Tag: homemade shorts

It’s Summer! Time for plaid shorts

On By qplourdeIn Sewing Projects, Uncategorized1 Comment

Pattern: Megan Nielsen Flint Shorts

Currently the biggest gap in my wardrobe is shorts. I live in New England so I guess the season to wear them is shorter than in other places, but even still, wearing the same 3 pairs over and over again is very boring. Especially since my work wardrobe has gotten a lot more casual and I’ve been trying to limit the air conditioning. Last summer, I got an email from one of my favorite fabric stores that they had some madras plaid fabric on sale and I thought it would be fun to make some cool shorts from it.

I’ve always loved the look of plaid shorts. I remember when I was in middle school, I bought these brown plaid shorts at a discount clothing store. It was the first time I remember getting compliments on my wardrobe, since I was never really fashion forward growing up. But in practice, I totally forgot that when working with plaid, it always means matching the plaid. Also this fabric was not as stable as one would use for bottoms, so it did tend to have a lot of give, which maybe didn’t cause the best results. The front here looks pretty good, but the matching is far from perfect everywhere else.

Not much else to say about this. I was a little worried about the front pleats, but I think they look pretty good here. These shorts are interesting as you actually enter them from one of the pockets, and then the side is fastened with 2 buttons on the waistband. No zippers or fly construction. I have to admit, even though it took a bit to figure out how these would be assembled, it did make these faster to sew up.

These shorts being so lightweight make them great in the warmer weather. Temperatures last weekend approached the 90s (Fahrenheit) so I made them not a moment too soon. They do look a bit on the big side, but I think it’s due to the stretchy nature of the fabric. I wonder if another fabric would allow me to make a more fitted version. These are definitely one of the most comfortable pair of shorts I own now.

Somehow the back is never as matched up as the front. I’m not sure how this happens, although it might just be more challenging taking into account the back crotch seam.
Taking them for a spin in Martha’s Vineyard on one of the oldest carousels in the United States

February & March 2019: Getting the hang of pants, part 1

On By qplourdeIn Sewing Projects, Uncategorized5 Comments

Pattern: Sewaholic Thurlow Trousers

Despite my lack of energy with writing blog posts, I did have a very productive February & March. I was able to finish up my two button-down shirts (well one is mostly done) and get my pants project underway. In order to figure out how to sew a decent pair of pants, I started out small – meaning shorts! What better way to figure something out by taking the whole leg out of the situation. Not only that but you waste less fabric this way.

The thing about pants is that it tends to get complicated with the fly. I always feel like I’m following the pattern, but somehow I miss some important detail and I end up with mutant pants. The first time, the fly was not centered. One time I couldn’t get it to lay flat. And the main thing I always forget to do is enclose the fly facing within the pants waistband so it sticks out unfinished and looks completely unprofessional.

The first pair of Thurlow shorts I attempted actually seemed to be going along as planned. One of the main thing I learned was in order to make sure the fly ends up in the right spot, you need to pull the left side over to the notches on the other side. This will help you avoid pulling it too far over (which I’ve done) or not over enough (which I’ve also done). I actually perfected the whole fly & fly facing thing on these shorts and I was extremely excited that these could be the shorts where it all came together. However, when I sewed the wasitband on, somehow the left side did not match the right side and I couldn’t figure out a good way to fix them. That and due to a careless error, I ended up having to cut the sides down more than I wanted, resulting in bad fit problems. This was not my day.

 

When I went back to attempt the 2nd pair of shorts, I was much more meticulous about going through each step. I think those mistakes also helped, as I breezed through the back welts and pockets (another confusing step from my first attempt) and fly construction. This time, the waist lined up pretty well and I was ecstatic.

I wish I could take all the credit for figuring this all out, but actually my main cause for success was discovering this sewalong blog post. I had a very frustrating time trying to Continue reading “February & March 2019: Getting the hang of pants, part 1” →