Friday, May 11, 2012

Just Wondering...

For our first Question and Answer post we have a question from Dee Dee in Siberia

Dear Ladies,
I have a question for the question and answer blog posts.

My daughter desperately needs culottes. I have made them years ago but I
can't remember exactly how I made them. :) It was like 12 years ago! I
know you can make the ones with a front pleat for modesty without a
pattern so I was wondering if anyone can help me remember how exactly to
make them. I did find one "pattern" online but it is a bit confusing so
before I try it I thought it would pay to ask all of you.


Thanks!

Dee Dee Sterling
Siberia

8 comments:

Chris and Carole said...

Hey Dee Dee, I'll look forward to the other ladies answers, but I just wanted to tell you waht I do. I have a pattern for elastic waist shorts and just add several inches to the waist, length, and a few inches to the crotch. Of course the last time I made them was three years ago for my 6 and 3 year olds... I'm getting ready to make some more so we'll see how it goes this time around!

Ashley Justice said...

Thanks, Carol! I had heard of doing this too but now my daughter is older and I don't have a pattern handy for shorts. Just curious what other answers we get! :) Let me know how it goes!

Anonymous said...

Hi, DeeDee. This is Sarah. Mrs. Finn has a great pattern that my mom and I have copied. It is basically what Carole described and I add front and back pleats. She also doesn't put elastic all the way around, just on the sides. I'm not very good at describing step by step what to do for the pleat. Have you done pleats before? If you can find a shorts pattern, you should be good to go. For me, with size and such it is kind of trial and error. I would start with some really cheap fabric so you can make adjustments without worrying about having to rip out and redo things. Happy sewing!

Ashley Justice said...

Hey Sarah. Yes, I have done pleats before. I made them for Beka, our daughter, when she was not even two and they turned out really well. It has just been too long! I did put elastic all the way around though. I agree, I need to get some ugly material and experiment! ;) Thanks for your input!

Laura Consford said...

Here are a couple links to patterns that might help. I have not attempted to make culottes since Home-Economics days in high school.
http://earnestlycontending.com/KT/Studies/living/culottes/culottes.html

http://greenerbeginnings.blogspot.com/2011/07/culotte-tutorial.html

I don't know if I am brave enough to try. : )

Ashley Justice said...

Thanks, Laura! The earnestly contending I found. I will check out the other one!

Jessica Curtis said...

I have never made them and would love to see someone do a post with step-by-step pictures. :)

Ashley Justice said...

Well, I promise that when I try it I wil post the step by step process because it is something I wanted to know and am sure others do too!