Twig and Tale Fernway Culottes Sewing

Hey friends! I tested the Twig and Tale Fernway Culottes early this past summer, and they have gotten a lot of road testing over the past several months. The pattern finally released today, and I have been so excited to finally get to share with you what I made!!

This post might be a little photo heavy because in addition to making two pairs for myself, I made my youngest daughter a pair of the kids’ version of the Fernway Culottes as well!

For this post, I will talk a little more about styling and fabric and a little less about sewing. This blogpost is a little different than some of my other pattern testing blogposts because I have had all summer to wear my finished garment. Normally in pattern testing, I only have a week or two to really put the item to the test so when I blog about it, I center my tips towards sewing the item. This pattern comes with lots of video support and is a great pattern for beginners.

I love to wear skirts, but the problem I find with skirts is that they are not so practical for my busy lifestyle. I also don’t like to wear shorter skirts because when I sit down, I show so much skin!! The best part of culottes is that I can wear a shorter length and still be very covered when sitting down and yet I feel just as dressed up as if I was wearing a skirt! Culottes are every tomboys dream.. 🙂

I wouldn’t be a good blogger unless I showed  you the “legs apart shot” so I can prove to you that, yes, my shorts are not a skirt.

The Pattern

The Twig and Tale Fernway pattern comes in sizes a through n, which covers hip sizes 32 to 53.5 inches. I made a size c based on my hip measurement and adjusted the back elastic until it was in the most comfortable place and also high enough that the rise on the culottes didn’t sit too low on me.

The women’s pattern has options for shorts, calf, or full length. The pocket and waistband design is the same as the Meadow Skirt (blogged here), but the culottes only have the option of pleats and not gathers. Just like the meadow skirt, you can have a flat front with elastic waist back or you can have a knit sensory band. Also, just like the Meadow skirt, you have big wonderful pockets!

The tie can be tied at the front or the back, and I still can’t say which I like better more! I find myself changing it up often because I think both look just as cute!

This is an earlier version of the pattern that I wore on my summer vacation to Mexico. I didn’t have enough of the fabric for the tie unfortunately. I still had enough for the big pockets so this one definitely got a lot of wear as well.

This length was right below my knee and didn’t make it into the final pattern, but I still love wearing this pair.

Even though the tie and pockets are wonderful, my favorite part of these shorts were just how breezy they were. Mexico was so hot. The humidity meant my hair was crazy every day, and I loved how nice and cool I felt when wearing these. Since they don’t have buttons, they were also really easy to pull over a swimsuit at the beach. I ended up washing these and wearing them so many times on our vacation. Next time we take a trip to the beach or humid weather, I will need to make another pair in linen.

My current season, though, is fall and our weather (hopefully soon) will be cooling down. I am planning a full length pair to make soon!

The Kids Version

Just when I thought I couldn’t love this pattern anymore, a kids version of the Fernway Culottes entered testing. I jumped on it for my youngest and made her the 12-18 month size, and I fell in love with how sweet they look on her.

Fabric

For the women’s version of this pattern, you will want a flowy fabric that has a nice soft drape. I used a polyester woven that I had found in the local fabric district. I really like that it is wrinkle resistant and thick enough not to show my undergarments. You can also use linen and more structured fabrics if you want your culottes to have more body. You also may use lightweight knit fabrics.

The kids version of the pattern works well in more structured wovens like quilting cotton or linen, which is wonderful because I have a lot of quilting cottons! The first version of culottes I made for myself was out of a Anna Maria Horner Loominous Crosshatch Straw. It behaves more like a quilting cotton, which means it wrinkles more and is more structured.

The fabric I used for my daughter’s pants is Anna Maria Horner Pretty Potent Aloe Vera.

When I made them for her, I had to remove a little out of the back elastic for her tiny waist, so make sure to check elastic lengths before you sew your casing closed. I also was unsure of the length, so I just made the longest available, tried them on her, and removed the extra length.

Her pants are approved for all of her toddler exploring.

I think the culottes look best with a fitted top. The fullness of the bottoms and the back tie looks best with a top that doesn’t sit on top of the waistband but rather can be tucked in. The higher waist is also super forgiving and flattering. I wore mine with sneakers, flats, sandals, and heals and found them perfect for so many occasions!

I love how sweet the tie is, and love it tied on the back best on my daughter. Isn’t the back tie the cutest?!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you were inspired by my post. I would love to stay connected with you! You can find me on Instagram. If you want to take a look into the things that inspire me, you can follow me on Pinterest. You may also follow my blog with Bloglovin.

*Disclosures

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.

XO

“Mom, are you done taking photos yet?!”