Esther’s Winslow Culottes

Summer! Summer! Summer! Summer!!! I don’t know if I have summer on my mind or High School Musical, honestly, a bit of both. The possibility of daylight and short sleeves has got me all kinds of excited. Clearly it’s not only me because nothing screams summer louder than linen. 

Linen with its natural fibres and breathable qualities keeps you cool during the warmer months. It also absorbs a lot of moisture and dries quickly, what else do you want in your summer fabric? I got to try out the fabric drying time because I decided to prewash. Linen is a natural fibre so I was worried that it would shrink and since I don’t own a tumble dryer and it was raining, I had to spread the fabric on my indoor airer and it dried overnight. 

This month’s box particularly excites me because I’ve been on a kick to use up as many plain fabrics in my stash as possible. Unfortunately, I realised that my stash is a sponge for printed fabrics and there are barely any plain fabrics. I am attempting to create a semi cohesive wardrobe with my stash and it’s proving difficult with different bold prints. So this month’s fabric has fitted into my plans very nicely. 

I watched Hayley’s YouTube video on blazers to level up your sewing and I was so inspired. I really love wearing blazers. As soon as I received this fabric, I instantly thought about making a blazer and the blazer I felt would fit the fabric was the Heather blazer by Friday Pattern. I researched the pattern, and although I am not certain about whether it would perfectly fit my style, I want to attempt to make it. After my research, I decided that I may want to give it a bit more time to make all the adjustments and possibly toile it. 

I went back to the drawing board with the mindset that whatever garment I made had to be a separate. Since I have a number of separates that are made with printed fabrics, I felt that a plain separate would help to make things more cohesive. 

My search wasn’t long as I decided to make an old favourite. The Winslow Culottes by Helen’s Closet. I’ve made the Winslows enough times that I can make them with my eyes closed. Also, this pattern has the best side seam pocket ever! Yes, I have audited a whole lot of pocket patterns and I can say this is the best. I now ignore other pockets and just use this one as my default. 

I am generally lucky with trousers and I don’t need to do a lot of adjustments. Also, this pattern requires minimal fitting. I shortened the front and back crotch by 2cm. I lengthened the hem to make up for the length I removed from the crotch. 

This pattern was a nice and quick sew for me. I was able to make it in one sitting which is a lot for me and my poor concentration. I am so excited by new make and can’t wait to play around with different tops and toppers to create outfit formulas I can repeat frequently.