V103: Plans for 1930s Sailor Pants

I’m on a navy blue kick recently.  I’ve had one of those “I MUST MAKE THIS” moments, for a pair of wide-legged, high-waisted sailor trousers, to wear on the cruise coming up in May.  Like these:

Heyday Vintage Style, UK, 70 pounds and all the way over in the UK, so not affordable for me 🙁

I suppose I’ve always liked them, but proper ones are hard to find.

These go all the way up to the waist, even a little higher.  See how flattering?

So cute, and easy to wear with a number of different tops.

By proper I mean with a waist *at the waist,* and not below, for nothing is as unflattering a cut as low-slung button-front pants (imo).

I have a pattern from Burda, bought years ago, that zips at the side and has a false placket front.  It is at the unflattering rise, but lucky me, the lower waist can be extended up to the natural waist and tailored easily with the darts at back.  Yay, darts!

I went out to buy denim and found the selection terrible and expensive, even at 25% off.  I want a nice, dark, navy blue, and 100% cotton, none of this nasty, thin, stretch stuff, so I got three yards of this not-great-but-okay stuff and spent all last night dyeing it in the washing machine, first with navy RIT, then with black RIT, when the color didn’t come out dark enough.  The fabric is still so…blue…but I think when all made up into pants will be pretty nice.  It’s not so much that 1970s-sailor-pants-blue anymore, UGH.

Original state on the left; finished color on the right.

The pattern says “easy,” but pants are The Devil, like sleeves for your legs, so wish me luck! This could end up brilliantly, or could all go horribly wrong.