I've been a sewing fool this week.  I haven't sewn so many things for me in such a close period of time in only God knows when!  But I call this "Stress Free Sewing".  It's always fun being overwhelmed doing something YOU love.  So for the last day of Birmingham Fashion Week, I wanted something else new to wear.  I'd bought this great Tribal Diamond Black and White Stretch Satin Suiting Cotton Fabric -- to satiate my love of black and white and I wanted a printed pair of culottes.

I had previously added Butterick 6183 to my collection when the pattern came out because I thought it was really cute.  And plus, I'm going through a culotte phase.  This is my first time sewing a Lisette pattern.  Even though they're cute, they've never really appealed to my aesthetic until this latest collaboration with Butterick.  I googled, but to no avail I didn't find a review of the pants/culottes.  It seems there is great fondness over the top though.  So, I was literally sewing this unknown, new pattern a couple of hours before I was to put these pants on and go.  I like to live life on the edge.  

This pattern runs small based on my experience with other McCall Pattern Company pants patterns. And I've sewn PLENTY to make that judgement call.  Based on the flat pattern measurements I cut the 16, when I would normally cut a 14 with possible waist and center back adjustments.  It's cut very narrowly, so I'm extremely happy that my fabric had stretch because this pattern has no ease -- whatsoever.  I personally think it would work better for a ponte knit instead of a woven.  And yes, as you see, they sit pretty high at the waist.

I sewed these straight from the envelope.  I didn't add any length, however I didn't cuff mine so that was an extra couple.  This pattern in general doesn't hold a candle to my beloved Vogue 9032.  And I unfortunately regret not using my fabric for that culotte version.  But I wanted something quick and V9032 has a LOT of pieces.  Will I sew this one again?  Definitely not.  Do I recommend it?  Meh... going into it, just be aware that you WILL need to size up.  And if your waist isn't significantly smaller than your hip measurement, you're going to have an issue there as well.  A year ago, this pattern would've been an EPIC failure --  I wouldn't have even gotten the zipper up.  The outcome was pretty mediocre, but I really loved the tribal print of the fabric.  And I added a simple Norma Kamali off-the-shoulder knit top and my beautiful Maasai necklace.