Cotton twill trousers

I mentioned last time I posted that I was working on a pair of trousers: these are they.  The first picture is the practice pair, in an odd piece of cotton found in the bottom of my mother's fabric stash.    Unfortunately it's too see-through to be practical, but I do quite like the colour.

The other three pictures are of the same pair of trousers made in a stone-coloured, stretch, cotton twill, from Fabworks Online (this store is a new find for me, and a good one).  I'm still figuring out what different types of fabric are called.  The twill is a heavier, sturdier kind of cotton, with a visible diagonal weave.  It feels like smart, suiting material - but it's reasonably cool.  Before I bought it, I was reading articles on the Permanent Style blog, although I'm not sure how well men's fabric choices translate to women's clothing.  The trousers feel lovely to wear, but when I look at the pictures, they seem a little boxy - like, perhaps, women's clothing fabrics (or my clothing fabrics, at least) could do with being a bit less structural.

They're not actually from a published pattern.  A long time ago, I bought a pair of trousers in a second-hand shop, originally from Per Una at Marks & Spencer.  They were the perfect fit, but a slightly weird colour - halfway between navy and purple.  Somehow they were just a little too purple to wear out.  In fact, I think I did wear them out once - to a job interview.  I didn't get the job, and although it wasn't the trousers' fault, I felt weird enough wearing purple trousers that I knew I'd never wear them again.

So I took them apart and traced the pattern pieces.  I made them and remade them six or seven times, trying to get the method right (I don't know how young people ever learn this stuff; I'd never have had the patience twenty years ago).  I had a lot of help from this tutorial, putting in the fly - I'd highly recommend it - and also some advice from other people who have done this before.  I used the front pocket pattern from the New Look linen trousers I made a while ago, and found a free online template for the back pockets.  The belt loops I added on at the last minute, and they're okay, but not the tidiest.  

I'm still trying to decide whether I like them or not, so it's difficult to say what I'm going to do next with them.  I suppose I'd like to try them with a less baggy fit, in a softer fabric with more 'give' to it.  And I'd like to make a black pair for working in.