I made a pair of shorts! If you've followed my sewing journey around here, you know that I typically stick to dresses for my little girls, but I've been wanting to branch out.
A little while ago, I purchased the Simple Life Pattern Company Emilya pattern for bermuda shorts, capris, and skinny pants without a real plan for what to do with it- I think it may have been on sale and I thought I'd probably need it eventually. Well, I've been eager for some scrap-busting projects this spring, and this pattern presented the perfect opportunity!
I went through a phase where I would buy up tons of fat quarter sets whenever I was at the fabric store. I just loved the fact that they are pre-cut squares of coordinating fabric that just scream "cute project!" Obviously they are intended for quilting, but I always loved to use them to do little home decor projects or toddler-sized clothes. For the past few years, however, they've mostly just been taking up space in my stash- potentially cute projects. In an effort to actually use them, I've started sketching up some ideas. My favorite idea is going to be very labor intensive, but this one was much quicker- and turned out so cute!
I had purchased 2 gingham print fat quarter collections a million years ago, and for this project I wanted to use the 2 blue and 2 red pieces for a pair of Americana bermuda shorts, perfect for summertime.
The Emilya pattern is super easy to follow. The waistband, pockets, and cuffs really lend themselves to a colorblocked styling which is just perfect for a stash-buster, even if you're not working with pre-cut squares. For the size 8 shorts, I was able to cut one front and one back leg from a single fat quarter with some creative positioning of the pattern pieces. To do the waistband, I cut 2 pieces that were half the required width (plus seam allowance) for the front and 2 for the back, and then joined them together before proceeding with the instructions. I did the same for the cuffs, except I didn't have enough fabric left to get the full width the pattern required while also including allowance for the extra seam, so they don't overlap quite as far on the outer edge as they are intended to.
I cut the pattern pieces so that the colors would continually alternate all the way around the shorts. This means one leg is red in the front and blue in the back, and the visible part of the pocket in front is blue. It also means the waistband is half blue and half red in both the front and back, with the blue portion attaching to the red pant leg on both sides. Finally, the cuffs are oriented so that the blue portion of the cuff is attached to the red portion of the leg.
In terms of fit, I think these could use a bit more room in the crotch area, but that may be mostly due to the fabric choice. Quilting cotton is perhaps not the best idea for a child's shorts; a gusset may help this issue if you're not worried about the colorblocking aspect like I was. Although the elastic waistband does mean these are comfortable to wear and easy to take on and off, I think these shorts are going to be "fancy shorts", meaning they won't be a playground staple. I'd like to make these again in something heavier, like denim, and see how they look.
Once again I finished the seams on this garment with the overlock stitch on my regular home-use sewing machine (still no serger here!) and this time I filmed a little tutorial for Instagram- check it out here!
Do you like working with fat quarters or other pre-cut pieces of coordinating fabrics? Or do you prefer to shop by the yard?
Much love,
The Geeks
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