Are They Culottes or Shorts? OOP McCall's 6748

Once upon a time I found a pair of Liz Claiborne knit and elastic waisted pants.  They were part of my wardrobe for many moons and one day I cut them short, slightly below the knee.  They were perfect for cycling and I hoped to one day recreate them.  

Enter, out-of-print (OOP) McCall's 6748.  

These are not an exact match, but it's close enough.  There was some tweaking to the pattern.  I was shocked how short the crotch length looked when I first laid out the pattern.  And matching them up to my Liz Claiborne pants I knew that I would have to do some adjustments.  

Besides lengthen the crotch, I added 3/4" to the side seam and an 1/4" to the inner thigh to provide about three inches at the hip and waistline.  I could have easily sewn a large but the pattern only went up to a size medium.  According to the measurements on the pattern this should have provided ample ease.  In reality, it didn't provide the extra ease I thought, although it does fit.  

I'm not sure if I'll sew another one.  One additional pair of pull-on culottes / shorts should do.  And I don't know if I would have picked up this pattern if I realized that the waist seam line was just below the natural waistline.  The waistline is marked as sitting at the top of the waistband.  Minor complaints that are an easy fix to achieve the fit I want.  

The fabric is a black polyester ponte knit that was sitting in my stash, left over from this project.  Perfect for a toile, most likely a different fabric would provide a different fit outcome.  The pattern calls for a fabric with moderate stretch.  

Project Details

Seams:  Knit stitch / lightning bolt stitch

Seam finish:  Serged

Fabric:    1.4 metres 

Elastic:  1 metre

Pattern:  OOP McCall's 6748

Additional Tools & Supplies:  Cutting table, paper scissors, measuring tape, fabric scissors, pins, pin cushions, tailor's chalk, measuring gauge, sewing machine, threads, serger, thread clippers, iron and iron board.  

Stay Safe and Keep Sewing