We’re in the homestretch! Only two more construction steps left in our Tania culottes, and we’re going to cover both of them in this post today. First, we need to get the inseam sewn up quick – thats what makes these sneaky pants, well, pants! And then all that’s left is the hem.

NOTE: don’t forget, before you hem, it’s a good idea to let your culottes hang on a dress form or hanger for 48 hours (if you can wait that long). Because parts of the culottes are on the bias, its possible they will stretch out with the help of gravity. Letting them hang for a couple of days will allow you to see any stretched out areas, so you can cut and correct the curve of the hem before sewing.

Ok, let’s finish up these culottes so you can get to wearing them!

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Hey everyone! We have a really cool bonus post for you today! So as you know, the Tania culottes include instructions for installing an invisible zipper, which does work well with the pattern. But who here wants to see a different option? How about a lapped zipper!

Now, we’ve shown you a tutorial for sewing a basic lapped zipper in the past. But this is going to be a completely different construction method. We wanted to show you a really cool origami-like construction with the waistband and waistband facing. It produces a really clean look for the facing on the inside, and I’m obsessed with the way it looks!

Please don’t be intimidated by the long, photo heavy post. I just wanted to be thorough and detailed since it is so different from a regular lapped zipper.

Also, you should note that this tutorial is showing a zipper in the right side seam (sorry about that), which is opposite to the left side seam zipper you will be doing with Tania. So everything is mirrored here. But it doesn’t effect the construction steps, so please don’t let that confuse you!

Ok, enough of that. Let’s just get to it, shall we?

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As far as the main construction of the Tania culottes, the only other thing that changed is how we attach the waistband facing. The new method is very similar to the method used in the old instructions, but it now reduces the amount of hand sewing needed. But no worries! I’m actually going to show you both methods and you can decide for yourself what you’d like to do. You know, in case you really like hand sewing!

Ok, let’s start with the new method first…

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So today in our Tania culotte construction, we are going to tackle the zipper closure in the left side seam. If you’ve never sewn a zipper before, don’t worry – an invisible zipper is one of the easiest ones to do, and is what is used in the Tania instructions. And I also have some tips and tricks to help you along the way.

If invisible zippers are not your thing, stay tuned for another post coming up – we’ll also be showing you how to do a lapped zipper with the waistband facing!

But first, let’s go over our invisible zipper option. You’ll need a 9″ invisible zipper to get started…

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We’re going to cover two steps of the Tania culotte construction today. First – the right side seam. It’s a quick step and you’ll be over and done with it in minutes. We’re only doing the right side seam right now, because the left side seam will house the zipper.

And once we have that simple step out of the way, we will head into the waistband.

Who’s ready?

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