Sewing: Dorset Buttons on Victorian Drawers

The waistband fastening consists of two 

buttons and buttonholes, and a larger opening 

for the drawstring.

A while ago, I was rummaging through my boxes of languishing projects, attempting to find a spark of inspiration to pick something up and either finish it or re-work it into something else entirely. I like to think that I have a pretty good memory of most of my unfinished projects, but I'm totally ashamed to admit that on this particular rummage, I found a project that I had absolutely no memory of ever starting, and have absolutely no idea why I stopped working on it. It was a perfectly serviceable pair of Victorian drawers, made from the Laughing Moon Mercantile Ladies' Victorian Underwear pattern (#100).

I'd cut out the leg pieces and stitched a series of tucks around the hem, and then just stopped. I have no idea why. I have another pair of drawers made from this same pattern in black cotton which I've worn on several occasions, so it's not a problem with the pattern. The drawers aren't particularly complicated to construct, with just one seam on each leg, a drawstring waistband, and a bit of hemming.

In other words, this project was an easy win.

So of course I found a way to make it complicated.