DIY SCUBA CULOTTES | VOGUE 9075

Vogue 9075

Hello sewosphere, how is everyone? I myself just recovering from the final bit of the wedding celebrations, our little UK pub bash to celebrate with the friends and family that did not join us in the Caribbean. And I’m not even joking, but it was more stressful than the actual wedding… I mean, those of you who went through this, how in the world do you get to speak to all the guests? We only had 50 and I feel like I was just running from one group to another like a headless chicken… Maybe it’s just me…

Anyhow, now back to a little bit of sewing… This is the first project that I managed to finish after the ginormous wedding dress debacle, a palate cleanser if you will… I had cut it out before I left, together with about 5 other UFOs that are lingering in my drawers. I know, all that procrastination left marks in the sewing room. You might remember this little number, which I made out of an old wedding dress, using Vogue 9075, one of my favourite patterns from this year. A while ago, I had seen these culottes made by Nikki over at Beaute J’adore, and I just had this idea in my head that they would work great in scuba. I have a deep ingrained obsession with scuba and when I found this teal one, I just had to buy in bulk!

Vogue 90758
So here’s what came out of this process, plus a neat little photo shoot in Greenwich today. I feel a bit smug about these pics, as I have been spending this weekend learning about Adobe Lightroom and these are the outcomes. I cannot believe the difference that a little tweaking (and I’m not talking Photoshop here) can make to some significantly average images (no offence to my dear husband who took the pictures, it was just really cloudy). If you are interested, have a look at Heather Lou’s post about that on Closet Case Files blog. She is a big Lightroom fan and provided some great tips. There is a 30 days free trial if you’re curious. I also took a Craftsy course on the basics of Lightroom, which was very helpful. Btw, none of these are affiliates, I just found it really useful and I thought I would share, I feel it made a great difference in my blog photography (hoping you will agree 🙂 ) and I wanted to share in case anyone else might find it useful.

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Vogue 90751

Pattern: Vogue V9075, size 10, bottoms only

Alterations: I removed about 15 cm from the width of the trouser leg back and front; added an 8 cm waistband; raised the back crotch by 2.5 cm (my common trouser alteration).

Fabric: Teal scuba from eBay (but I saw it on Goldhawk Road the other day, I think even better priced).

Notions: Invisible zipper and a bit of iron on interfacing for the waistband

Vogue 90752

They came together really nicely, using my Pfaff Coverlock 3.0. The scuba sews like a dream, it’s really silky and pleasant to wear, but also won’t slip in the machine, which is always a plus in my books. Just remember to pre-wash and use fabric softener, as it has a tendency to produce static otherwise.

Vogue 90754

I had a bit of trouble with the stitch in the ditch for the waistband and I eventually gave up and just overlocked the inside edge and stitched over. It make no difference on the outside, so I’ll just have to live with it.

Vogue 907510

Another thing I really like is the hemming on the bottom, which I cover-stitched. I really love how neat it makes the finished product look, and at last, I feel like I have mastered the machine (my Pfaff Coverlock 3.0) to get consistent results.

Vogue 90759

Vogue 90753

The one thing I really don’t like is my miscalculation about the hanging crotch. As the waist was meant to be much higher, because it was meant to join the bodice at the natural waist, once I added the waistband, it fell much lower than it needed to. So I will probably have to unpick the zipper and the waistband and remove 5-7 cm from the top. When I will be bothered that is, probably not very soon, ha ha. You can’t tell too much because of the folds, but it does get a bit unpleasant after a while.

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Vogue 90755

Vogue 90756

So, here we are folks, another week, another dollar, another project and a bit further off on my blogging journey.

 

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13 Comments

  1. 16 November 2015 / 10:32 AM

    That’s crazy chic! The fabric looks confy as well

    • Alex
      Author
      16 November 2015 / 10:33 AM

      Thank you! And yes, it is super comfy. I have 3 more meters left, so already plenty of ideas to play with.

  2. 17 November 2015 / 8:56 AM

    They look fab, I’d have never thought of using scuba for culottes 😀

    • Alex
      Author
      17 November 2015 / 9:10 AM

      That’s only because I’m obsessed with scuba and I’d use it for anything. My inspiration from Nikki at Beaute J’adore was an even stiffer fabric, so might try again. I’m really getting into this culottes fad now!

  3. 17 November 2015 / 6:53 PM

    Love the colour of these! Never sewn with this fabric, but keep spying loads of lovely makes in it. Love how you’ve styled these too 🙂

    • Alex
      Author
      17 November 2015 / 6:59 PM

      Thank you!! You should really give it a go, it’s vey forgiving and fun to work with. If you’re in London, I found a fab shop for jerseys on Goldhawk road, they have this very same, plus loads more colours.

  4. 18 November 2015 / 1:41 AM

    Do love the colour! Nice job! I have done the same with pants before… Had a crotch too low… I changed it but I said a few choice words while I was doing it. Wasn’t happy.

  5. 28 November 2015 / 8:27 AM

    Love these culottes – a fab design, colour and fit! I am a culottes fan, having made 2 pairs. My next project is also culottes!

    • Alex
      Author
      28 November 2015 / 9:38 AM

      Thank you! It’s an awesome pattern! I have made it twice in various guises and I still feel I’m not done with it. On culottes, I saw someone wear an amazing pair when I was in Denmark and I’m trying to figure out how to knock them off ever since…what are yours going to be like?

      • 28 November 2015 / 10:14 AM

        As I have made 2 pairs of Burda Culottes, my next pair will be K/Sew 3433 – they are a similar style to Burda, only longer with a shaped waistband and a side zip. I am not sure about the fabric yet.

  6. 1 December 2015 / 3:37 PM

    These look so luxurious! Great tip about washing tricky fabric with softener…hadn’t thought of that. Liking how you styled this with the striped shirt and black socks.

    • Alex
      Author
      1 December 2015 / 3:40 PM

      Thank you so much! The softener part I learnt the hard way, with previous scuba, it can get really static-y and especially in flowy shapes, that ruins the whole effect.

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