This morning it was 9 degrees (48F) and that was *just* a little too chilly for shorts and a tee shirt (I am Canadian). Luckily I have been prepping for the Sew Long Summer - transitioning into Autumn - Blog Tour.
Last Spring I found an Indie Pattern Shelf at Fabrications in Ottawa and was BEYOND THRILLED to find a copy of the Cake Endeavour Trouser. I quickly made up a pair of very wearable shorts and made plans to use the pattern as a wardrobe starting point - but then I decided to make a dress, and tested a few patterns and got away from my "wardrobe" plans.
So here we are - AUTUMN! and I don't need shorts.
When Melissa touched base and suggested I join the Sew Long Summer Blog tour I immediately thought of the Cake pattern.
SewManju does a lovely job styling her cullottes and I thought the look might work for me, and I had some black linen in my queue, so I decided to give it a go.
First - let's talk about the pattern:
FORMAT: I am normally a pdf gal when it comes to indie patterns - we just don't have access to the gorgeous printed patterns in my neck of the woods. I was reluctant to buy the pdf of this pattern because I had heard it was complex (but it is not, really) with many pattern pieces for different size combinations (true). The packaging is lovely - the colour coding is valuable (don't stick to B&W if you are printing the pdf), and the printed sheet is not enormous - I imagine it will be manageable as a pdf.
SIZE RUN: Until recently - there weren't many offerings of plus size patterns in printed versions. Cake has a nice size range (Hip measurements included: 30"-55" (76-150)) - the pattern concept is especially wonderful for a curvy body because there are grading lines for various body types and measurements. If you are an experienced size blender it is an awesome and easy experience to grade from a 54" hip to a small waist using the pattern pieces.
INSTRUCTIONS: if you have marked your notches and know how to follow them the instructions are excellent. StephC comes very close to beginner level instructions, but it's definitely and advanced beginner pattern. There are a few parts to the instruction puzzle that are on the pattern pages them selves, so don't pack the pattern away after tracing until you have checked for additional info on the sheets. There are fewer pictures than typical (more than StyleArc... but no four colour photos, for sure)
TECHNIQUE: I particularly liked the pocket design and construction process on this pattern.
FEATURES: The Darling Pant (there is also a Sailor Pant pattern in this offering) features an invisible zipper (easily installed above the pocket seams) and generous, slanted hip pockets. The real perk of this pattern, is the front leg (princess?) seam on the pant and the back yoke, which allow for tweaking in the fit. The leg is very wide, and I am told that somewher out there there are instructions for narrowing the leg pattern, but other than the mention on Flikr I have not been able to uncover an instruction set. (Cake's Designer, StephC is on a LOA recently and is sometimes present on these interwebs, but you are better to turn to your Facebook groups for any advice ).
ALTERATIONS: I added 13" to the shorts length to get this cullotte. I also did a full tumy adjustment by temporarily piceing together the front panel pieces and following Michelle's tutorial on the Curvy Sewing Collective. I moved some of the front leg inseam to the back leg (narrowing the front crotch curve and lengthening the back crotch curve to eliminate some bunching I found when walking in my shorts - it seems to have done the trick. Next time I will use my self-drafted shaped wastband - the pattern will accept a different wasitband easily.
And the pants themselves?
FABRIC - Delicious black linen with a viscose blend - not itchy, good body, washes well and has held it's colour very well. I am not new to linen and canvas for multi-season wear.... it's great for when the mornings are too cool for cotton skirts, and transitions perfectly to hot afternoons. It's dreamy and soft and warm and cool.
For the pockets, I used a knit lining I had on hand (hence, the olive) and the pocket technique that uses adhesive seam tape is really nice.
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| Pocket on the inside of the garment |
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| The inside of the pocket and invisible zipper (what? you can't see it?) |
STYLING - Cullottes are quite wearable! I love how SewManju added a boxy T or a fited jacket - I think keeping proportions in thirds work well with the short length: 1/3 top and 2/3 pants. I am wearing my nude M7093 in these pictures - tucked in - and untucked looked nice as well. I have a nice cropped leather jacket that looks great with these, and a pretty frilled top that works well too. I am happiest with the way they look with a pair of MaryJanes, but if these contine to be wearable, I might try pairing with my black boots to extend their season a little.
Since this is part of a Blog Tour there are some nice perks:
Fun discounts and coupon codes from our sponsors:
Zierstoff Patterns 20% off patterns Code: zierstoffpatterns20 Ends 9/17/16
Blue Dot Patterns 25% off patterns Code: SewLongSummer Ends 9/17/16
The rest of the Tuesday posts are here:
Here are some of the other posts:
I will come back and update this post with the links as they are published
