Category Archives: shorts

Garment sewing index

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Wow, I’ve sewn a lot of clothes! To make it easier to find my makes, I’ve put together this index page. You can look for garments by type, or by pattern maker. You can also use the search box in the upper right corner of this page to find more specific items.

Garment types: accessories, cardigans, dresses, jackets and blazers, mens, shorts and skorts, skirts, tops

Pattern makers: Boo & Lu, Ellie & Mac, Love Notions, Pattern Emporium, Petite Stitchery, Sinclair, Styla

Accessories

Cardigans

Dresses

Jackets and Blazers

Mens

Pants

Shorts and skorts

Skirts

Tops

Just Shorts

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Pattern Emporium Just Peachy stretch shorts, size AU10 with waistband adjusted to AU8, black Pylos LiKnit, length 3, mid rise, elastic waistband, back darts, stitched pockets (with pocket opening adjusted higher)

Sinclair Bondi 22 fitted t-shirt, aqua wide lush poly spandex, short sleeve, hip length, “screwp neck“

Summer is here and I reached for a pair of shorts to wear out of the house and couldn’t find any I liked. They were all either shorts I wear for playing soccer, shorts I wear for sleeping, shorts that don’t sit where I want them to at my waist, shorts that I find uncomfortable to sit in, or shorts with inadequate pockets. Clearly I need to sew myself some new shorts.

I used the Pattern Emporium Just Peachy stretch shorts pattern to sew up some black PyLos LiKnit shorts. I used this pattern once before to make grey cotton Lycra shorts that I mostly wear for PJs (the yoga waistband is super comfy but doesn’t stay put as well as I would like when I put my phone in my pocket. This time I used the mid rise with the elastic waistband option. I went with length 3, stitched pockets, and back darts. I adjusted the pocket opening to be higher (basically used the bottom of the high-waist pocket opening) — this makes it less likely for things to fall out of my pockets without the need to increase the length of the pocket bags. I stitched the pockets with a zigzag stitch. Next time I will try to cover stitch. I do love the way the look of the binding over the pocket opening edge.

I used the AU10 pattern with the AU8 waistband. I should probably have graded the waist of the leg pieces to match the waistband too — next time.

The rayon/nylon knit LiKnit fabric is very light and these are super lightweight shorts to wear and pack for travel. They look almost like linen shorts but are much softer and easy to care for. They also dry quickly when you get caught in a rainstorm (ask me how I know).

The shorts are modeled here with a short-sleeve 4p screwp neck Sinclair Bondi t-shirt in aqua wide lush poly spandex from Mily Mae Fabrics (which I made last year and may not have blogged). Normally I will wear the shirt untucked but leaving it tucked in here so you can see the shorts waistband and pocket details better.

Overall, I’m happy with these shorts and I have already worn them several times in the hot weather, including on a trip (they travel well!). They fit well but I personally would like them to sit a little higher at my waist, especially in front. Next time I make this pattern I would add a bit of rise, perhaps somewhere between the low-rise and high-rise line, and narrow the pocket bags so my phone will stay vertical.

Rayon shorts that look like a linen skirt

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After seeing how easy it was to make the Pattern Emporium Sashay Stretch Flared Shorts for my rainbow Pride outfit, I decided to make another pair, this time in dusty sage Pylos Liknit, in the longer length, and with pockets. I followed the pattern instructions to add jeans-style pockets, but I decided not to add the extra quarter-inch for seam allowance (as I felt it was plenty roomy) and I adjusted the pocket opening so it would not dip so low. I used the AU10 pattern with the full skirt option and a 1.5″ elastic covered waistband. This one also went together quickly, but the addition of the pockets and hemming probably doubled the construction time. I used 1 1/4 yards of 58″ fabric.

I love the way the LiKnit fabric works for this skort: it is lightweight and swishy. This is a pattern for knits and the LiKnit is a two-way stretch knit, but it looks a lot like a woven. It also has enough stability that the pockets work well. This should be cool to wear on hot summer days, but this week I wore it to work with the sweater pictured above (Pattern Emporium Sweet Cheeks sweater in versailles brushed hacci sweater knit), tights, and rain boots.

Pride skort

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Last summer when I visited Mood Fabrics in New York City I bought a yard of slinky rainbow polyester fabric with the intention of making a skirt to wear at the Pittsburgh Pride parade this year. A couple of weeks before Pride I realized I had not gotten around to making the skirt. I flipped through my pattern collection and decided that the Pattern Emporium Sashay Stretch Flared Shorts would be even better than a skirt. They come in subtle, medium, and full variations, with multiple lengths and waistband options. The subtle version is a slightly flared pair of shorts, but the full version is a skort that looks a lot like a skirt — but offers a little more modesty. I decided to use the full version with a 1.5-inch covered elastic waistband. I was going to add pockets, but after reading the pocket warning in the pattern instructions, I was concerned that if I put anything in them they would stretch out too much with the fabric I was using. So I decided to forgo pockets and plan to wear pocket bike shorts or leggings with pockets underneath.

I cut out the size AU 10 full version at the short length. The shorts are cut with just two pieces (one for each leg) and a waistband. I was just barely able to get these pieces out of a single yard of fabric (and it was clear that the long length would require more fabric). Because I was using striped fabric and I wanted the rainbow to line up where the legs meet at the crotch, I cut out one leg and then flipped it over and laid it down on the fabric, perfectly aligned. I traced around the first leg and cut out the second leg. I used my fabric glue stick to glue the crotch pieces in place before surging them together so that the stripe alignment would not slip.

The pattern instructions said that swim fabric did not need to be hemmed and this slinky fabric is similar to swim and also won’t unravel so I did not bother to hem it. I basted the waistband on three times before I was able to distribute the shorts fabric evenly, but eventually I got it and surged the waistband on. And that was it… easy peasy! Without pockets or hemming, this is a very quick sew!

Just Peachy!

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I bought the Pattern Emporium Just Peachy Stretch Shorts pattern last winter and finally got around to making myself a pair of shorts out of leftover grey cotton-lycra fabric from my stash (that I previously used to make Urban tapered pants). They come with elastic or yoga waistbands with are fairly similar to the PE Walk Boldly and Urban pants respectively with the same back darts and hip shape. The main differences are that they are (obviously) shorter than pants and the shorts have a taller yoga waistband and a straight inseam while the pants have a curved inseam.

I made my usual size AU10 with a size AU8 waistband. I made the mid rise with a yoga waistband, stitched front pockets, and length 3, which has about a 6-inch inseam. I have learned from my past experience with PE pants that because I’m short, the mid rise ends up being a high-rise fit on me, especially with a yoga waistband added. I followed the pattern pretty much as-is except for lengthening the pocket bags and adding half-inch elastic to the fold in the yoga waistband. I used a zigzag on my sewing machine for the pocket stitching and to sew down the 5/8-inch hem (fused in place with seam tape first).

I struggled a bit stretch the size 8 waistband to fit the size 10 shorts smoothly and in the end it puckers a little bit more than I would like. I probably should have made wider darts in the back or graded the waistband or switched to a contour waistband like I’ve used on some of the pants.

I love the way the pockets are finished with a binding. It’s a really nice finishing touch and the instructions were easy to follow (the instruction said to make the binding longer than needed and cut off the ends after it was sewn, and that worked really well).

The shorts are super comfy and I will probably wear them for casual wear and sleeping. Even with added elastic, the waistband is not as firm as I would like due to the fabric I used not having great recovery. I probably should have added a power mesh or athletic knit layer for a firmer feel. It is not actually too lose, it is just a feeling thing, especially when I load the pockets.

I don’t actually wear shorts very much outside my house (except for bike shorts and soccer shorts) so I don’t really need a large collection of shorts, but when I need more, I will use this pattern again. It would work well for both casual as well as dressy shorts (perhaps made out of ponte, scuba, scuba suede, stretch velour, etc.).

Cleo palazzo pants (and shorts)

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In June I decided to try my first knit shorts pattern, Sinclair pattern’s Cleo knit shorts and culottes. These shorts have a comfy yoga-style waistband, optional side-seam pockets, and a full drape. I was intrigued by the comfy lounge shorts people were posting on the Sinclair Facebook group, and even more intrigued by the dressier looking long shorts and culottes. But what convinced me to purchase the pattern was the palazzo pants. This is not actually a pattern for palazzo pants, but I saw multiple sewists (especially Holly Stout and Kristi Käär) who simply took the Cleo culotte pattern, extended the side seams to pants length, and voila, lovely flowy palazzo pants. These sewists also executed and interesting pocket hack to get the pockets off the side seam.

Before cutting into 2 yards of fancy fabric for the pants, I decided to make a basic pair of soft knit shorts first so I could try out the pattern. Eighty percent of the work in making pants is in the top 20% of the pants — once you get past the waist band, pockets and crotch seam, the rest of the pants are a piece of cake.

I cut my size 4 petite shorts from one yard of plain black double brushed polyester (DBP) fabric. The DBP is super soft, so soft that I was concerned about keeping the waist band in place if I put my phone in my pocket. As the pattern advised, I sandwiched a piece of stretch mesh between the two DBP layers of the waistband. The waistband also has 1/4 inch elastic at the top, but that doesn’t provide a lot of support. Shorts construction was fairly straightforward, although as predicted most of the effort was in the pockets and waistband. The results look nice and are super comfy (will be great for PJs), but do sag when I load up my pockets. I also personally prefer shorts and pants with more of a high rise.

Here are my comfy black Cleo shorts. You can see how the side-seam pockets gap open a bit. The waist sits about an inch below my navel, and lower when I put my phone in my pocket.

I decided to alter the pattern a bit before attempting pants from a two yards of a lavender DBP floral print. I thought I might be able to get a higher rise by using the regular size pattern rather than the petite, but I checked and the rise was the same. I checked the tall pattern and saw the rise was about 3/4 inch taller. So I used the size 4 tall as my base and then added about half an inch to the top of the front and back leg pieces (drafting the alterations in Affinity Designer).

After debating a variety of solutions to the waistband sag problem, I narrowed the waistband by half an inch on the left and right side of both the front and back (subtracting 2 inches total from the diameter) in order to tighten it up. Instead of sandwiching stretch mesh in the waistband, I used a medium-weight cotton lycra for the waistband lining, providing more support than you get from DBP. I considered using wider elastic but stuck with the recommended 1/4 inch braided elastic. The result is a much more supportive and less saggy waist band than on the shorts. They still sag a little when my pockets are loaded, but not as much. I’m going to look for a more supportive athletic knit or possibly try wider elastic to see if I can make future pants even better.

While Holly and Kristi borrowed their pocket design from other Sinclair patterns that I don’t have (yet), I found an online tutorial on making slash pockets and just drafted my own, with a very slightly sloping slash. I found the slash pockets actually easier to construct than the side-seam pockets because you don’t have to deal with the awkward part where you sew the side seam just up to the pocket opening and stop.

Finally, I extended the inseam and outside seam on the legs to full pants length, keeping the same angles. The width at the bottom hem is about 26″. (I used HeatNBond Soft Stretch on the hem and zigzagged over the edge.) At 5’2″, I can just barely get full length wide-leg pants out of two yards of fabric.

The finished results (see pants modeled blow with my Cachet top and Laura cardigan) are fantastic light-weight swishy pants for summer. They are quite comfortable with pockets that easily accommodate a cell phone and small wallet. I’m eager to make more in other knit fabrics, and also try curving the outside seam at the hips so that the legs are straight and not quite so wide for another look.