V9075 culottes

This pattern was bought on a complete whim, which is unusual for me. In Australia vogue patterns usually retail for $25-$30AUD. A couple of months ago Spotlight had a 2 for $12 sale on vogue patterns so I thought I’d have a bit of a browse on the website to see if anything caught my fancy. I’d vaguely been meaning to buy v1501 after seeing these beauties and then thought maybe I’d try out a culottes pattern as well.

My local store was unfortunately out of stock of the pattern I’d decided on so I quickly sat down and browsed through the vogue catalogue. I came across v9075 which is actually a pattern for a dress and a jumpsuit. The jumpsuit looked like the bottom half would work for a pair of culottes so I bought it and v1501.

I don’t know why I didn’t think to search the hashtag while I was in spotlight but once I did a quick search I realised I’d accidentally bought a gem, yay! This particular version by Sweet Shard on Instagram really caught my eye, it’s absolutely gorgeous as are all of her makes. I also read through numerous blog posts about this pattern and quite a few seemed to mention how the crotch rise was on the shorter side. I really wanted to avoid a “hungry bum” situation so ended up lowering the crotch curve by an inch, even though I’m much shorter than the height the pattern is drafted for. This probably wasn’t necessary and next time I’d probably just leave the curve as drafted.

The original pattern does not have a waistband and has pleats on both the front and back. I decided to keep the pleats in the front for a more streamlined look but went with an elasticated back for comfort. I drafted a straight waistband once I’d stitched the front pleats in place. I inserted two rows of 3/4” elastic through the back of the waistband in 1” wide channels and also added some in seam pockets. I shortened the leg length by 4” for my 150cm frame and am pretty happy with the silhouette.

The fabric was a bleached tencel from Spotlight and happily I’ve found the colour to be very versatile. These can easily be dressed up or down, but I do have to be mindful of wearing a more fitted top otherwise I feel a bit swamped. I also feel that they work better with either a cropped top, or one that can be tucked in to balance everything out. As you can see I tried both of these options (a cropped Maya top and a tucked in Mandy boat tee) and I think they both work.

On a bit of a side note I’m really enjoying trying out new silhouettes and styles. I have two young kids so for the last few years my body has been through some drastic changes and I haven’t really had the time or interest to spend on my style in general. I’ve been wearing the same tried and true outfits and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it’s been fun to look around on Instagram and pinterest to find some different styles to try.

Details:

• Pattern: v9075
• Mods: Elasticated waistband with gathered back, inseam pockets added, crotch curve lowered by 1”, leg length shortened by 4”
• Fabric: bleached tencel from Spotlight

Overall I’m quite pleased with my first foray into the whole culottes/wide leg pants trend and feel that this is definitely a style I can get behind! Happy sewing xx