New loose shapes

This past month, I have been sewing and I have enjoyed it... It just took me a long time to take pictures of what I had made. I finally caught up. Today, E took pictures of three different new garments. Actually, four new garments but two of those are in the same outfit. That's the one I will show you today.

I've had this heavy mystery-fiber (definitely synthetic but luckily without static cling) crepe in my stash for a while. Originally, I had it earmarked for a dress with elaborate draped and pleated details but I never quite got around to making it. I think I was right not to. This stuff is too bulky for such use. So, some weeks ago, I decided to make something else I liked the idea of: Retro-style very wide trousers.

I always liked the idea of culottes/trousers and I have made a pair before. And now that my increased level of exercise (all that climbing!) has made me loose some of the roundness on my hips, they look even better than before.
So, I thought that would be a great use for that fabric. And did I mention I love the colour? That bronze-ish tone tends to look very good on me and it can be combined with so many other colours I like!

The previous pair of full-length culottes were drafted as culottes, based on a skirt sloper. This new pair isn't, these are actually very wide trousers. The only real difference is in the shaping of the crotch seam and in the angle of the center back seam. 

I also made a better informed choice about the pockets: The old pair had in-seam pockets. Not the best choice in a garment that is at its most fitted from waist to hip. Here, I have made slightly curved slanted pockets.

Oh, and I didn't want to make a fly front in a fabric with so much drape. Nor put a zipper a the side seam, come to think of it. So, the closure of these trousers is another of my odd zipper-less inventions. There is a button on the waistband at the left pocket, not a the right side. The inside of the left pocket extends to center front and is buttoned to the inside of the waistband there. So, the trousers open far enough through the side of that pocket for me to get in and out of them. 

Making these trousers, I was thinking about vintage lounge pyjama's, like these from Beyer's Mode from 1937,

or these from Gracieuse magazine from 1931.

I have some patterns for those but I drafted my own anyway. I have studied the patterns of those 1930's examples and they all have very loose and low fit at the crotch. I didn't really want that here, I think it would have made the trousers less wearable in a "normal" setting...

Oh, and I also made the top (this is not a great picture, E took it while I was putting on my shoes. It looks a bit odd but it does show my work with those stripes). I used the loose fitting, dropped shoulder shape I made earlier this winter and tried my best at matching those very thin wavy stripes (and gave up on that half-way through). It's simple and comfortable and in this thin jersey, it is perfect for tucking into high waistbands. 
The combination is quite loose all-over by standards but I still really like it. There is a sort of laid-back glamour about wearing lots of flowing fabric... 
And I actually like the idea of these trousers so much that I'm already dreaming up lots of other outfits to create using them. Outfits for which some parts still have to be created...

Loose ends

Hi everyone! Just a few quick, random remarks this time.

- First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who commented on my Vogue dress posts. I don't feel so silly anymore for not getting this dress to work for me ;)

- Did anyone blog about and link to my first post about culottes? I'm just asking because, in the past week, I've received no less than four new comments on a post I did back in winter. They were all very nice and I hope those people have seen there is a tutorial in a later post. 

Just for the record, of course you can link to my blog posts and tutorials, I love getting new visitors! I'm just curious what sparked the renewed interest in the culottes. 

- I was going to complain about some Anonymous spam comments I've received (things which are written sort of like real comments, just without making reference to the actual content of my blog. and they all include a link), but after I deleted the first one, blogger spam filters seem to have kicked in so they no longer appear on to site (I just get them through the email). 

Even before I found out about the spam filter, I was going to write that although I don't like getting spam, I'm not going to make anonymous commenting impossible because I have also received very nice comments from real people, who just don't happen to have an online alter ego which blogger can recognize. I don't want them to feel unwelcome.

- About the twisty top... Yes, I will make a pattern.

Just, please, be patient. I will be very busy with work for the coming 2 - 3 weeks. I'll try to keep up regular posting but there won't be time for any big projects. After that, I will get to work on it and make a multi-size pattern with instructions.

- And last but not least, I have, in fact, been sewing a bit this past week. I made E another pair of summer trousers. They don't get their own post because there's just one difference compared to the previous pair

Not a skirt - take 2

First of all, my apologies for my absense this past week. I don't even have a good reason for it...
Anyway, the wedding is tomorrow and I think I'll go with the silver dress after all (I bought a light shaper to smooth out any lumps in the hip and thigh area... I may wear that with it). I guess black has been such an everyday colour to me for so long that it just doesn't say 'special occasion'.
After two very sunny weeks, the weather seems to have turned again. Today, it's cloudy, a bit cold and a bit rainy. I really hope, especially for the bride and groom's sake that things will look up a bit tomorrow. I guess they were planning to take pictures on the beach...
For me, it means I may have to whip up some kind of shrug tonight or in the morning, to keep the cold at bay.


Anyway, that's where I am in relation to previous posts. I have, in fact, been sewing a bit this past week.

I made this.
Very wide trousers in soft drapey linen. In fact, technically they're not even trousers. They're floor-length culottes. Does the term 'palazzo pants' apply here? It probably does
These culottes don't have the center front and back pleat nor the extreme width of my earlier little-skirt-like pair. A trouser block would have the crotch curve shaped to provide a close fit between the legs from front to back. In a culotte pattern the legs are more loosely connected. That helps to provide a skirt-like appearance. 

These culottes/trousers have a waistband at the natural waist and in-seam pockets, positioned just where the flare starts on the hip. 

I bought this fabric on sale at the market at the end of last summer. I always thought it had to be used for something very loose and flow-y. And it definately couldn't be used for a top. This colour, worn close to my face, would really make me look like death. For bottoms, it's fine though. 

When I was drafting the pattern, my boyfriend was a bit skeptical. From my describtion of what I was making, he thought it would look like the kind of trousers my mother likes to wear (my mother who is now actually able to wear some of her normal trousers again. About two months after the surgery, the swelling on her hips and legs has finally subsided to a more reasonable degree. She does have a very own sense of style. Lots of colourful, floaty things. And of course, there's that eternal cliche that women don't want to look like their mothers, but inevitably do). He doesn't think so anymore. And I actually feel quite glamorous in these. When the hot weather returns, they will do just fine.

Those culottes - a tutorial

Heh, heh, thank you for the enabling words about my recent fabric purchase. I should know by now to trust fellow seamstresses to understand the temptationsof good AND cheap fabric.

In this post I will, as promised, try to explain how to draft the pattern for those culottes.

In any pattern making method, culotte patterns (or split skirts or whatever you may call them) are based on skirt blocks. For this pair, you start out with a half-circle skirt. Draft one of those is very easy and quite similar to drafting a circle skirt.

Interestingly, circle skirts are much more common as draft-your-own projects but most commercial patterns for 'full skirts' are in fact half-circle ones. Take Burdastyle's Linda for example. Although I love circle skirts, there are quite a few practical advantages to this slightly more modest relative. The amount of fabric required, to name just one. And they're a little less likely to be blown all the way up on just the slightest breeze...

Anyway, for the culotte pattern you will need your waist circumference, hip height (vertical distance from waist to hip) and sitting height (when seated straight, this is the vertical distance from waist to chair). You may know these measurement by different names, not all charts use the same names for the same things and I'm translating from Dutch.

If you want to make a more low-slung version, substitute 'waist' for 'where-ever you want the waistband to sit'. Just make sure you measure to the same 'waistline every time.

For the half-circle skirt, this is the formula for the waistline: waist circumference times 2 divided by 6,28 is the radius of the circle part (essentially, this is just like drafting a circle skirt, just with a circle which could fit your waist twice)

You only need to draw a quarter of a circle, so I usually start with the corner of a piece of paper as the center of the circle.

When you have drawn the waistline, draw the hemline at the distance you want. One my culottes, that was about 40 cm.

This is the end result. Make sure to mark the center line (most easily done by folding the cut-out pattern exactly in half). Front and back of the skirt are the same.

To make the skirt pattern into a pattern for culottes, cut the pattern piece along its center line.

First, add 10 cm to the center front/back lines of both pieces. This is for the front and back pleat.

Then, measure along the center front line and mark the sitting height. From that point, draw a line at a right angle from center front, the length of which should be 1/10 of you hip circumference + 2,5. Square down to the hemline.

Now, mark the hip height on the center front line and draw a gentle curve from that point to the middle of the line.

Repeat the previous step at the back. Only here, the length of the line should be 2/10 of your hip circumference - 3 cm, creating a more roomy crotch curve.

This is your pattern finished. Just add waistband (and pockets if desired)

You can add seam allowance either on the paper or on the fabric. Both pieces should be cut twice with the center front and back on the straight grain. I only just managed to cut my, rather short, version out of folded fabric of 1,40 meter wide. So, if you have a bigger size (I'm about a Burda 36) and/or want your longer, expect to need about the desired length times 4 in fabric.

To assemble, sew along the original center front line for about 15 cm, partially closing the front pleat. Then, sew the front crotch curve.

Repeat these steps at the back.

Then, sew the inner leg seam and then the outer one, leaving about 18 cm open on the left side to insert a zipper.

Insert the zipper and sew on the waistband. Hem.

My culottes are lined. I omitted the pleats in the lining to reduce bulk. This works fine. Otherwise, you sew the lining like the outside, attaching it to the zipper before you sew on the waistband. Outside and lining are treated as one when sewing the waistband. I've hemmed them seperately, as I usually do on flared skirts.

This also means you could make these culottes just the same without the pleats, but I think those box pleats add to their almost-a-skirt look.

I hope this how-to makes sense to you. Feel free to ask if anything isn't clear.

As usual, if you make something using this tutorial, please drop me line in the comments, I'd love to see it.

And now for something completely different

Last night, I got some uninterrupted sewing time and I have to say I'm making good progress on the curve collar shirt. That collar is on, it's just sleeves and finishing now. I'm not sure how well I've been doing on documenting important instruction details for any of you who may want to make something similar but we'll have to see about that in another post.

Now, I want to show you the project I sneaked in before starting on the shirt.

Short half circle skirt? No. Culottes. Seriously.

If I had ever made a list of weird items of clothing which are unloved by a vast majority of people to try and make work for me, I'd almost be through with it by now. Shorts? Check. Jumpsuit? Check. Culottes?? And.... check.

Do you know other candidates for that little list? Anything I forgot? I guess I should get to it ;)

The thing is, I had the basic idea for very flared culottes at the back of my head for a year or so.

The fabric has been in my stash for at least as long. Once more, bought very cheaply on one of those everything-must-go crazy sales at the market where I found it among mountains of nasty polyesther. It's largely wool and has a rugged sort of texture. I've liked it all along but I knew it would look frumpy in any kind of 'normal' garment. Go for short or for a strange pattern, it seemed to say.

Last December, when I decided not to use this fabric for a wide skirt, the two finally came together.

I still didn't start drafting the pattern until the last week of Januari. And by then, I had added another element to the mix.

While looking through those vintage Marion magazines, what jumped out to me from the pages of those from 1952/53, where the pockets. Endless variations of cleverly drafted pockets. Not just your normal scoop, slash and patch pockets but also hybrids of those and versions decorated with band and flaps of all different kinds.

I didn't copy the pockets for these culottes from any specific 1950's design, but it was certainly inspired by seeing these (and I may make that dress with the pockets in the detail picture. Those are great, although I can't get my head around how they must be constructed)

Because these are culottes, they feel quite a bit more safe than any skirt this wide and short ever could. I think I could ride a bicycle in these (which, being a Dutch girl, is major priority for me).

Look: I can move without any trouble!

And twirl without indecent exposure!

I'll have to wait and see how well I can actually make these work in my wardrobe, but I think I reached my goal in making a pair of culottes which, at least to me, are fun.