Okay, so calling these granny pants may be a little harsh, but I must admit that my first thought when I put them on was that they reminded me of just the sort of thing my grandma would have worn back in the day!
Don’t get me wrong, though, I kind of think I might love these. They are comfortable and easy to wear and surprisingly on trend!
These are the Named Ninni Culottes in Cali Fabrics’ Natural Textured Linen-Look fabric from Robert Kauffman. I knew that I wanted to make wide-leg linen pants this summer, so I jumped on the opportunity while summer is still here.
This style is a bit out of my comfort zone, if I’m being honest. I love loose, oversize garments more than the average person, but I’ve typically kept my oversized pieces to tops and dresses. I love wide-leg pants, but the ones I’ve made previously have generally been slimmer through the hips.
But not these Ninni Culottes! They are oversized all the way through. If my Ebony dress was the perfect dress for a big Thanksgiving dinner, these are the pants!
This Robert Kauffman fabric is not actually 100% linen, instead it’s a linen look fabric. That means that it’s a blend of several different fibers. In this case, polyester, cotton and linen.
A linen blend like this is a nice alternative for someone who wants the look and breathability of linen but doesn’t want a garment that wrinkles as soon as you look at it. The cotton and linen in the fabric makes the fabric cool and breathable, but the polyester ensures that it doesn’t wrinkle like 100% linen.
Linen is also generally easy to work with. It handles very much like quilting cotton, meaning that it will breeze through most machines.
Tips for Working with Linen and Linen Blends:
- Prewash and prewash again! And if you are using 100% linen, do it a third time. Linen can shrink a lot, and may keep shrinking with multiple washes. Best to make sure it’s done shrinking before you cut out your garment.
- Serge the edges of your pattern pieces before you start sewing. Linen and linen blends can fray quite a bit. Serging the edges of your pieces before you really dive into sewing will keep the fraying at a minimum.
- Remember to staystitsh curved areas. Linen doesn’t stretch out quite as much as rayon, but stay stitching is still a really good idea.
- Choose your pattern carefully for linen. While linen is really breathable, it also tends to be stiff, unless it is super lightweight or has some rayon mixed in. If a pattern is something that would be perfect in rayon challis, you probably don’t want to use linen.
Cali Fabrics stocks some great linen options, but with summer approaching its end, the yardage available is dwindling fast!