Twirly Tanias

These are so twirly, in Wellington I don't need to twirl, I just need to stand on our deck on a normal day and the twirl happens!

The February theme for The Monthly Stitch was smarty pants. Originally I'd thought to make some trousers for me, but after I made the muslin and started trying to get them to fit, I gave up on them as a bad job. Yep, no patience and now really knowing what I was doing, and the enthusiasm kinda waned. So after a little encouragement, the Twirly Tanias were born.

I had the pattern, all I needed to do was find some fabric from the stash. Thanks to Mel and Kat, the problem was so solved! ;-) And then it all started. A triplets photo shoot with Mel and Kat, which quickly morphed into a Tania's trip to the Newtown Fair last Sunday as a meet-up. So in my last post there were four wearing the same. In this post we become five!

Thanks Mel for the photo, taken by the lovely Sandra

Me, Emma, Kat, Mel and Jenna

Initially I thought I might be too old for this pattern, but it was way too cute to ignore! [I know I'm not really that old, but... you know...] I'm glad I didn't. The pattern is so easy to make up, just four pieces which make up in two shakes of a lamb's tail. The centre front and back have a pleat on each leg which completely cover up the seams and ensure the torso section of the culottes fits perfectly. For once my invisible zip went in without a hitch.

Photo from Mel

However, be warned, these are short... I was working with fabric from stash, so could only lengthen these by about 2 inches on top of the XL. I'm glad I did, honestly you don't really need to see much more of my bare legs than this! :-)

The pattern instructions were so easy to follow, but I was surprised it didn't mention anything about letting the hem drop before hemming them. I think these hung for about five days all told, then hemmed them with a narrow hem on the machine. Not that you can really tell if they are straight or not in the Wellington wind!

The wind certainly blew down at the fair, but it didn't stop us eating roti, fudge, candy floss and spending far too much on fripperies - like my collection of earrings?

And having fun taking photos of each other (these three pics all from Mel)...

Mel and I

Emma and Kat - with youngsters peaking

 Kat and Jenna

And in the distance Mel's Fashionable Younger sister joined in having been cajoled into making culottes as well. Just check out these!

Those are short, but she looks great.

And if you're wondering about the necklace, here's a link to her website, Fortune and Blame, with other amazing jewellery which she makes.

The details...

Fabric:  Purple cotton with a linen look from Arthur Toye in Wellington. Not sure when or how much it cost, but it's been in the stash at least a year.

Notions:  Thread, invisible zip and a button from stash.

Pattern:  Megan Nielson Tania Culottes

Changes:  Lengthened the culottes by about 2 inches.
First worn: To the Newtown Fair with the WSBN. I think these will be good in the winter. The fabric although quite light is a perfect colour to go with opaque tights for the winter (as long as the wind doesn't blow too much :-) )

Worn with:  New Look 6598 top (finished at the same time, yet to blog about), sandals from Overland. Like them (and my nail polish?)

Another one?  I'm quite tempted by making a long black pair which I can wear for concerts, but I think I'd have to lose some of the fullness, otherwise they would be very full!

I took some photos when I got home from the fair, unsure of what had been taken there. It was definitely windy on our deck and Mr N had great fun laughing at me...

 Note to self - circle skirts and Wellington winds don't match :-)