Tania Culottes Review

Ok, I chose this pattern since I had some rayon I wanted to sew up to get it out of the stash and culottes seemed like a good idea.  I love the look of them, but I had some issues with the pattern.

First up the instructions seem to be missing some important tips such as clipping curves on the crotch area, if you don't do this it will pucker, a lot!  Also no mention of finishing the raw edges on the back crotch seam, it's mentioned on the front crotch seam though which may be a trap for young players.

The drafting is a bit off too, normally the front is wider than the back so the side seams fall at the right place.  In this the front is narrower than the back and the waistband is too narrow by 1.5" in my size and too wide by 5/8" in the back.  Luckily I had enough fabric to re-cut the waistband, but for a new sewer this could be enough to stop them sewing again.

The zipper is an invisible one which is fine, but no mention made of pressing the zipper to make it easier to sew close to the coil and also no mention of using interfacing on the seam allowance to stabilize it.   The fabrics suggested are in general not particularly stable and tend to stretch and bubble if not interfaced.  I did this and it made a huge difference!

Finally no mention is made of hanging the finished item before hemming, the instructions simply say to do a narrow hem (broken down into steps) once the rest of the sewing is complete.  If you do this though you'll have a pair of culottes that have a hem you won't want anyone else to see, ever!  I hung mine for 2 days, my hem is now perfectly even thanks to my beloved husband, but I cut off between 1/4" and 2.5" to get it that way.

In conclusion it's a good looking pair of culottes, but the instructions could do with some serious work and the waistband at the very least needs re-drafting to actually fit the waist of the shorts.

Great for jumping on the tramp!

See, even hem!

and you can see how full they are here.  Excuse the wet hair.