small + friendly

shorts on the line: B. Yazoo

It's my pleasure to present the final guest poster for shorts on the line: Alli of B.Yazoo.  Alli has great style.  She makes beautiful quilts and is crazy good at embroidery.  Today she is going to share her version of the Iris shorts pattern. 

Thanks Alli!

A little while ago, I got a small clothes-making bug, and then I stumbled across Colette Patterns' new Iris shorts pattern. The skill level is beginner and they looked really cute, so I bought the PDF version, which is $4 cheaper than the paper version. Yay! Plus, I like that I can cut out my size and just reprint the pieces if I need other sizes, instead of messing around with pattern tracing paper. The pdf pattern is easy to put together: there are 16 pattern pages, each page is labeled with a row and column, and there are nice and clear tick marks to line up between the pages.
I looked up how to measure myself, and then freaked out because I accidentally looked up my hip measurement on the pattern's waist line and thought I was a sixteen. Oops! I used some super cheap corduroy from my local Fabric Mart since it was my first try. It's not flashy, but since it's grey and hardy, I'll wear it all the time. :> The only other supply I needed was an invisible zipper; I decided to leave off the decorative buttons.
The pattern instructions were wonderful! They start out with two cutting layouts: one for quilting-width fabric and one for fashion-width fabric, which I think is awesome. Then they have excellent diagrams for every single construction step, and also tips and sewing term definitions. The pattern pieces themselves were fantastic, too. In my limited clothes-sewing experience, I've always had trouble making even hems, but for these shorts, even the bottom hems were easy and came out perfectly! I ended up folding up my hems three times because before that they were looking awfully old-mom-ey on me (I just cannot pull off long inseam shorts looking cute and kicky, boo), but that was the only modification I made. I used my serger to finish all the seams, and that made the inseams lie flat enough for me. I read someone else's review saying that you don't need to clip the curves if you serge and understitch -- they pointed out that curved seams are never clipped in ready-to-wear clothes.

This was my first time installing an invisible zipper; I used Sew Serendipity's tutorial instead of the one provided by Colette Patterns because Sew Serendipity's shows you how to install an invisible zipper with a normal zipper foot. (The Colette Patterns instructions requires an invisible zipper foot.) I had a bit of trouble getting the zipper closed around seam intersections because the corduroy became so bulky, but I'm looking forward to it being easier on my next attempt. I left off the hook closure because those pinch my I'll-get-my-tummy-back-in-shape-after-I'm-finished-having-babies-[hah-yeah-right] fat. :>

I love my shorts and have been wearing them a lot! They're comfy and only a little dowdy-looking, but the slight dowdiness is due to the fabric and not the pattern. I definitely want to make more of these!

Alli, I don't think you look dowdy at all!  Thanks so much for sharing!

And thank you to all you sewalongers!  This sewalong is shaping up to be nothing short of fabulous, thanks to you!

Now I'm off to rest ...

shorts on the line: Feathered Nest Studio

Happy Sunday everyone!  Today is the last day of shorts on the line guest posts here.  If you can't get enough shorts, don't worry Vanessa's got you covered next week.  

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Jennet of Feathered Nest Studio.  Her blog is full of wonderful tutorials and her shop is stocked with great products for your little ones and your home.  Jennet is an artist and prolific stitcher, but a novice when it comes to clothes.  Her post proves you don't have to be an expert to make adorable shorts!

     

Shorts on the Line: A Novice Seamstress' Pattern Review

Hi! My name is Jennet from Feathered Nest Studio. On my blog I usually write about my adventures as both an artist and the mom of a toddler. I have been a lifelong sewing artist (embroidery, quilting, etc), but never before made clothes. So this is a novice seamstress's take on Shorts on the Line (aka: try not to laugh at my errors!).

I knew for my first ever attempt at shorts that I would need a very simple pattern. Luckily, Rachael knew just such a pattern: Simplicity New Look Kids #6398. This kids' clothing pattern has numerous sizes and articles of clothing in it, which was neat. I initially thought that since it was multi-size I would be able to use it again, but since you cut out the patterns you remove the option of using the bigger sizes. As my mom pointed out, these patterns are a convenience for the manufacturer. (Did I mention I roped my mom into helping me? I figured the person who taught me how to sew should be tortured-- I mean, get to experience the joy-- of my first time sewing clothes). My mom used to make clothes for me and my siblings when we were babies. When she was a young girl, her grandmother made her clothes, too, so I feel like I am carrying on a family tradition making shorts for my son. My great grandmother, though, would probably have shuddered watching me try to make sense of the pattern pieces. She was the type of seamstress who made a muslin version of each article of clothing first, to make sure it would properly fit the wearer, and only once the fit was assured did she use the good fabric. Me? I'm the kind of person who usually wings it with seam allowances and likes wonky stripes. The first step was picking the fabric. I went shopping with my mom and my son. My mom translated the chart on the back of the pattern (which made absolutely no sense to me) and told me I needed a half yard of fabric for each pair. My son picked the fabric, which explains the crazy patterns. He picked a cotton quilter's weight white with navy blue paw prints, a quilter's weight cotton brown and turquoise spotted, and a cotton flannel monkeys with peace sign fabric. After picking up elastic, it was time to start. (The only materials necessary to make shorts with this pattern are elastic and fabric.)

While this pattern is "easy" since there are no pockets or zippers and it is just an elastic waist band, it was very short on directions (no pun intended). I personally would have liked things spelled out more, such as what "notches" meant and better diagrams for matching up the cut pieces and what was being sewn when. It did not feel intuitive to me. Luckily I had my mom to help me. She also got me over the biggest problem I had, which had nothing to do with the pattern (although better diagrams may have helped) but had to do with my inability to visualize how the pieces were going to turn into shorts. For the longest time I kept thinking everything was wrong side up. As soon as I got it, it was a forehead slapping moment and then everything came together fine.

Confession: I also never worked with elastic before. Drawstrings I was totally comfortable with and could do in my sleep. Elastic seemed scary. Phew! It's not. I feel weirdly proud of my new ability to make elastic waistbands.

The first pair of shorts took roughly two hours to make. The second two pairs, which I made assembly line style, took maybe 1.5 hours for both, from start to finish. My son adores these handmade by mommy shorts and has declared them "super comfy!" That sounds like high praise to me.

The biggest advice I could give other novice clothing makers is to very carefully read all of the directions before starting, plus use plenty of pins and make sure not to accidentally chop off those previously mentioned notches because they are REALLY helpful when lining your cut pieces up to sew. If you can have someone who has experience making clothes stand side-by-side with you for the first time, that would be enormously helpful. There are also great how-to videos online, in case you can't have a live person help you but need visuals. Would I recommend this particular pattern? Yes, but have a cool glass of icy lemonade at the ready for any breaks you may need to take while you try to figure out what on earth you are supposed to be doing next! After I made the last two pairs of shorts, I realized I had caught some sort of seamstress bug. I woke up the next morning thinking about what fabrics I could use to make more shorts and that in the Autumn I could make my son some comfy pants, too. And maybe a shirt..

Please stop by and say "hi" sometime! blog | facebook | etsy | pinterest

Great work!  Thanks again Jennet!  I'm so happy you caught the clothes sewing bug!

shorts on the line: girl like the sea

I'm happy to introduce Tara from girl like the sea as part of the shorts on the line sewalong.  Tara is a crafty mom who sews beautiful clothes and shares funny stories about her family.  She's got great style and a great sense of humor.  Today she is going to share a fabulous version of the Oliver & S Sailboat Pants: nautical placket shorts.

Thanks Tara!

 

Hi! I'm Tara and I have a little blog called girl like the sea. I mostly keep it to share my projects and family life with my family and friends, and to connect to other people in the crazy crafty world out there. I'm thoroughly an Oregonian, but moved to the D.C. area for love 7 years ago when I married my husband. Now we have two little girls, Clover(3), and Violet(almost 2), who I love to sew for. 

 Clover was definitely in need of some shorts for summertime, so this opportunity to whip up something for the shorts on the line series was perfect! Though, I must admit.... I have been suffering from some super lame cyber stage fright ever since Rachael asked me to participate. Lol. 

 

What I decided to share with everyone is a pattern remix of the Oliver + S sailboat pants. I've made a few versions of this pattern before, so I knew that I would like how it turned out and felt comfortable messing around with it a little bit. I love me some Oliver + S. The patterns are always spot on, professional looking, and the instructions.... The instructions!! Even a perpetual screwup like me can follow the instructions. They are like taking sewing lessons, and hold your hand along the way with great descriptions and pictures. You won't get lost. And the end results are always really satisfying. As in "whoa, I MADE that? ha!"

My opinion on this particular pattern is that it is for a confident beginner and above. It looks more complicated when it's finished than it feels when you are sewing it up, mostly because of the great instructions I think. Since there are several pattern pieces to deal with, interfacing, button holes, and some precision involved, I don't think it would make the best first project, but you don't need to be a sewing wizard to make these. And for experienced sewers, the finished product is totally satisfying enough to keep you engaged.

Oliver + S sailboat pants remix: placket shorts

Having already made the sailboat skirt (here is a link) and knowing that I liked the cropped length of it, I decided to use it as a reference for shortening the sailboat pants. My 3 year old daughter is actually a bit on the tall side, but she is rail thin. She is a great example of the virtues of taking measurements and using the ones on the back of the pattern. I made her some sailboat pants with her actual age size and the back was all rumply because she's too skinny for them. 

Now I know that she is literally a 12month size in the waist, so I just used the 12m sized pants pattern I had already traced. To be honest, I can't remember but I think that I mashed up the 12m size with the 3T rise because I didn't want these crawling up her butt, but I can't remember now....oops! 

Looking on the back of the pattern I compared the finished length of the 12m pants (14 in.) to the finished length of the 3T skirt (9.5 in.), found the difference (4.5 in.) and just folded the end of the pants pattern up that much to get my shorts pattern length.

I used some of my beloved Sarah Jane balloons as the facing for the flap, and some cute nautical looking buttons from my vintage button stash. The shorts are made from Lisette chambray. So soft and buttery! 

 

The special touch I put on these little shorts was adding real plackets to the sides. It was kind of a pain in the butt, but I was really proud of myself when I finished putting them in. 

Clover insisted on wearing a fedora for this photo shoot because it was her "Maria hat" like in the Sound of Music. Lol! Hey, if it gets her to pose, why not?

I really love how the shorts came out. They are a great length, and the fit everywhere else is perfect. They fit her comfortably but won't fall down, and she has full range of motion to play in, which is definitely important! 

 

Since she was in desperate need of more t-shirts I also made a Figgy's Banyan shirt to go along with the shorts, and I stenciled a little design that I thought would look cute with a sort of nautical themed outfit (because I am obsessed with nautical....ahoy!!!!)

 

Thanks for inviting me to play along!

What an adorable outfit!  Thanks so much Tara!

shorts on the line: There and Back

Today our guest post for shorts on the line is Katie from There and Back.  Katie is a fabulous hand quilter with a great personality.  I love what she has to say about crafting in the slow lane.  And this quilt is adorable!  Katie's post is a review of the Easy Fit Pants for Tweens, Teens and Adults.

Thanks Katie!

  

Hi friends! I'm Katie and I blog at There and Back. I mostly blog about quilty stuff, with a big focus on hand stitching. I LOVE hand quilting, hand applique, embroidery, and even hand piecing. I also enjoy making bags of all kinds. I probably have more bags stashed away than I should admit to. I do a bit of crochet and once in a while I make clothes, mostly for my daughter, who is the only one of my kids still willing to wear something "homemade".  

The pattern I chose is hands down the quickest and easiest shorts/pants patterns you will ever make.  The Easy Fit Pants for Tweens, Teens and Adults from the Scientific Seamstress has only one pattern piece. Yes. One piece. The pattern makes loose fitting casual shorts/pants with an equal front and back rise, which means the front and back pieces are exactly the same. Because they are free-fitting (aka loose and comfy) you don't need to worry about fitting your curves. Definitely a bonus when you've got a child like mine, who even at 10 still tends to put her clothes on backwards!
 

The pattern is delivered via email, so you print out and piece together the size you need. I'd much rather do that than work with flimsy tissue paper pieces, which I usually end up tearing or spilling my coffee on. I can't be the only one who has done that. Or maybe I am?

I used my serger for these shorts, so I didn't have to take additional time finishing seams. For garment sewing a serger is such a timesaver! Mine is just a cheapie, nothing fancy, but it was such a great investment. Including taping my pattern pieces together, cutting out the fabric and topstitching, I spent about 35 minutes making these shorts.

Clearly, she's not a fan of posing for pictures!

I've really been enjoying all the shorts people are making the past couple of weeks, and I hope you have too! Who knew there were so many different and fantastic patterns!? Thanks so much to Rachael, Vanessa and Carla for hosting this event!

One pattern piece?  How fabulous!  Thanks again, Katie!

shorts on the line: Casa Crafty

Hey everybody!  I'm happy to introduce Kelley of Casa Crafty as part of the shorts on the line series.  Kelley is an incredibly crafty gal who makes all kinds of cool stuff from these rad shorts to this awesome tote tutorial.  Be sure to check out her shop, it's full of great fabric and beautiful creations.  Today she is going to review not one, but two patterns for us.  I love me an overachiever.  Thanks again Kelley!

Hi! I am Kelley from Casa Crafty.   I am not much of an apparel sewer. I am more of a refashion type of sewer than a start from scratch type. Often I am cutting apart things, and then putting them back together or mashing more than one thing into one garment.  When this sew-a-long came a-round, I could have done what I usually do.   I decided to read a pattern, and go from there. The first one I did was a lisette:

the pattern was pretty easy to follow, and I used a linen I got at JoAnns.  I did the pleats and darts and side zip. but, I had to do a little alteration her and there.

the zipper did not lay flat enough, although that could have been because I wasn't using the right size zipper...

The next pattern was something I found buried in my stash.  A built by Wendy simplicity pattern:

I omitted the front pockets and the fake back pockets.  I was tempting fate by doing the front zipper!  I have NEVER done that before.

The best part of this pattern, it actually fits my butt without creating puckers!!!!!!!

the legs are actually the same length, it was how I was moving around...

I used a Lotta Jansdotter print that I love love love, and although things are not perfect. The pattern in the fabric doesn't line up, and the seams are not finished the way I would usually do the construction, I am pretty pleased that they fit and that they are comfortable and lightweight.

Well, of course I have a few other things in mind before the month is over, most of them are kids related. I wanted to try a few things I had never done before and after a few failed DIY patterns, I went for the pro version.
Thanks for having me over Carla! 

Your shorts turned out so cute!  What a great way to use that adorable fabric!  Thanks again Kelley!

shorts on the line: skirt as top

Good morning all!  Today I have the pleasure of introducing Kristin from skirt as top as part of the shorts on the line sewalong.  I have been a fan of Kristin from the start.  She is an incredibly talented sewist with all kinds of style.  I adore this dress and I can't wait to make Jude his own super hero cape.  She is also host to many a cool series including: Vintage May (with Jess), film petite (with Jessica), and confession sunday.  Today she is going to show us how she turned the Clever Charlotte finch shorts pattern into fabulous culotte style shorts for her skirt loving daughter.

Thanks again Kristin!

Hello all, I'm Kristin from skirt as top and I'm so happy to be here! My four-year-old daughter is a big skirt and dress fan, so I don't get to make TOO many shorts for her. I think shorts are perfect for little kids, though, so I was really excited to be presented with the opportunity to review the Clever Charlotte finch shorts pattern. Along with the adorable finch top, this is a duo I've wanted to make for a while now. The finch shorts are designed as a pleated bloomer style, but I figured if I left off the bottom band and made shorts that LOOKED like a skirt, my daughter would be more excited about them. I think it worked!

Fabric & Materials: Essex cotton-linen blend in putty. I've only washed them once so they're not super soft yet, but I know they'll get better and the fabric was much less expensive than 100% linen. The pockets are lined/piped using fuscia voile.

Modifications: My major modification was leaving off all of the parts that make them "bloomer-esque." I eliminated the bottom band, pleats, and side tabs, opting for a simple 1/2" double fold hem. I cut the pattern at a 3T for my petite four-year-old, but the length of a 4T to make up for the lack of band at the bottom. Skipping those steps simplified the pattern quite a bit and made these a really quick sew. I added front pockets using the Oliver + S sketchbook shorts pattern (which I'd recently sewn), with a contrast "piping" from this wonderful tutorial by Heidi to add a little pop of pink for my pink-loving girl. Because I added the pockets, it increased the width of my shorts and I needed to take the front center seam in by about 1" to match up with the waistband.

Even if I hadn't made the modifications, I think they might've been a bit large on my daughter. I typically sew a 3T for her, but I should have sewn a 2T or smaller based on her waist measurement. Not a huge deal, just be aware they might run a bit big. I think the 4T length is the right length for her, though, and I like the very full culotte look. If you'd like to see the finch shorts sewn up as written without modifications, check out the Clever Charlotte flickr group for plenty of examples.

Pattern Pieces: I used just the front shorts, back shorts, front waistband, and two-piece back waistband pieces, skipping the bottom tabs, cuffs, and front waistband tab. I added the pockets since I had eliminated a good amount of detail from the original pattern and they needed something (plus I had to sneak pink in somehow for her). In general, Clever Charlotte patterns are clear and easy to follow (these are my second and third times sewing one - I also made their beautiful kestrel coat last fall). My one wish is that the size was labeled on each pattern piece - I prefer not to have to check the legend at the bottom to know which dotted line to follow - a personal preference. I also added one more set of notches at the top and bottom center of the front waistband rather than marking a line, which helped me line it up with the center seam later. All in all, those are nitpicky things. Nothing had me scratching my head.

Illustrations & Instructions: Clever Charlotte patterns have great illustrations and instructions. They're beautiful patterns, very well-written, and I definitely recommend them. Difficulty Level: Confident Beginner. This shouldn't be your first sewing project simply because of the techniques involved, but if you've followed patterns before, the instructions make it clear to construct.

Conclusion: Since making these shorts, my little gal has actually said "I like shorts! Can I wear my new ones?" which both blew my mind and warmed my heart! I love these shorts on her too, especially since she can move so freely in them!

As you probably noticed, I couldn't help myself and sewed the finch top too! I loooove how it turned out. Since this guest post is all about shorts, I'm posting about the finch top over on my blog, skirt as top. Please come on over to check it out!

Thanks so much for having me, Carla!

Clever Charlotte was kind enough to gift me the finch pattern for this review. My opinions are my own.

Thanks again Kristin!  It's awesome that your little one loves her new shorts, they are adorable!

shorts on the line: from blank pages

I'm happy to introduce Diane of from blank pages... as part of our shorts on the line sew along.  Diane is an extremely talented quilter and all around crafty gal.  I adore this quilt and these activity books are brilliant.  For all you quilters out there be sure to check out her patterns on Craftsy.  This evening Diane is going to share how she went out of her quilting comfort zone to create a really cute pair of capris for her daughter.

Hi! I am Diane and I am so excited to be here with Carla at Small & Friendly today! I blog over at from blank pages..., and as of late I mostly spend my time quilting, but really love working on anything and everything I can get my hands on and find the time to do. I'd love it if you stopped by to say hi sometime!

 I was so excited when Rachael invited me to be a part of Shorts on the Line. I had just barely finished making two pairs of leggings for my 1 year old and thought, "Yeah! I can totally make some shorts! Easy peasy." Then the event began and I saw everyone else's shorts. It made me wonder, "What am I doing here among all of these talented seamstresses???" lol. Nonetheless, I am so happy to be here and hope I am finding myself in good company with other newbies out there. I love every opportunity I can get to learn how to do something new with others! Preparing my shorts for this event, I played around with a few different patterns as well as a collaboration of "make your own patterns". I LOVE anything that is "make your own pattern" because I love the freedom of being able to tweak things the way I want them. I am not going to share with you my pattern because there are already so many great patterns out there (that are WAY better than mine, plus mine could use some improvements), and besides, this whole Shorts on the Line event is chuck full of amazing patterns! Instead I'm going to share with you a few things I learned while making my own made-up pattern, and hopefully help you to not make the same mistakes I did. It'll be more of a Here's-what-to-pay-attention-to-while-making-your-pattern type of tutorial. (kind of obvious stuff, but hopefully it will help someone. I know it would have helped me.)

First let me introduce you to the capris I will be telling you about:

"Hello"

Here they are with the pants they came from:

I started out with these cute red knit pants that my daughter has. I really love the flair on the bottom of the legs (which don't show up in the above picture) and wanted to incorporate that into some capris. She still falls a bit, so I wanted her to have something that would still protect her little knees, but also be cool for summer. I'm not going to go into all the steps, as others already have done so, but so you can get the gist of what I did, here are a few shots to show you:

  

I traced around the red pants on some tracing paper. Then instead of just cutting off the bottom of them to make them shorter, I folded the pattern in the middle of the leg to keep the flair. Next I traced that pattern onto some new paper to have the capris pattern. I didn't add the seam allowance to the pattern, so I added it to the fabric as I transferred the pattern in preparation to cutting.

After I cut out the pattern pieces, I altered the pieces that would end up in the front. I cut off a little bit of the curve from what would become the front seam so there wouldn't be a pouffy spot there. And I also trimmed down the top so that they would be lower in the front. (*Make sure that you lower them towards what will be the center of the shorts, and not the side seams.) The third picture is the front pieces on top of the back pieces. I sewed all the pieces together, made a casing at the top for the elastic and did a rolled hem for the bottom of the legs. Here's how they look on my little M:

feeding her a banana was the only way she'd hold still long enough to get a decent picture. ;)

there is a small pleat in the front on each side. kind of a forced mistake, but I like it!

Now I should probably make her a matching shirt to go with them, but all in all I think they turned out pretty cute. But then again, I am biased being her mom and all.

And here is what I learned:

• cotton is not the same as knit. I traced a knit pair of pants, which stretch in every direction. Trying to put the finished capris on little M is a bit snug, and if her thighs get any bigger they might be impossible to get on. = put in a zipper, or make them extra roomy to fit over those snug sections. or just stick with knit.
• I wish I hadn't added so much extra fabric at the top of the pattern for the casing. They come up pretty high on her belly. = If your baby's name is Steve Urkel you can ignore this, but otherwise, take note and don't add too much extra fabric at the top. A little extra measuring probably could have prevented this (see note below.)
• I think this mostly has to do with making my pants in cotton instead of a knit, but they are a little tight around her thighs, and if they sag at all, they do reduce her movement when walking. Kind of like when you are wearing a really tight skirt and you can only take mini steps. But a snug elastic helps hold them up and does eliminate this concern (though that also means she won't be wearing these with a onsie *see above). She also does have big thighs, but in the future I will watch for any tapering around the thighs and give her a little extra room = another reminder that patterns are not always one size fits all!
• I have this awesome rolled hem foot for my sewing machine that I was excited to use. I learned the hard way that if you have a seam that you are trying to roll, it's not going to fit through the foot. I ended up rolling them by hand which was not a big deal.
• Don't make clothes for your child when they are asleep and you can't measure them. :) That's what I did, and I could have brought down the front a lot more, as well as made the length a bit shorter than they ended up being. (as well as fixed a few problems from above.)
• Don't worry about what they look like! A few people have told me to sew all the baby clothes I can! It's a great way to get used to sewing clothes, and they are going to be more than happy to wear whatever you make no matter how they turn out. These are definitely not designer capris, (and every time I showed them to my husband while I was making them his comment was, "haha. those are funny. ... they will be cute." Thanks babe!) but I made them anyway and I think a bit of the satisfaction that comes from that makes me like them more than I probably would otherwise. And even though they might be a little tight in areas, little M hasn't complained one bit! ;) She even wore them to the park the other day!

To sum it up, sewing clothes is not like the quilting that I'm used it. This definitely pushed me out of my sewing comfort zone, but if I can sew something wearable, ANYONE can! So meet that intimidation face to face and tell it whose boss! and don't forget to link up your creations in the flickr group so we can all see what amazing shorts you come up with! :) I will be sharing my other shorts creations on my blog in the near future. I hope you'll come stop by and see how they turned out and check out my progress in my clothes sewing skills. A huge thank you to Carla again for letting me make an appearance on your awesome blog! and for letting me participate in this awesome event!

 

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing Diane!  I think they came out super cute and I hope you continue to sew for your little ones.

shorts on the line: a little gray

Alright ladies and gents, it is an honor to present winner of Project Run and Play 4, sewer of fabulous children's clothing and quilts, and all around fabulous gal: Jessica of a little gray as part of the shorts on the line sew along.  Jessica has the distinct honor of sewing what I claim to be the coolest kid's outfit ever.  Seriously, I tell everyone I can about that jacket and I can't get enough of it.  And as if that wasn't cool enough, she also just started a series called film petit with Kristin of Skirt as Top that is sure to provide endless inspiration and more that a few smiles.  Today Jessica has whipped up an adorable pair of shorts for her daughter and she's going to teach us how to make contrast bindings!

How great has Shorts on the Line been so far? There are so many good ideas, I'm just itching to make more shorts!

I've made many pairs of shorts for my 3yo Hendrix, but this was the first time I tried them for my girl Elsie. I didn't use a pattern, just grabbed a pair of Carter's shorts that fit well and traced a front and back pattern piece. If you have not tried making clothes like this before, shorts are such an easy and satisfying way to start out. In fact, this pair was the first piece of kids clothing I ever made, and I found this tutorial so helpful.

The main fabric is upcycled from a top of mine that I never wore anymore. The front was a black knit and the back was the semi-sheer floral fabric. So I cut two of each pattern piece from the front and two of each from the back, and layered the sheer fabric on top of the knit as I sewed the shorts together. 

Finally, I added a waistband facing and hem bindings in a light blue cotton from my stash. I felt like the thin sheer fabric was way too fragile and fray-prone to hem nicely, so the contrast bindings worked perfectly and really brighten up the black shorts. 

After I finished them, I realized she had nothing that would look that great with them. So I whipped this up using my Simplest Summer Top tutorial. On my 14 month old, I only needed a fat quarter of the pale pink Pearl Bracelet print by Lizzy House, plus a few inches of white for the straps. It's a sweet, matchy, and totally girly outfit- something I'm still getting used to sewing!

To make contrast bindings to hem your shorts:

1. Cut your fabric to a width of 3" times the distance around the leg hole plus an inch. (These do not need to be cut on the bias.)
2. Press it in half lengthwise, then open it up and press each long edge in again to meet the center crease. 
3. Turn your shorts inside out and open up the folds in the binding so that you can match the raw edges. Start at the inseam on the leg and fold the short end of the binding away from the shorts by a half inch. Continue pinning all the way around, right side of the binding to the wrong side of the shorts, until you meet the starting point. The other raw short edge should overlap your folded one by a half inch. 
4. Stitch all the way around, right in the pressed crease that is closest to the edge. 
5. Now flip the shorts right side out and bring the binding to the outside, refolding the original creases around the raw edge of the shorts. Top stitch on the fold. 
6. Repeat on the other leg and you are done!

Thanks for inviting me on this super fun sew along Carla, Vanessa, and Rachael!

Thanks so much for sharing, Jessica.  A super cute outfit for a super cute girl!