seem to have towering heels that I just can’t wear.

My current favourites are from Top Shop - a pretty black and pink pair.

The pink’s a bit pale for my liking, but I’m sure a spot of bright pink shoe polish would soon sort that out!

Unfortunately, I already know that I won’t be buying a pair of these. The shape of my feet means that Oxford shoes don’t fit properly, and I really need to wear a Derby shoe instead.

A pair of black patent and fuschia pink suede wingtip brogue derby shoes would be my absolute ideal.

The chances of me ever being able to buy a pair of those is fairly slim, which is why I’m once again becoming obsessed with the idea of learning to make my own shoes!

A good incentive is to take my camera with me, and look for tiny little things that I might not otherwise have seen.

This afternoon I went to post a letter, and spotted these outrageously pink berries.
If I hadn’t had my camera with me, it might never even have occurred to me to look around, and then I would have missed them completely! 

When I was uploading the photos and having a look at them in Photoshop, I realised that I’ve actually taken more photos than I’d thought this year.

Most of them weren’t taken at a high enough resolution to be printed on their own, so I made a little montage of half a dozen images that I particularly liked.

This image is A4, and I’ve sent off for a print from Photobox.

I’d like to hang these images on the wall in my Shed. Hopefully they’ll remind me that although it might be very cold right now, it won’t be long until there are daffodils and rhododendrons blooming again.

Hopefully this will make it easier to work out which items I’m currently taking orders for.

The categories, in case it isn’t obvious from the pictures, are: Corsets, Slippers, Hats & Scarves and Knitting Patterns.

Delivery times will vary, depending on how many things I’m trying to make at the same time!

Paul gave this book to me for Christmas. It is simultaneously both the best and the worst book that I have ever owned!

Handmade Shoes for Men tells you pretty much everything you need to know about making men’s shoes by hand. The only automated part of the process is the carving of individually-tailored lasts. Every other part of the construction of the shoe is done by hand.

The brilliant part is that I can do this! Secrets have been revealed! I can learn how to make shoes!

The terrible part is that all of the equipment is very specialised, and sometimes expensive, and I still can’t afford to go on any of the courses that teach shoemaking properly. 

But… I’ve learned everything I know about dressmaking and corsetry from a healthy combination of reading books and making things up as I go along. Perhaps it would be possible to learn at least the basics of shoemaking the same way?

I have plans for the lasts I bought from Ebay, and I’m still working on ideas for some developments to the soft slippers that can be made without lasts.

I only wish I’d been brave enough to study Fashion when I left school. I could have had more than ten years’ experience as a shoemaker by now, and be creating beautiful work like this:

Petrol blue wingtip ankle boots by Pakerson, at Forzieri.

(I’d make mine in fuchsia pink, of course…)

There’s only one item missing from the photo call, and that’s a hat that I knitted for Paul, mostly in the middle of the night. I ended up resorting to knitting it inside a carrier bag, when he arrived home earlier than I’d expected from his work leaving do! (Thankfully he was slightly drunk and far too tired to wonder what on earth I was doing.)

Most of these are gifts that I gave, but a few were things that I made to be given as gifts by other people.

Oh, and I did finish Bryan’s second sock, but I forgot to take a picture of the pair before I wrapped them up!

Oh, and one complete garment to make from scratch.

I’m not sure why, instead of making that garment, I decided to make a little something for myself. Call it frantic displacement activity.

This draped top is half of Butterick 4920, another from my collection of patterns I’ve been hoarding for so long that they’ve been discontinued!

The pattern is actually for a tunic or dress, with an elasticated dropped waist. I didn’t have enough fabric to make the whole thing, so I simply left off the skirt part and just made the top.

The front and back are grey cotton lycra, which I’d previously coloured using Dylon Antique Grey washing machine dye. It was white, but there was a dirty mark which wouldn’t come out. Thankfully the dye has covered that nicely.

The sleeves and inside front are made from a very lightweight cotton jersey. I bought this cute little reindeer print several years ago, but couldn’t find just the right pattern for it. I was shuffling some fabrics around this afternoon, and just happened to drop these two in a pile together. Aha!

Grey jersey, grey reindeer, red overlocked hems to match their little noses. Perfect.

I’ll be wearing this on Christmas day, with a pair of floppy white trousers. Very festive!