Sew Over It Work to Weekend Camille Trousers: refashion

It was years ago that I made the Camille jumpsuit from the Sew Over It My Capsule Wardrobe Work to Weekend ebook. I posted about this in 2019 but had made it pretty much as soon as the book came out in 2018. I have never worn it though. This amount of navy crepe is too much all in one go on me at 5ft, the waist is too tight and I don't like how the bodice feels to wear - which is mainly down to my preference rather than the pattern. So, with my current aim of refashioning for better wear, I decided to sacrifice the top for a wearable pair of trousers.

Here is the original jumpsuit and link to post with details of fabric and patterns:

It was a stupidly simple alteration and made a huge difference. I removed the bodice section by unpicking the seam, which was a lengthy process as I wanted to preserve as much of the waistband fabric as possible (not simply snipping it off). Because this was made so long ago I don't have any of the original fabric remaining, leading me to the decision to simply double over the wide waistband instead of adding another facing, as per the Camille trouser pattern. I know that I could have used another fabric for the facing, but having to consider this led me to believe that the narrower waistband might sit better( and it does). I also had to remove the zip fastening that is situated at the centre back in order to replace this with a shorter version. Turning over the waistband and securing it with a stitch in the ditch was incredibly quick compared to the unpicking. 

I wouldn't normally opt for a back zip on trousers, and did consider moving it to the side but this would require a complete redo of the waistband. It has turned out fine to wear as it goes, which was a nice surprise. I'm really glad I came back to these trousers as they are very comfortable to wear and flattering due to the wide leg and pleats. They definitely fall in the 'work to weekend' category, as in a wool blend fabric, would be perfect for the office, but for me, will be in my weekend wardrobe. You can see I'm much happier with these as trousers. I actually think these would be a good pattern for a first pair of trousers because they require very little fitting and have a simple fastening.