Retro culottes

This one was finished a while ago, but – you guesses it – I forgot to blog about it 😅.

When I had guests over during the spring holiday, we also played and pottered around in the attic for a while. Among other things in my large stash of fabrics. The following one was singled out:

“Ooh!!”, one of my houseguests exclaimed, “This fabric would be really nice for those types of wide trousers!”

And I couldn’t contradict her!
This fabric had been waiting for so long for me to think of a suitable project, but I never got the inspiration. And now the idea was just given to me!
I also could immediately imagine it: not completely long pants, but rather mid-calf and wide, almost even a culottes. And with pleats in the front, because I personally find that very elegant.

Finding a suitable pattern when you have something so specific in mind is not always easy, but luckily our sewing class has a large stash of magazines. After much browsing I came across this Summer Cargo in the Ottobre Kids of the summer of 2022.

Not exactly what I had in mind, but very close. For one, I didn’t want a zipper, but an elastic that was flat in the front and only did the constriction at the back. I didn’t want pockets on the legs either, but this was just a matter of omitting them. The omission of the zipper would require a pattern change.
When I explained my idea to the sewing teacher, she luckily immediately jumped on it, and helped me adjust the pattern.

Once the pattern was adjusted, the sewing went quite smoothly.
I really love the result. Without the suggestion I would never have thought of making such pants with this fabric. Now that it’s finished, I think it’s just a perfect fit!

Cheers,
Charlotte