I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! I sewed up my kids some shorts as part of their Easter things. It was sort of funny, because they picked out the fabrics for the shorts a few weeks ago, and every so often they’d walk by my ironing board and ask where the shorts were (my sewing to-do list is very long).
So, I finally got to work on them around 9:30PM the night before Easter. I know. I chose this shorts tutorial, mainly because the pattern pieces were for the size that I needed (4T, both my kids are the same weight, although my son is taller and also older). Sewing shorts is not a very complicated thing, so you can feel free to veer from the instructions if you need a different length or whatever.
Fabric – I used some fabric from Joann’s. The superhero fabric was a good quality (I think produced by Camelot Cottons), but the others that I had were a bit lighter. It’s fine, they chose the characters that they liked. The pattern instructions call for 1-1/4″ yard for the shorts, but I ended up getting 2 pairs of girls shorts (since I had shortened them by 2″) out of the 1 yard of Hello Kitty fabric.
Pattern Pieces – There was a pattern piece for the front of the shorts (3 pieces of paper taped together), and also a pattern pieces for the back of the shorts (also 3 pieces taped together). Very easy.
Illustrations/Instructions – Unless you are a beginning sewer, the procedure for sewing the shorts together was a bit self-explanatory. However, it is nice to have the step-by-step photos if you need a little help.
I only had 3/4″ elastic on hand, so that is what I used. I made the adjustment to the pattern instructions so that my elastic casing (the tube that the elastic is run through) was slightly larger than the width of my elastic. I ended up trimming about 2″ off the length of my daughter’s shorts, since I didn’t want her to have the long board shorts like my son. I also hemmed only 1/4″ from the bottom of my son’s shorts, to keep as much length as possible.
I have made shorts before, years ago, and I think it’s also important to note that you should topstitch the side seams (on the right and left sides) on top of the elastic. The elastic should be sewn in place on those side seams so that your elastic does not twist in the wash. I did not do this in the very first pair of shorts that I made when my kids were babies, and it is a huge pain in the butt having twisted elastic in the waistband (also probably not very comfortable for the kids).
I like the tutorial author’s use of sewing in a little square of fabric as a tag, to note the back of the shorts. I did this with a bit of Turquoise Kona so my kids would easily know which way the shorts went on. I also kept a pin in the front of the shorts along the way, so that I wouldn’t forget which was front/back.
Conclusion – The shorts turned out great, and they both wore a pair to bed last night!
This is a pattern hack of the Sew Sweetness Honeymooner Suitcase sewing pattern, from the book Big-City Bags. The modification to the pattern is for luggage straps and a mesh zippered pocket! While this tutorial is free, you’ll need to pick up Big-City Bags for the pattern in order to complete the rest of the bag.
DEFINITION – Pattern Hack : to modify...
March is Craftsy Month here on Sew Sweetness! If you are not familiar with Craftsy, it is a series of hundreds of online classes for learning techniques and projects. There are free classes to try out, and any classes that you purchase stay in your account forever so that you can reference them at any time! My love affair...
This post is part of Purse Palooza 2015. For full details and contest rules, check here.
Today's post is from Ree of Sincerely, Ree.
Hello! I hope everyone is FANTASTIC! Can you believe it's almost the end of October? I love this time of year, in part because I look forward to Purse Palooza. I get inspired seeing all the great pattern reviews...
Today's pattern is the Edelweiss Backpack, which is great for either a child or an adult! You can see my original blog post about this pattern here, complete with all of the tester bags (I'm carrying this bag in the original blog post, so you can see what it looks like on an adult). Perfect for back-to-school!
You can receive...
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Today’s post is from me (Sew Sweetness!)
This is the very last garment pattern review for Dress Up Party! It's been amazing ride...40 garment pattern reviews by some fabulous guest bloggers! In the last month, I've made 7 articles of clothing (scarf, skirt, dresses),...
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Today’s post is from Nancy.
Hi Everyone!! My name is Nancy and I’m thrilled to be here- thanks Sara for having me!! I hope you have been enjoying the Dress Up Party as I am. There are some fabulous seamstress makes and patterns!!!! I...
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Today’s post is from Shannon of Adventures of a Young Seamstress.
Hello! I'm Shannon from Adventures of a Young Seamstress, where I share my sewing and knitting projects (and lately, my Me-Made-May selfies as well!). I'm so happy to be a part of Sara's Dress...
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Today’s post is from Rochelle of Lucky Lucille.
Hello there! My name is Rochelle, I blog at Lucky Lucille, and I'm so excited to take part in Sara's Dress Up Party! Today I'm sharing a modified version of Butterick B6094 which is a vintage...
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Today’s post is from Julia of Stars and Sunshine.
Hi Sew Sweetness readers! My name is Julia, and I blog over at Stars & Sunshine. I'm an engineering graduate student, and I like to sew clothes, quilts, and bags - as well as make...
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Today’s post is from Amy of Almond Rock.
When Sara kindly invited me to join her Dress Up Party, it gave me just the excuse I needed to make another Cambie dress.
The Cambie from Sewaholic Patterns is such a sweet little sewing pattern with...
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Today’s post is from Carrie of Oh She Dabbles.
Shirt: Burda Wrap Blouse, details below//Jeans: Ginger Jeans//Shoes: Ecuador Sandals by Nisolo//Necklace: Six Eighty Eight
This blouse was my first ever Burda experience and there was definitely a learning curve! I'm so pleased with the end...
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Today’s post is from Kate of See Kate Sew.
I'm excited to be here reviewing a dress today for Sara! I use this series as an excuse to get the Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori. I have had my eye on this...
I love the Hot Wheels fabrics. My son would love this fabric, although he has a number of shorts made with Cars (pixar) fabric. Your shorts are great, thanks for the link too.
Those are super cute! The kids must love them. My daughter and son wore the same size for years, they’re 18 months apart. It’s too weird they are both In adult sizes now!
What great looking shorts Sara. I bet your kids love them. It’s always great when they pick their own fabric out as it’s usually much more likely they’ll want to wear them.
Those would be awesome made from flannel with a drawstring run through the elastic ‘tunnel’ for nightime too.
I don’t know if anyone else is having problems downloading the pattern like I did but as a last resort, I tried the option to email the pattern to myself. Thankfully that worked just great so try that if you’re having problems downloading the pattern.
Thank you so much Sara for showing us how cute yours turned out and where to find this pattern. I had never been to her blog before and she’s got some super cute stuff there including a darling little baby reversible dress and also boys pants too plus more. I think I’ll be spending more time checking out her blog soon.
I love the Hot Wheels fabrics. My son would love this fabric, although he has a number of shorts made with Cars (pixar) fabric. Your shorts are great, thanks for the link too.
Those are super cute! The kids must love them. My daughter and son wore the same size for years, they’re 18 months apart. It’s too weird they are both In adult sizes now!
Great fabrics! You could not have found better fabrics for the shorts.
Whew, glad they went down well after all that!
What great looking shorts Sara. I bet your kids love them. It’s always great when they pick their own fabric out as it’s usually much more likely they’ll want to wear them.
Those would be awesome made from flannel with a drawstring run through the elastic ‘tunnel’ for nightime too.
I don’t know if anyone else is having problems downloading the pattern like I did but as a last resort, I tried the option to email the pattern to myself. Thankfully that worked just great so try that if you’re having problems downloading the pattern.
Thank you so much Sara for showing us how cute yours turned out and where to find this pattern. I had never been to her blog before and she’s got some super cute stuff there including a darling little baby reversible dress and also boys pants too plus more. I think I’ll be spending more time checking out her blog soon.
Is that Hello Kitty fabric from Joann to?! Oh, I have got to go look for it!!!