Pattern Review – Butterick 6178 (D) Culottes

July 7, 2015
Let me start out by saying that there are many, MANY things I love about sewing. But one of the things I love most is the pure pleasure that comes with simply trying something out. For the fun of it. I’m a Capricorn and – let me assure you – that kind of recklessness is very UNgoat-like. It sounds weird but I would much rather sew an on-trend item than buy one. This could stem from the fact that I am FAR more open to sewing mistakes than I am to shopping ones. In my experience, they are generally cheaper. And as I observed last year on Instagram during #BPSewvember, it’s not like there’s a shortage of great patterns and amazing fabric out there (#alsoinmystash) if something doesn’t work out.  Funnily enough, in the lead up to making this pair of culottes (which I will get to eventually) I saw a few pairs in a few shops and thought about trying them on to see if they ‘worked’ but I never actually got around to it. 
It’s not hard to get ants in your sewing pants about making a type/style of garment when there’s SO much bloody great online inspiration out there. There’s Pinterest, yes, and then there’s all the amazing sartorial revelations that come from blog reading. When it came to culottes, I’m pointing my hopefully-not-too-creepy virtual finger at you Erica, Kirsty, Debbie and Sophie.
Which brings me to the review part of this blog post and where I begin with “Well hello Butterick 6178 View D! It’s VERY NICE to meet you.”
When I came across this pattern, I may have actually hissed an audible ‘YESSSS’ and don’t even try to tell me you’ve never done that with a pattern before. I was specifically looking for flat-fronted, darts, back/side zip and These. Were. Those. The pockets were an unexpected bonus.
I took a punt on the sizing and cut a size 10. I’ve never used a Butterick pattern before so I went with my usual Vogue trick of going one size down on my measurements. Although not perfect, the fit is pretty damn good and rather than size down again with my next pair, I’ll probably just take a slightly larger seam allowance. 

The fabric is a beautiful indigo-dyed Japanese cotton called Yuki Collection (now sold out). Also similar is White Torakku.

I made a change to the waistband, eliminating the suggested tab for hook and eye and inserted an invisible zip right through. Aye, it’s not perfect and neither am I.

Rather than handstitching the wastband facing, I sewed it flat by stitching in the ditch on the right hand side. Quicker yes, but not so pretty. Next time I might try this lovely binding method that Debbie mentions here. My second pair is already cut and they’re PINK I tell you. PINK! Like I
said, totally RECKLESS. Does that make me a sewing Gemini…?