Cocktail Culottes

Semi-formal, Black Tie Preferred, Coastal Cocktail, Dressy Casual...

Between the destination wedding craze and the Pinterest inspired mason-jar/burlap trend, wedding attire has become C A S U A L.

In July I attended a (husband's) family wedding in Lancaster Pennsylvania.  The couple didn't specify dress code and I am not close enough to have a sense of their style.  I knew that the venue was a hotel, the ceremony began at 3pm, and the invitation wording was informal ;)

What to wear?

C U L O T T E S of course!

Helen from Helen's Closet recently released her Winslow Culottes.  I chose View D, the palazzo pant style.

The pattern requires 4.5 yards of 54" fabric, but I managed with 4 yards of 54" for the size 8.  I think I could have used less yardage if I weren't trying to match a border print.  I purchased the first 2 yards from Kashi at Metro Textiles several years ago and the final 2 yards from AK Fabrics.  Kashi told me that this was a lovely "Italian silk."  I did a quick burn test and the fabric burned too quickly to be silk.  Silk or synthetic, I still love it.  Especially since it travels nicely and doesn't wrinkle.

I french seamed the outer and inner pant leg seams and finished the curved crotch seams with a narrow hem before joining the crotch seams. I may have made an error when cutting out because the pant circumference didn't quite match the waistband length.  Next time I make these, I will map the paper pattern pieces against one another and cut the waistband a few inches longer. Instead of commercial interfacing, I used a heavy silk organza to interface the waistband.  I chose not to sew the pockets because I didn't want the added bulk.

To dress the culottes up for the wedding, I opted for a quick top in a stretch green charmeuse from the stash. This literally took one hour to make.  I loosely cut an "A-Frame" of the fabric for the front and a rectangle for the back.  Next, I removed the charm from an old black organza ribbon necklace and knotted the charmeuse fabric around the necklace to secure it in the front.  Then, I sewed up the side seams, trying the top on several times as I widdled it down to fit.

            

One of my favorite things about sewing is that it allows me to make a small $ investment in trendy clothes that I otherwise wouldn't have bought off the rack.  I am slowly figuring out the styles that I feel most comfortable and confident wearing. This one is a winner for sure!

So much so that I wore it to our last wedding of the season (phheww!) over Labor Day Weekend.  My cocktail culottes were perfect for the venue (Prospect Park, Brooklyn), time (4:30pm), and relaxed vibe of the wedding.  Hoping to finish a silk pair this week just in time for an engagement party and am already envisioning another pair for the fall in suede...

Pixie Pants 2.0!

Almost 10 years ago, I bought a pair of black J. Crew pixie pants.  I have worn those pants to death!

In December, I set out to J. Crew to buy a replacement pair, but returned empty handed.  At the store, I realized that the Pixies were not the same  pattern or quality as my originals. The original had an exposed zipper nicely finished on the outside with black petersham ribbon (no petersham finish on the new Pixies), and each leg was constructed with three pieces, including a rounded equestrian-style inset which had made me love the pants in the first place (there is no inset in the new version).  Furthermore, the pants in stores today didn't feel nice and the high price ($98) annoyed me.

So...to the seam ripper I went! I deconstructed the originals--baggy knees and all--and used the original pieces as a pattern to cut out the leftover black ponte knit from this knit dress.   I used a narrow zigzag on my regular sewing machine for all of the construction (no serger) and was sure to interface the facings and stay stitch all the curves.  I followed Craftsy's free instructions for the exposed zipper.  I found the directions somewhat nonsensical and very confusing, but who am I to say?  Still quite the beginner here!!

Although I made plenty of mistakes along the way, I am pretty pleased with the results!

Friday night after work at the Morgan Library & Museum

Here are some close ups of the pants:

Pants Party!

I MADE A PAIR OF SEMI WEARABLE PANTS!

In May, Lauren from Lladybird announced that she would be in NYC to teach a pant-making workshop. I immediately signed up!  In mid-August, I ventured into Brooklyn to Jennifer's Workroom Social for the weekend...and emerged Sunday evening with a decent fitting wearable muslin! 

Using Palmer/Pletsch's 6901, we got to work fitting the pre-assembled muslins.   I only had to make a few adjustments to the pattern, most notably removing some of the length out of the front. 

I used stretch sateen from Paron and made the pockets out of a beautiful cotton print bought in Venice in 2008.

It was both a humbling and invigorating weekend! I have much to learn to become a more competent sewer.   Either way...it was a great experience and I was so inspired by all the kind, interesting and competent women with whom I shared the weekend. Plus, I met the lovely Lauren--- my first "sewing celebrity." 

Lauren (wearing a Zinnia skirt and papercut wrap top) demo-ing the zipper insertion

The pattern was a bit too high-waisted for my taste and I don't anticipate that these pants will make it out of the apartment. I have my eyes on the lower-waisted Thurlow trouser pattern for my next pair.  Stay Tuned!