Hey my dears! So after my post introducing the Tania pattern – i’ve had a few questions asking me to expand on how to lengthen the culottes.
So today i’ve got a few diagrams to share with you explaining it! Ready?
I’m pretty sure our first inclination is always to slash and spread a pattern to lengthen it – that works well for fairly close fitted garments – but becomes a bit problematic when fullness is involved. For circular based designs it alters the pattern shape and therefore the drape too drastically. To try and get something more accurate you may end up trying to work multiple slash lines at different angles, and lets be honest, that’s getting a little confusing and still difficult to implement.
Here’s what i recommend you do- and conveniently it’s the simplest method! – lengthen the side seams and inseams by the same amount, then redraw the hemline to be parallel to the original. This is best since it maintains the circle, and the drape of the culottes won’t be altered at all.
Let me know if you have any more questions about it!!
Meg XOXO
i love how you shared why the 2nd method wouldn’t work – very helpful! can’t wait to get started on mine!
Thanks! Definitely thinking of making a second longer pair. It’s great to see the culottes popping up all over the internet now :)
This is so helpful! I love the visual aids!
This is what I did for my first pair and it worked great! Then, I tried it for a pair that went to the floor and it didn’t look right. There was sooooo much fabric. Is this the method you would use for a floor length version? Perhaps I need to try again with a much more light weight fabric…
Hey Jen!
My inclination is to say “yes” you should still use this method for a floor length skirt – but having said that, i’m not always right heehehe. Given your experience with a maxi version, perhaps it would make sense to use a different lengthening method. I have a feeling you might be right about the fabric contributing to the issue – and a lightweight may help with that.
Perhaps using my method to lengthen till the knee then slashing and spreading till you reach maxi length may be a good compromise… unfortunately it’s kind of hard to say definitively without trying. I hope that helps a little bit though!
xoxo
Thanks for your input! I’m going to keep trying until I get it right. I’m dying for a floor length pair! I’ll let you know how it goes. :)
I’m very interested in this pattern, but I don’t quite understand how they look underneath. Would it be possible to get some pics with the skirt lifted up? On a dress form is fine. :)
Hi Amanda, there’s a really great picture here of what they look like underneath! http://fakeitwhileyoumakeit.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/cool-ottes.html xoxo
Thanks for this! I like that you explained why it’s not appropriate to do the usual slash and spread method for lengthening
Oh I’d love to see a maxi version of these! Thanks for explaining how to lengthen this pattern, I was very tempted to get it but could not pull off the short version and wasn’t sure about whether I’d be able to successfully alter the pattern. But now you’ve made how to do it so clear I’m Definately going to give it a go. I love how feminine these look, I love skirts but they never seem practical with lots of toddlers to run around after but I think these are a great idea practical and feminine. Thanks
Hi!! My pattern just shipped and I’m so excited! I’m a beginner sewer so I’m a little confused.. Can you explain a bit further how to draw the hem parallel to the original? Is this something I should be using a French curve for?
Hi, I recently bought the PDF pattern and I was wondering if there is a smart way to widen the culottes just as there is a smart way to lengthen them…. My waist is outside the pattern range and I want a pair of these culottes is it’s the last thing I sew, eh do ….. But I don’t want to mess them up!
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Best regards
Anja
Hi! Can I also shorten View D to a View A length in a similar way? Or would that not work with the less fullness of the skirt?
Is it possible to take some of the fullness out of the culottes, so that they are more like an a-line skirt? I did the “less fullness” version but it still feels like a lot to me. I was thinking I could just basically cut a triangle off the side seam, so that the waist size stays the same but the hemline is smaller?
Hi April! The great news is that since this blog post we have actually added an A-line option to the Tania pattern in two lengths ;) This means you wouldn’t need to make any adjustments at all https://megannielsen.com/products/tania-culottes-sewing-pattern?_pos=3&_sid=42bac5d80&_ss=r
Hope that helps and happy sewing!