Sandwashed silk?

Wow! Thanks for the heads up. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow - hopping in my car and driving over the Fabric Mart. Guess I'd better get there early. Sharon

Thanks for the Fabric Mart link, Kate. Looks great!

lisa

Correct. That's why I was looking for more rayon challis (which is on its way here). Right now, I am sitting here in a pair of loose rayon dobby-weave gaucho pants I made last summer and they are SOOOOOOOO cool and comfortable. I would still go for handkerchief linen for a camisole.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

Olwyn Mary, be sure to wash your rayon at least twice. Some rayons shrink, and quite a bit.

Olwyn Mary wrote: Cea

Fear not. Remember, every fabric which comes into this house gets a row of machine stitching along the cut edge then goes straight into the wash, using whatever method I will use for the completed garment. If it shrinks in the washer or dryer, or loses color, it goes right back in again. I don't use my precious labor until I KNOW what that fabric is going to do! (that's why these pants are gauchos. The fabric shrank so much it was going to be flood pants anyway, so I went a little shorter so it would look deliberate.)

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

(snip) The fabric shrank so much it was going to be flood pants anyway, so I went a little shorter

yes, this is my method doing things, too. If you can't fix it, feature it. :-)

lisa

I certainly agree with your recommendation of lawn or batiste. If you can find a batiste with a soft hand (not so easy these days for some reason), there is no material kinder to the skin. I make my own nightgowns whenever I can find suitable batiste. And I wear them year round because of the comfort the material affords.

Lois

Once I somehow threw a pair of store-bought, nice rayon slacks in the washer and the dryer! They shrunk mainly on the length, incredibly, and instead of falling to the toe of my shoe, they reached only to mid-calf! Otherwise they still fit me around... lol. I've never seen anything else shrink that much.

Phae

For fine 100% cotton batiste:

You are so right Olwyn Mary. I loved gauchos when they first came out in the early '70's. I was the first person in school to have a pair (actually I had two) and boy did I take a ribbing for it. I prefer them to culottes. But right now I am not buying or making anything. I'm in the process of losing weight and I don't want to waste money or time by getting something for the size I'm in, now or future. I have to ask the question though. How does one convert a properly fitting pants pattern into either gauchos or culottes.

AK in PA

I once had a pair of rayon pants with an elastic waist that shrank a bit every time I washed them. They went from being full, pajama-style pants to being narrow-legged pants to being leggings! They still fit fine through the waist, they just got more and more narrow. The waist was ok because of the elastic. I wore them until they disintergrated (sp?) and had to be tossed.

Yep, that can happen with them there store-boughten pants!

:-)

Erin

For gauchos or palazzos: drop a straight line down the leg from hipline and crotchline to hem. For more fullness, slash from hemline to waistline on each side of the grainline, front and back. Open each slash the desired amount. Typically, darts are converted to pleats for palazzos.

For bloused/fatigue/harem plants, do as above, but erase darts, and extend the side seams upward to waistband also.

For a two pleat sport culotte: do as for gauchos, but keep back darts. Convert front darts to budget pleats, if wanted. Add 5" strip of pattern paper from CF from waistband to hem for culotte pleat -- none to back. You may want to add 1/2" or so to front and back crotch extensions for more ease.

Kay

Thanks, Kay, for the info. It will come in handy for me, especially since one DD just sent an e-mail asking if it was possible for me to make her a couple pair of gauchos and I thought I'd have to buy a pattern. Instead, I will use your directions. I have a pants pattern that fits her well. Thanks again. Emily

Yes, thank you so much for your directions for the gaucho conversion info.