Remember I wrote I’d made some matching shorts to wear under this little sundress? Well, here they are. Whew, they are so so short and flimsy I probably wouldn’t be wearing them on their own like this if I didn’t have a completely quiet non-sociable day dog-walking and house-cleaning planned, oh, yeah, hehe and of course a bit of office work too (I have to say that bit because my husband sometimes reads this…) These little things are no more substantial than boxer shorts, so I feel a bit underdressed in them here. But on the beach I was OK since there were not many people, and those that I did encounter today were equally if not more sparsely attired.
Actually I made these about 2.5-3cm longer than the pattern stipulated, as long as my scrap of fabric allowed me to make them, so can you imagine how tiny these would be otherwise?
Details:
Shorts; Burdastyle magazine 10-2010-111A, Japanese cotton
Top; “b” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hiraiwa, white cotton
Sunnies; RayBan
Here is the review I submitted for this pattern:
Pattern Description:
Shorts with fly front, faced waist, welt pockets, slanted front pockets and underlay with button for internal closure. This pattern basically does for three different garments in the magazine; short shorts, bermudas, and longer trousers, with a few different pattern pieces and modifications. To save myself future effort, I traced out the pieces and variations for all three at the same time.
Pattern Sizing:
34-42. I traced a size36, graduating out at the hips to a size 38 because I like a bit of flare, plus I was using flimsy fabric that wouldn’t have looked nice in a form-fitting garment.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Now here I have to be honest and say no, they were not, particularly! If you’ve never sewed a welt pocket before, the instructions provided for sewing these would be awfully confusing. I’ve sewn plenty, and these instructions still had me scratching my head a bit over what was the joining line, the abutting line and the stitching line. And as for the instructions for the underlay, zip and the waist facing, well these were VERY confusing also. When I read the instructions out aloud to my family it sounds hilarious because they are so crazy confusing…. like trying to build a space station or something… I misunderstood the zip attachment and sewed the zip in place with a nice curved topstitching on the shorts front. This turned out to be wrong. Right near the end I had an a-ha moment and had to unpick the zip almost completely to do it the right way NOT attached the the shorts front, but only the facing, so I could insert the waist facing all neatly tucked in and finished around the zip tape and underlay as the pattern intended. This was one of those times when an illustration ala how the envelope patterns do it would have helped a tonne.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like that only a tiny amount of fabric is needed for these shorts. I think I had roughly 60-70cm of 115cm fabric, which was just enough except for pocket innards, for which I used other scraps. The pattern is well drafted and fits together well. I like the clean lines of the shorts, no pleating or waistband gives them a contemporary and streamlined look.
What I don’t like; if I’d made them up to the pattern they would have been too short for my liking!
Fabric Used:
Lightweight cotton. The pattern recommends brushed wool. I think a thicker fabric like this would work really well.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I added about 2.5-3cm in length. These would have been way too short for me to wear out in public otherwise!
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I do recommend this cute little pattern, and now I “get” the instructions I will sew these again in a more appropriate fabric, such as corduroy, and definitely adding the extra length. Although if you are under the age of twenty, the shorter length would be fine.
Conclusion:
I sewed these to wear under a short little sundress of the same fabric, for modesty. Their streamlined non-bloomer-y shape makes them perfect for this purpose. So I am very happy with them.
