BurdaStyle 06/2013 - 111B Shorts

I don't often make or wear shorts for the very simple reason that I don't look very good in them, but on vacation I chill out a bit and care much less about these things!  So I decided to add a new pair in a colour to my extensive 2 pair shorts wardrobe!

I used this basic pattern from 06/2013 - 111 in a bright orangy red lightweight cotton sateen.  I think it is a bit too lightweight for this pattern and the legs stick out wider than the line drawing would suggest, also due to the fabric choice I suspect. I might take them in or I might just accept that these won't get worn very often and perhaps try them in a better fabric.  They also wrinkle like crazy.  That sounds like a lot of complaints, but I think the pattern is good and well drafted.

I left off the back welt pockets which just seemed like too much work when I'd never use them.  Wish I had put in side seam pockets though.  Fit wise they are to Burda's usual great standard for pants, I cut my usual 38 at the waist, 40 elsewhere and didn't need to make any other adjustments.  Once you've omitted the pockets, construction is really easy and these did not take long to make at all.

Here are some pics of me wearing the same outfit on a recent short trip to Hoi An in Vietnam for my birthday.   I have to admit that I am not so mad on my striped top now that I see it in photos, unless you are close enough to see the knot detail, the stripes do make me look a bit lopsided!  So not quite an outfit fail, but not one I can get overly excited about.  The holiday was lovely though!

Burda Style 06/2014 - 116 Shorts

Shorts!  I know, what is happening round here, it used to be dresses dresses and more dresses.

I wore these shorts earlier this month on a weekend trip to Langkawi in Malaysia for my birthday which is where these photos were taken - of course they are black shorts and you can't see the details, but never mind!

I used a drapy silky unknown content fabric that looks and feels a bit like brushed silk twill that I found in the Sham Shui Po fabric market, whatever it is it was a dream to work with and wear.



I made a very plain version of these shorts, most similar to view A without the hem binding and side splits.   They are super easy to make, but sometimes when things are easy the old brain disengages and you do something silly.  I am still fairly inexperienced with pants and shorts and when I looked at the front piece I couldn't envisage how roomy it was going to be round my thigh, in fact it looked really small so I added extra seam allowance to the side seams (I traced a 40), figuring it had an elasticated waist anyway so roomier was better.  But, duh, Allison, the waistband casing still needs to be sewn onto the top of the shorts and of course I hadn't added any extra onto that piece.  I could have cut another one, but at that stage I had already made two buttonholes for the drawstring and sewn it together and well I am lazy.  So after checking that I could get the waistband over my hips I took in the shorts at the side and front and back seams till it matched.

Continuing on this theme, I also hadn't taken into consideration the width of the elastic I had available and should have made a narrower waistband.  I just added a row of stitching at the top and bottom of the waistband so the elastic channel was narrower.  Having 2 channels would be an alternative.

I aded a couple of beads onto the ends of the drawstring, which is really just for decoration as the elastic does all the work.  I've had to lighten these pictures considerably to show the detail which also shows how badly these have been ironed after washing ha ha.

So keep your brain engaged even when sewing easy stuff is the lesson learnt here.  I am really happy with how they came out though and next time, if there is one, I will know just to cut a straight 40 and be done with it, you can of course shorten the elastic in the waistband to pull them in a bit there.

Next up, more previously unchartered territory - workout clothes!

Patrones 305/4 - Shorts

Here's something you don't see everyday on this blog - shorts!  In fact I don't think I've even worn shorts for about 10 years, but there is something about vacation dressing that I find quite liberating so I thought I would give it a go.

This is the same fabric that I used for my khaki pencil skirt so it has a bit of stretch to it.  The fabric remnant only cost me around US$ 5 so I was pretty happy with being able to squeeze two garments out of it, and aside from having to invest a bit of time this was the perfect fabric for a bit of experimentation.

To take it one step further I used a Patrones magazine pattern, pattern 4 from issue 305.  I have a couple of years worth of these Spanish pattern magazines and they do seem to like their shorts, this particular style came with a large photograph in the magazine which helped me figure out how to make them.

 I started with a size 42 (the sizing is different to Burda where I am a 38-40) which required very little alteration and I lengthened them by a good few inches.  Not ready for short shorts just yet, baby steps!

I speak practically no Spanish so I just winged it on the construction, but these went together fairly easily.  The only part that gave me trouble was the front waistband detail, I couldn't figure out how to get a neat and bulk free finish with the 3 separate pieces.  Then I realised that since the shorts have a side zipper I could just fake the look of the front.  I redrafted the waistband as a single piece with just a pleat where the buttons are, topstitching the edges of the pleat to mimic the original design.  This worked brilliantly if I say so myself, sometimes having no instructions can be a good thing and make you think for yourself.

These are the last of my Italy modelling photos, I do have a couple more things I made for the collection that didn't get worn so they will be coming soon and I will try and engineer some more interesting Hong Kong photos than the back of my front door.

 

Cats everywhere, I don't know who feeds them but they are all fatter than my own stay at home, do nothing all day moggies.  I realise this is a BurdaStyle kind of photo where you can't see the shorts at all, but well, cats!

This is inside the grounds of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, one of the residences of the Medici family.