Yet again I had great visions for these cute shorts for Mr. T. I wanted them all gray with orange on the slit pocket and side pockets. My idea was not well met with a shortage of fabric (yet again). The pattern called for 80 cm for the shorts (or less than a yard). I had a yard of the gray and a yard of the orange figuring I'd be ok. What I failed to remember is that my fabric is 44 inches wide, not the 60 the pattern calls for. Time to improvise!
I whipped up these wild and crazy shorts for Mr. T.
I used almost all of each yard for the orange and the gray. I traced and cut a 152 for Mr. T, who wears a size 10 RTW. I omitted the belt loops because these fit Mr. T with no need for a belt. I honestly hope they still fit him when summer comes.
I forgot to add interfacing around the slit pocket (oops!) ~ Yes, it needs it. The length on these are great and the fit is ok. I'm not too sold on the pleats yet. I really wanted to make the shorts from the newest edition 01/2013 #19 but they only went up to a 146 and I didn't feel like grading the pattern up to a 152.
The instructions for this pattern are great and the waistband is awesome. I like how it all came together. This is probably the best zipper fly I've sewn to date! I used a super old vintage zipper and Mr. T rummaged through my vintage buttons to find the gem below. The only issue I had was the slit pocket instructions that were so confusing. I wrote a pictorial step-by-step in this post for the slit pocket.
It was also a little challenging to cut the fabric so that the gray pocket would be with the orange side and etc.
These shorts are a bit wacky and fun. I enjoy how they turned out. This fabric is from one of my favorite lines, designed by David Walker for Free Spirit of Westminster; it is super cute and affordable You can tell I love it because I made shorts with it for T last year in the blue!
I ordered this fabric on 8/22/12 for $3.95/yard not knowing what I'd use it for. Technically I should have ordered more as it was so cheap, but oh well. "Harrison" Bermuda Shorts $7.90.
~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~
That fabric is so much fun!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with these.
I am so intimidated by zipper flies, but you make it look so doable! Awesome.
~Michelle
Thanks Michelle! I was terrified when I started sewing the zipper flies! They just keep getting better and better each time though. I think when I redo my daughter's shorts in the next week or so I'll post a step-by-step with tons of pics. :)
Delete(by the way, I love your blog!)