Well, hello there. Representing Australia in Green and Gold….I kid! I didn’t mean to look so, um representative. I was going for colour-block loveliness not Aussie Olympicness! Anyway, I’m pretty excited to share this make with you today. A pair of culottes is what. Confused? Has fashion regressed? Well, yes and no. Culottes are back, that’s one thing. Thankfully there’s been some advances since last time culottes were officially ‘in’ and they’re looking less like this  and more like the super svelt pair you see before you. Thanks, I’ll take it.I’ve wanted in on this culotte revival since this pair, then this pair and then suddenly there were ALL the pairs so I did what any sew-obsessed woman would do and created an inspiration board (shrine) to keep track of ALL the pairs. What is so deeply appealing about this strange hybrid midi-skirt-long-shorts garment? Let me try and put it into words: a. Culottes are fun b. Culottes are practical and c. Culottes are…they are just great ok?! Work with me here.Do you find there certain elements you are drawn to planning your hand-made wardrobe? I always feel I’m drawn to interesting silhouettes. And the shape of culottes makes them super fun to play with proportions. You can pair them with a boxy crop, a slouchy sweater or a button-down shirt. I love them with a heel (or in leather), in a vibrant solid colour or a busy print! Done right, with a ‘restrained’ amount of pleating near the hips, they’re actually really flattering (you had your doubts, don’t lie) not to mention versatile. They hit that sweet spot between being under-stated feminine and utalitarian. You’re almost sold I can tell…So what are are options for DIY-ing yourself a pair of culottes. I love it when pattern companies take cues from what’s going on in the outside world because there are actually a whole bunch of good looking ready-made culotte patterns at our disposal. There’s culottes by Style Arc, Megan Nielsen, Liels and Co., Burdastyle and Vogue, to name a few. Or you can just do what I did and ‘culottify’ any shorts pattern you know and love by extending the side seams. I chose the Tap Shorts by Katy and Laney, version ‘B’ with ‘deep pleats’, an invisible side zipper and welt pockets.From what I can remember of the instructions (I made these in January) they were great, no dramas! The method of inserting welt pockets was different from what I’ve done before but they actually turned out more precise and neater than any previous welt pockets. I’ll be going back to refer to it. If you’re wondering about sizing, I went by the measurements and made a size 6. There’s some very handy ‘finished garment measurements’ to go by for the waist and hip. I wish more patterns supplied this info; it takes some of the guess work out of getting a good fit. To ‘culottify’ the Tap Shorts, you extend the inner leg seam pretty much straight down and the side seam down and out at a slight angle.  Sounds obvious, right? Thanking Culotte Queen Lily Sage and Co. for this advice…extending two straight lines had fallen outside my realm of possible at the time.Being in the middle of a major colour-block appreciation moment, I spied this mango coloured ‘Gamboge-orange’ stretch cotton and knew it was destined for culotte-dom. This fabric is possibly even more yummy and yolky in the flesh and the perfect bottom weight. But, I have to say, bright orange culottes was maybe one of those ideas that seem so great the time but then afterwards you’re not so sure. A friend described the finished pair as ‘retro’ and I went all meh on them. I don’t know…they’re just so ORANGE! And I poured SO much love into them. Like an insane amount of love. I actually did proper welt pockets, not fake ones. In a fit of culotte-fever I thought it would be fun to bind, with bias binding, every single inside seam. The insides are a work of art, I tell you. I also added in-seam side pockets. And lovingly installed a freakin invisible zipper INTO one of these in-seam side pockets (don’t ask me how, it was a feat of spatial thinking and intuitive sewing). And at the end of all that to be a bit hmmm about them, was a bit of a kick to the sew-jo.Still, I’m not done with culottes yet! I’ve just started thinking about cool weather sewing and culottes are definitely going to feature. Preferably with a fluffy sweater. So, what do you think…are you #teamculottes or still sitting on the fence? Admittedly, culottes are great for sitting on fences because you can’t flash and get to look cute at the same time. Something to think about while you’re gathering culotte-spiration and checking out Kirsty’s Pineapple Culottes because…pineapple…cullottes!

Now, I’ll try not to be offended if no-one remembers at the start of the year I declared 2014 year of The Perfect Pair. No, not a boob job! That’s next year (jokes). Just the year to sew up as many pairs of shorts as possible from this list, in the hopes of unearthing the perfect go-to pattern. All part of the larger plan to sew more ‘fiercely attractive, mum-friendly clothes’. As it happens to be July and this is my second pair, you can see it’s obviously going swimmingly lol. But good ground has been made! I now know that Burdastyle 7195 is NOT my perfect pair of shorts. Okay, so it’s not all bad. It’s just not all good. I’m not 100% convinced they are flattering and this has everything to do with where they hit on the waist and the rear view. My backside has sufficient volume, thank you, why add more? Sure, an elasticated back eliminates the need for a zipper which makes them ‘easy’. But there was just so much potential here: pleats, cuffs, cute waistband details…they even looked great on the pattern cover! But the back, ohhh the back. I’m having a poofy-puffy-pants-party and you’re invited.

The fabric is a nice plain-jane bottom weight cotton twill (with stretch) in an interesting (SOLID!) color. I bought it with plans to sew something or other to go with the rest of my print-heavy closet. And I really thought that they would be the PERFECT PAIR! But alas, we are in love-hate. I love the pleats, the cuffs and the high waist… in theory. However, and this is going to sound weird, the band hits at this awkward point above my waist, where instead of supporting my post-10lb-baby tummy (which can actually look three months pregnant when I relax..amazing huh?!) like a good waistband should, it makes my tummy just want to chillax and hang out under its little ledge. What’s a little stomach muscle separation between friends, ey? Combine it with front pleats and a tendency to carry any extra weight through the middle (where I store my acorns for the winter) and I feel it’s all a little too ‘bulbous’, borderline uncomfortable, for my liking.

Guys! Do you believe in sewers intuition?! You know, that feeling in your gut when yes you measure size A but you’re going to cut size B anyway. Maybe there’s nothing woo woo about it and its something you get better as judging as you go along and begin to notice differences in sizing between pattern companies. In Vogue patterns I never size down and this has served well so far. Out of the other big ‘four’ I often size down and end up getting closer to the fit I want, first go. Which means I’ve never really had to hone my tweaking and fitting skills. Instead I play the size gambling game. Much more fun! And with good returns mostly, except for when I run into crotch depth issues and its resulting camel toe. Times when I actually probably needed the length of that larger size. Anyway, for this pair I took one look at the pattern pieces, correctly gauged them as being gargantuan and sized down from a 12 to a 10.

There quite a few neat little features of the pattern worth noting. So, there’s the pleats, which extend up into more pleats in the waist-band. And then there’s actually a waist tie, which is supposed to be tied at the front, where it hides all the best details of the pattern. I’ve been tying it at the back where it makes the perfect ‘paper bag’ for the gathered waistband in all its glory, coming up…

In spite of all, they’ve been getting some wear. And I do love the big cuffs! Which probably saved them from the naughty corner. The color also goes with a lot of things I’ve already made. Funny, now that there’s more sewing than buying going on, its totally changed my approach to shopping. I feel like I now shop more for pieces that will compliment things already in the hand-made closet. Pieces that go with everything but I’m not necessarily interested in making, at least for now. Like a navy blazer!

Well, all that extra fabric at the back had to go somewhere. And looks like my bottom has eaten it for lunch! Hmm, there’s not really much else to say here so let’s move onto the insides. Last week I admitted a new found love for binding seams, as a fun, ok, rewarding, way to finish edges and pretty up the insides. So I couldn’t resist adding some contrasting ( store bought this time) binding to this pair. It’s a simple process but takes time.

What are your feels? Have you had similar unflattering fit issues with gathered waists? Or post-partum bellies?!

First up, an oldie but a goodie: After this version, which turned out very very short and haven’t been worn much, I’ve been wanting to another go at the Tania’s. The bones are good: the fit is nice, the wide waistband feels secure and the invisible side zip is flattering. Mostly I’ve been waiting to hoe into this amazing rayon, which is so soft and drapey and delicious and I am sad that it’s over but glad it was the Tania’s that did it. If you’re making the Tania’s, you will need something flowy otherwise you’ll get poofy. I let the hems hang for a day or two and decided I rather liked them lower and higher in parts. Also because I wished I had cut them another inch longer so places where the hem dropped kind of made up for it. The upshot: I’ve been wearing them weekly!