Yode-Lederhosen-hoo

1st Hauswarmen - Ballard
Me in borrowed costume

Six years ago I moved into my first solo apartment after a few years of house-sharing and a basement apartment that was mostly private but where had to go upstairs to use the kitchen. This apartment had a lovely loft ceiling and was only a short walking distance from the Ballard locks. I decided to hold an Oktoberfest themed "Hauswarmen" party. The next year, J and I moved in together in to a larger apartment in Magnolia and held another "Hauswarmen." We've kept up with the annual tradition of our own mini-version of an Oktoberfest since then.

Hauswarmen 5 in my new dirndl

Last year was the 5th one, a number that nicely marked being held in our first home. I had decided to up the ante a bit by finally ordering a pretty dirndl to wear (the Christl dirndl in Royal Blue). Given that lederhosen are made from leather, J didn't want to spend the money for some trachten of his own so I worked furiously on sewing a pair of lederhosen for him. Alas, I ran out of time on the lederhosen and they were put aside to be worked on for the next year.




Hauswarmen - Oktoberfest 5
Cousins



Part of the feast from Oktoberfest 5: caramel apple jello shots,

bun bits to hold brats (in the crock), homemade soft pretzels,
Obatzda (cheese dip) and veggies



In my Internet research from last year, I came across quite a few postings on forums from people seeking the same information as I, but with no luck. This tutorial is all that is out there, and is sufficient for a simple, one-time use costume, but I wanted J to have something that at least felt more on par with my dirndl.



Part of what was taking so long on the lederhosen last year was trying to figure out how they are traditionally constructed. The only tutorials I could find online were for faking up a pair from existing pants, but I wanted them to look pretty authentic with the front flap closure instead of just a zipper. I finally came across a great listing for a vintage pair on Etsy that had good up-close pictures of the front flap both opened and closed. With my mom's help via the magic of the Internet, we puzzled out what had to be the construction.

Unfortunately, I didn't leave myself enough time to finish sewing them before this year's party either. Well, I could have finished them if I hadn't decided I want to take out the stitches and add in piping...and then I decided I might as well put in pockets now rather than have to take it apart next year to put them in. Sigh, I guess I wouldn't be me if I didn't take a project and make it MORE complicated than I need to, and with something that requires learning a new skill!

I do plan on continuing on working on them this year after the party (which is this weekend) so that I won't forget to work on it until NEXT September and run into the same lack of time all over again! When I am finally done, I intend to post up tutorials on the whole process and fill in that little knowledge gap on the Internet.

Until then, I thought I would at least share my final sketch showing the basic construction.


Click for larger image until I can figure out
 how to put in a printable PDF.