Stroke + Clipping Mask

Hello!

I am using a handwritten words that I have photogarpherd, placed then used image trace to vectorize. I have then added a stroke and used the width tool to make them fuller - since I would like to use an image to fill the letters, using clipping mask. 

Here is a screen shot of the first letter I have made a little bigger with stroke and width tool. 

Now when I make the clipping mask with the image below - the clipping mask ignores the storke. 

This is not working the way I hoped -  but not sure if there is an other way to do this, that wonʻt be super time consuming. 

1. Maybe use a different tool to uniformally add fullness to the leters (not stroke/and width tool)?

2. Or is there a way to combine the stroke with the original path?

3. Or maybe a way to ask the climmping mask to not ignore the stroke?

I am pretty new to Illustrator - so I am hoping there is an easy fix and whatever I have written above is not total gibberish. 

Thank you in advance. 

Dorka