Sewing Secret Summer Trousers
Culottes is such a funny word and before I made these I didn’t know exactly what it meant.
“Culottes are an item of clothing worn on the lower half of the body. The term can refer to split skirts, historical men's breeches, or women's under-pants.”
Huh?!
Well, we all know that the fashion industry loves to take words from designs across history, cultures and languages to describe different garments, which causes great confusion amongst everyone else.
Nowadays, culottes are a close fitting pair of trousers that end at the knees but can also be described as a split skirt or any garment that hangs like a skirt, but are really trousers. Fantastic for anyone who isn’t keen about skirts but would like that illusion of wearing one.
Other culotte sewing patterns by indie pattern companies. Images from left to right: Tania by Megan Nielsen, Ninni by Named, Heron by Afternoon.
I think culottes are great for a range of women of different shapes and they are a bit of an ‘F-you’ piece. To me they say, ‘I don’t care and I still look better than you even though you thought I was wearing a skirt.’ Such a power move because they aren’t conventionally sexy; androgynous but feminine at the same time.
Lynz and I decided to sew Helen’s Closet Winslow Culottes because we were both looking for a shorts pattern that wasn’t too fitted to help with our summer heat. The pattern is described as wide-legged trousers designed for ultimate style and comfort. We picked it because it was loose-fitting, had different length options, and I knew Helen’s Closet would have plenty of hacks available. Details for this pattern included inseam pockets, inverted box pleats, a waistband and an invisible zip - which, to be honest, I was not looking forward to having put in a zip even though I’ve never had a bad experience with them, I just knew it had been too long since the last zip I had to put in.
You can’t tell from the image alone but this was super soft and draped really well.
For my draft, I picked a black lightweight viscose fabric that I already had in my stash. I decided to make the shorts version because I didn’t want to waste any fabric by making a longer pair of trousers, as the trousers were straight cut all the intricacies of the construction was centered around the top section. Because of this I wanted to make sure that the fit was correct and that there were no surprises constructing the pattern.
I ended up making two drafts because I sewed the wrong legs together, back to front and I only noticed after I finished my seams with my overlocker. Not wanting to unpick I pressed on to finish my initial shorts, only to find they were actually a size too big and I had botched my zipper so I couldn’t zip it up all the way. Initially, I chose a size 8 but for my second draft made a size 6, which fit better around my waist.
I don’t know what it was about this pattern but I really struggled with both my drafts. It was easy to sew the wrong side together and maybe I had some impatience with the fit. Maybe I was tired and rushed at certain points but none of it was due to the pattern or the instructions, which were well written and easy to understand.
As we were observing social distancing rules, we decided that we would use zoom throughout the day so it didn’t feel like we were just sewing by ourselves. It was a little strange doing it like that but I found with this constant video I could concentrate for the whole two sessions. We took a whole day to make the draft and another for the final garment.
It turned out that my first draft was the only wearable version, even though my zip was much better on the second try. By the time I got round to making my second draft I was rapidly running out of time before our next sewing date. I just needed to know the fit rather than the construction, so I’m sad to say left them as they were - maybe this could be the new summer fashion?
The background in the print is much lighter than this photo and the grey had a pinkish tone.
For my final garment, third time a charm right? I chose another viscose which once again didn’t have a clear back or front side to the fabric. My friend gave me the tip of pinning a piece of paper to the wrong side of the fabric to help me avoid my previous issues. It worked a treat - thanks Fran! I chose this lovely large pink and white floral print on a grey background viscose that had a lovely drape to it with a slight texture to its surface. Ever since I made my Esther trousers, I’ve taken a fancy to full length trousers with a floral print.
I made the full length (palazzo) version with slanted pockets. Once again another name for a different length of basically the same style of garment. The difference between palazzo and culottes is the length that they finish at. Both are wide-legged trousers but palazzos are full length where culottes finish at either the knees or right above your ankle.
I’m pretty happy with my final pair and even though the waistband was a little crooked, I had a fantastic day making them. If I was to make them again, I would increase the length of my pocket pattern piece by a few more inches, as I can’t straighten my arms when I’ve placed my hands in my pockets. I would also have interfaced the pocket edge to give it that crisper look but apart from that I’m pretty chuffed with the outcome.
