Terracotta – My New Favourite Colour

I’m a fairly safe person when it comes to my use of colour in my wardrobe.  For years I’ve stuck to blues, grey, black and white, and beige.  With variations, but all fairly neutral and all matching.  However, in the last 2 years, another colour has been creeping in – rusty, cinnamon, paprika, terracotta.  It’s a colour that I’ve always liked, but never considered wearing.  It would clash with my hair and freckly face!  But it doesn’t, and it really makes the blues and the black and white in my wardrobe sing!  It’s my neutral with POP!

I bought this fabulous terracotta brushed cotton twill in October, intending to make a pair of cargo-inspired pants, not unlike the pattern in the Burda of September 2020, but when I finally traced and toiled the pattern, I realised it wasn’t for me.  On the whole, I like wide legged pants, but when they’re combined with a wide pleat and cropped length, it turns out they do me no favours!  Which is a shame really, because I liked the look.  No matter, I then decided that I’d rather use the fabric on a  pattern I already liked, had made many versions of, and knew fitted well.  Then I had second thoughts…

And those second thoughts lead me to consider a pattern I’ve already used well since buying it – The Teddy Designer Pants from Style Arc.  Yup, I seriously considered making them in this twill.  Then I thought again, what other patterns did I have that I’d like to use?  When none came to mind, and I could see a perfect pair terracotta Teddys in my mind’s eye, I knew it had to be done!

I placed the pieces so as to use as little fabric as possible (I really wish now that I’d bought more than 2m) and got cracking.  Layers are going to show, especially with washing and ironing, so in a small attempt to reduce bulk, I cut one pair of pocket pieces from some African wax.  I really should have had my thinking cap fully engaged and cut the inner waistband pieces from the cotton too, would have saved a little more fabric!  I plan to make a tote with the left-overs, properly interfaced, because no-one wants a stretchy tote bag!

Anyway, back to the trousers.  Luckily I had the perfect thread from a project last winter left in the stash so didn’t need to pop out to the shop in the cold, buttons and zip again from the stash, although the zip is beige…  You’ll never see it and I highly doubt there’s a matching colour out there.  Once all the pieces were overlocked I set to work and would have finished in the day if it weren’t for an errant headache that wouldn’t go away.

I really love the finished result, the colour is just heavenly and the fabric so soft and warm!  I wouldn’t have thought to make this pattern in a heavyweight fabric, but it works and the pleat holds nicely.  I actually think a denim pair would be good……

Author: Anne W

I love fabric, and sewing. And I could do nothing else but sew, all day, every day, if I could! View all posts by Anne W