Do you know what I have found to be the most hopeless task is when it comes to clothes shopping as a petite? At least here in Sweden where many women are around 168 cm (ca 5’6″) or even taller. I guess the clue is in the title of blog post and in the photos.
Yes I’m talking ski pants. They are all super long and because of all the fancy hem details such as leg gaiters to keep the snow away, the pants are pretty much impossible to shorten at home. During my store search I tried on at least a dozen to no avail. Desperate and evidently delusional I went to the children’s section in search for shorter ski pants. And while the length was perfect, let’s just say that my bum and waist are not child size, I could hardly get the pants,over my tush, let alone closing the zipper. Feeling discouraged and also stressed out since I needed the pair in just a few days, I decided to do something I hadn’t planned – making a pair myself. I knew from my store search that I wanted pants that had some stretch in them, and since time was an issue, I didn’t want to bother with lining and adding insulation.
Luckily a local store carried a really nice looking soft shell fabric that up close almost looks like suiting fabrics. And thankfully I also had an old Burdastyle magazine from 2010 with a ski pants pattern. So I went ahead and finished them just in time for our ski trip. This was my first soft-shell garment, and what an amazing fabric! So comfortable and the soft-shell kept my legs warm and dry even though it was -20 Celsius degrees and snowing.
I was born in the northern parts of Sweden and pretty much grew up on a pair of skis. I think I was about two when I got my first pair of cross country skis and began downhill skiing when I was around five. And while I enjoy cross country skiing as a form of exercise, not to mention the wholesome feeling one gets from doing it, downhill has always been my favorite. I get such a rush going down the slopes and there are no other form of exercise that creates the same kind of bliss for me.
However when I was around 24 I left the north for good and have been living in the southern parts of Sweden ever since. Here we have snow for about two weeks each year and the ski slopes are short and fairly flat. So for almost 20 years I didn’t do any downhill skiing, which makes me sad just thinking about it.
The kids however goes skiing every winter with my dad who has a cabin in the Swedish alps. So for Christmas 2014 we took our car and drove around 1000 km (over 600 miles) to said cabin village, located near the skiing town Åre which has the biggest and steepest slopes in Sweden.
I can report that being on top of a massive mountain with only red and black (and icy!) slopes after a 20 year long hiatus was a seriously scary experience. So the first day was mostly centered around getting my nerves in check and regaining my confidence. Plus my legs were on fire, downhill skiing is one heck of a quad workout! But on day two I started to get my mojo back and on the third day I felt like I had gained back most of skiing skills and was loving every minute! But by then it was time to drive back south 🙁
The only photo from our trip – a lousy mirror selfie. we were simply to busy skiing! Also as a side note, this was the first time I wore a helmet. nobody did that back in the days when I last was skiing. Scary stuff!
This winter I have done zero skiing, but now my ski pants has gotten a new purpose since we were hit with both sub zero weather and then snow on top of that. And I’m still biking to work, so currently these pants are my bike pants.
2 Comments
Myleah
May 15, 2020 at 11:02 amIs the soft shell fabric waterproof/snow proof?
Olivia Johanson
November 27, 2023 at 2:51 amHello. Thanks for sharing. I am searching for a pattern for softshell bibs. Have you happened across any?