Summer Essentials: Basic Shorts

Nothing beats a new pair of basic summer shorts. Usually I make this pattern with the traditional front hip pockets, but this time it was a tradeoff - I just needed to get them done more quickly. Besides, I just about always carry a mobile pocket bag, so as nice as in-garment-pockets are I can make do without them.

Wardrobe Refurbishing: A Sewist Loves to Rework her Wardrobe

Yeah! So much better with a well-fastened
waistband and belt loops

 When I daydream about sewing, it's the new stuff I focus on. Bet you too have a lot of goodies stashed away in your fabric inventory for which you have great plans. I don't, however, very often think about how to improve on garments I've made in the past. Refurbishing doesn't have the same éclat as creating. But when I think about it, it's often more satisfying to rework a garment that I've worn a bit and studied the value of for my lifestyle.

Recently I cleaned my closet, not really out of choice mind you! My husband needed access to the under-the-house zone. Access to the furnace and water heater in our little pre-war (that's WWII) cottage is only possible by crawling beneath the floors. Boy, do I appreciate him doing that work.  You better believe I don't complain that my only part in this project is to take everything out of my rather small 1939 closet, so that he can pull-up the trap door and slither through the opening.

When I shovel the contents of my wardrobe out, I often pause to sort through my clothes to clean out the inventory of garments I've got hanging in there. You know how it goes I bet - have I worn this in the last year? Am I likely to? Do I really like this piece? What's flattering? What needs replacing? Which things are just a waste of space?

Some decisions are hard to make, but there's an element of shopping my closet that makes the whole thing a bit more fun.

This eyelet peasant blouse I already had, is
 nice arty romantic look that really suits my wardrobe style

I wore these shorts (a green home dec print) a fair amount last summer, having finished them late in the summer of 2012. But they weren't a huge favorite.

Why was that? I wondered when I reviewed them against some of my other clothes?

1) The original waist closure wasn't well worked
2) The waistband, interfacing notwithstanding, doesn't give a crisp look at the waist.
3) I didn't feel like they went well with any of the tops in my closet or drawers.

So despite my latest June sewing goal, I stopped to do some refurbishing.

1) I sewed a new waistband hook  on either side of the waistband bits.

2) I sewed thread belt loops along the waistline.

3) I identified two white shirts that I already have, that look great with these shorts. (One of which I'd photographed in my original completion photo, but never actually worn with them!) In fact, when I biked over to the Sunset Open House last weekend, two different people unexpectedly complimented me on my outfit. At the time I was wearing the cap I made that matches the shorts and I think that makes it clear that the outfit is something I created. I have worn cap more than the shorts, because I'm pretty regular about skin protection, but it's even more fun to wear it with the matching shorts.

In fact, though I tend to think of tee shirts as being the appropriate garment for shorts, these white shirts give the garment a dressier more arty-romantic look than the tee-and-shorts style.

My cleanout work not only made my closet tidier, the resulting refurbishment project gave me one more reason to be ...

Enchanted by Sewing!

~ ~ ~ 

Web Resources

The Lady Wears Shorts: http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-lady-wears-shorts-part-2.html

Suzanne Beaubien - How to Sew Thread Belt Loops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAsF-zodUk4

My October Sewing Basket

Last month I posted the list of sewing I hoped to get done during September. I normally only keep this list on my iPhone, but it was fun sharing it.

Herein....

1) What I'm planning to sew in October

2) What I got done in September.

1) What I'm planning to sew in October

- Finish the basic much needed camisole I worked so hard on in September. See notes below.

- A new pair of pants, either light weight denim or beige twill - I've got 3 yards of each. I'll be using the same patterns I used for The Lady Wears Shorts, which I've got fitting pretty well. I'm taking a "Pants Construction" class at Cañada this month, and the project is due by the end of the month. Well, that will keep me on schedule!

- Trace, tissue fit and toile a Vogue blouse pattern. I'd like to say get it sewn too, but given time.... I'll be happy to just get going on this project.

- Start in on the next project for my main sewing class at Cañada - elastic waist linen pants

- I'd love to get at least one tee done, either one of my new Hot Patterns or another of the Stretch and Sew 333 tees I sewed for class in September, but that is a bit too much blue skying.

2) What I got done in September
I didn't get absolutely everything done, but - I'm happy!

My September goals included:

         - One pair of green shorts. Done!

          - A cloche style cap, like the one I now wear almost everyday (It needs break and a bath!) . Refer back to "Chewing a Bun with Tuppence" (an earlier posting)Done!

Please check out both shorts and cap in this earlier posting.


           - One test pair of unmentionable nether garments! Done! NO PHOTO, they aren't very cute, but I learned good basic techniques in my Sewing Lingerie  class.
          
 - A mostly sewn buttercup purse (See my "Do You Like Butter?" posting) Done!
I've really been enjoying carrying this purse for the last couple of weeks. Isn't it cute?

I also completed the first project for my sewing class at Cañada, a Kwik Sew #333 tee shirt. No photo yet, but I'll post it. Of course I spent a lot of time on it because I was working on technique - not my usual sew and go mode. I included an embellishment I'd been meaning to try. I'll post more about that shirt soon - hopefully with a photo.

          - A beige lingerie type camisole to go under a very pretty sheer, burnt-knit, dressy yellow tee shirt I finished recently. (No, I can't take a photo of me in it because it would only look appropriate in the kind of establishment I don't patronize! You probably drive by them too.) Believe me, Ineed a camisole under that tee. Still in progress....

Man alive... This camisole has been a lot more work than I expected. I was pushing hard to get it done this evening, but I made a study committment  for my independent study work (apps development) to always put a minimum chunk of work in every day, and I like to keep those promises to myself. I should have that camisole ready pretty durn soon. It's crucial for wearing under that sheer yellow tee I made a month or two back, and I plan to sew one or two more sheer tees out of a couple of pieces of stretch lace I bought from fabric.com. So I really need that girl done. I picked up a couple of techniques while taking the Lingerie class that came in handy. They included: neck edges for v-necks, the baby hem, and plaited straps out of spaghetti straps (see the Jan Bones Lingerie book). I also drafted the pattern for the camp using the Jan Bones book. It was my first experience drafting from scratch. The front worked pretty well, but I made some errors in the back. Fixing and accomodating those errors added a good chunk of time to the project.

More time was eaten up because I made the cami  out of beige 2-way stretch knit (swimwear/dancewear type stuff). The regular presser foot grabbed the fabric a lot. also I was using a ballpoint needle, which I thought meant knits, but I guess it didn't. Finally, I switched to a needle that actually said "stretch", switched my presser foot to my 'teflon foot' and things went much more smoothly. 

The Lady Wears Shorts Part 2

Knocking another project off my September Sewing Plan!

I focused a lot on the importance of shorts in my life this summer. Summer might be over, but the warm weather in the San Francisco Bay Area is still with us. With luck, I'll be wearing shorts off and on for another couple of months. We're expecting a few hot days and getting these shorts done seemed like a great idea. Otherwise, I was a little suspicious I might just have them cut out and then not get them sewn until next year. Old cutouts never look as appealing as the freshly prepped piles of fabric, pins and tissue. Sometimes they end up getting recut as tote bags and purses - four or five years later!

I'm pretty darn happy with this sage green shorts and cap set. Yup, another home dec fabric. And why not? It seems to wash OK, especially since I don't machine dry stuff I've sewn. And I like the weight of the material. I'm going to track these and see if they fade any faster than the blue denim I made earlier in the summer. Those are actually starting to fade a little and they are just regular denim. Shorts are a hard wearing garment, and I probably can't expect them to last more than one or two seasons, given the number of times I'll probably wear them, and the fact they'll get relatively sturdy-demanding use hiking, biking and walking.

Once more I used McCalls 6403. That's the third time this summer for that pattern. I still have to fool around getting the fitting just right, because each different type of fabric seems to react differently around the waist and hip area, but I'm starting to get a feel for the pattern. I need to retissue/trace the pattern and file a full set of tracings away. I'm still relying on the altered tissue pieces combined with a few original pattern pieces and that's asking for trouble when it comes to losing a piece. Better to keep one master set of pieces and a complete altered set. 

 I'm looking forward to wearing my new outfit to my Sunday afternoon sewing class and then for a hike on Monday after class.

Times have changed since I was a little girl when it comes to shorts wearing. I've lived through some cultural changes when it comes to the social acceptance of pants wearing. Those pensamientos are in an article I wrote a few weeks back, The Lady Wears Shorts: Part 1.

Techniques: 

Fitting:

* I made a lot of trips back and forth to the mirror, pinching, pinning and marking. A machine basting stitch and several safety pins sped the process up. I never had to resort to the seam ripper, because I basted nearly everything and quick checked. A nice fit at the waist and hips is crucial and no pattern piece really does it for me when it comes to getting the garment smoothed over right. Probably the variety of materials I've used for the three different pairs of shorts I've sewn using the same altered pattern tissue affects the need to work slowly through the hips and waist fit.

I even basted the cuff seams before doing the official seams. And I was glad I had.

Waistband: 

* I meant to interface with regular fusible interfacing, but by mistake I used two sided fusible. Well, why not? I'm giving it a try. Note to self - start labeling the interfacing! The plastic wrap directions sheet doesn't always indicate what I bought.

* I sewed Petersham ribbon over the inside of the waistband. I did the same thing on my last pair of shorts I sewed with this pattern. I've been pretty happy with that pair, though the waistband still loosens up between washings.

*I'll probably add belt loops, but they are absolutely wearable now. I tried to fit them a little tighter at the waist to avoid the loosening up over time challenge, belt loops or no.

Fly Front Zipper

* I'm still fighting the fly front zipper. Next month I'm taking a pants construction 4 session class, hoping to get more comfortable with the techniques, particularly the area right around the top and the transition between the front and the waistband. Trudy's fly front zipper Hot Patterns tutorial gave me the confidence to take on fly fronts, but I"m not really there yet.

When Zippers Fly - September Sewing Basket

My September Sewing Basket is Singing Out To Me
Haloooooo, we're still full over here!

I'm still working away on completing the items in my September sewing basket.

Finally getting on with those sage-y green shorts. Yes, we can still hope to wear shorts here in the San Francisco Bay Area for another month or more. What is it about getting those fly front zipper techniques down? I'm going to review Trudy's fly-front zipper tutorial on youtube. Thanks again to Hot Patterns.

Why do they call it a "fly" on the front of the zipper?

From past experience, I don't think this zip will be flying off my machine that all quickly.

Buena suerte para mí!

The Lady Wears Shorts: Part 1

These shorts are a little loose at the
fitted waistband now because
I lost a little weight.
I made the first pair with belt carriers and
I think I'll do that on the third pair too. 

A few  favorite postings

OK, I admit it's not all shorts with me 

Romancing the Dress Part 1: Dainty

Romancing the Dress Part 2: California Romantic asks do skirts really fit into her active and arty modern life?

Romancing The Dress Part 3: The Dress Comes to Life

They aren't glamorous or high fashion, but I probably wore shorts every day this summer.

Since I much prefer to wear things I create myself, I was really happy that I found a shorts pattern that worked well for me this summer, McCalls 6403. I made two pairs of shorts out of this pattern, and could have used three. (Yes, your right I have another pair cut out in my sewing basket .)

Actually I created a third pair from another new pattern. In the process I found a style that is decidedly unflattering for my H-shaped figure. I'm never going to make those right-at-the-hip cargo pockets again. However, shorts are still so practical that I have even gotten a lot of wear out of the never-again shorts. I wore them several times in the garden and for hiking. They only work with my big loose boxier tees, and I only have a couple of boxy tees that I've made that I like.

I walk or hike every day, and shorts seem like a basic, practical requirement, but I remember when women couldn't always put practical first.

When I was growing up, there were lots of places where women were discouraged from wearing anything other than skirts or dresses.  During elementary and middle school (we called it junior high then), we were required to wear skirts and dresses. Our public school system saw themselves as the gatekeeper when it came to teaching us how to be ladies. When we challenged the rules and wore pants, they sent us home to change, or called our parents. Unhappily for the school administrators, when they called my liberal mother she gave them an earful of her ideas on females making their own choices when it came to what a lady wears!

Shorts make hooping work. Try this in a skirt!

Before my family moved to California, we lived closer to a small town in Mexico than we did to the U.S. town to which our mail was delivered. When we crossed the Arizona border into Mexico we always changed our shorts for a skirt, because at that time prostitutes were recognized by their clothing, and nice women didn't wear any kind of pants. Even my feminist mother wasn't going to battle the norms within another culture. On went the skirts as we once more assumed the accepted role of ladies.

I'm really glad my modern day California culture supports my wearing the practical clothes that makes my life comfortable.


Coming Soon Techniques and Challenges for this pattern

Shorts and a Tee: Realities of Summer Dressing

Good golly, what do I spend most of my time in come summer?

Yup, shorts and tee shirts.

Putting in major time learning to sew tees and become more comfortable working with knits, has really paid off. This is Lori's favorite Simplicity 4076, unfortunately now out of print.

The shorts are..... an in print pattern.... now where did I put that envelope.... I'll find it another day. I spent a lot of time getting the fit just right on these shorts and that too has paid off. This is the second version I've made. I still wear the test version I made as well. In fact I'm wearing them right now.

I've cut the above pair so they're a little high waisted. I'm never clear exactly what sort of waist line is in style from season to season (though I well remember when the really low-waisted ones where in and I didn't like them). High waisted suits my figure type, and that's what's important to me.

For this waistband I learned from the test garment.  Both the test garment and the pair above are denim. The test garment waistband is just too thick and bulky. So in the above pair I did two things that worked really well.
1) The inside of the waistband is a thin woven (scrap I had). Interfaced with a medium weight fusible
2) I found Petersham ribbon online and sewed that in as well on top of the woven. So when I look inside I see the Petersham.

The waistband fits well not only when I first put them on, but it stays fitting when I move in them. (What a concept!). I'm still considering belt carriers though, because I tend to put lots of junk like keys and coins in my pockets, which drags them down. But they fit so nicely and smoothly, I've just been avoiding doing that....

Romancing the Dress Part 2: California Romantic Considers Realities of Life When It Comes to Sewing a Dress

Forever fantasizing about sewing the perfect dress
But do skirts really fit into my active and arty modern life?

I spent a lot of of my little girlhood playing with dolls. I also spent a lot of time drawing girls. Drawing girls merged into drawing paper dolls. The most important part of drawing paper dolls was creating their clothes. I particularly enjoyed creating patterns and textures for these outfits, which I made by rubbing my crayons over the paper atop a rough surface. Of course none of my paper dolls wore pants, trousers or slacksas bi-forcated womens clothing was called in the nineteen sixties.

If you weren’t around in that time, especially if you missed the early, pre-groovy part of the era, images from the time might lead you to think that American females wore mostly skirts or dresses. In fact, shorts and pants were nearly as much a part of our daily wear as they are today. However, when it came to creating artistic duds for dollies, I didn’t see any point in designing the sort of togs I actually spent most of my own time in. On television, in magazines, coloring books and  movies, and in my favorite modern and historically themed stories, girls and women wore fluffy dresses and glamorous skirts. The clothes I created for my dolls were those I imagined I’d wear myself as an adult, and they came from what I drank in from my culture. They came from images of traditionally skirted women.

As a sewist, I’m still faced with the eternal challenge of an imaginary, idealized female lifestyle, versus the reality of my own activities. What I put on in the morning reflects what I'm expecting to do. Right now that involves walking or hiking, classes, study, a lot of computer time, and (unfortunately) a little housework. I'm usually pretty darn happy, and comfortable, wearing my most attractive tee shirt and a pair of long pants or shorts, both items that style up great with a pair of sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots.

Despite what I actually wear, when I plan time for my favorite hobby, I'm tempted to sew dresses. In point of fact, I've sewn only two within the last few years. I'm relatively happy with the way both of them turned out. Yet, I’ve worn each of those frocks two or three times, both times to events, to which, I could easily have worn some of my most feminine pants with a lovely blouse, a rope of pearls and a scarf.

Still, when I open the pattern book, you know what section I turn to first.

This summer I just couldn’t resist the how-to-style examples for Vogue pattern v8810 shown in the Vogue pattern magazine. You can just guess I imagined myself hurrying off to an important meeting with a friend in that denim dress with those lovely heels and the model's jewelry. I don’t actually wear heels, and the jewelry she was wearing wasn't my style. In point of fact, I usually plan on fitting in a long walk or bike ride when I go to a meeting, but I still saw myself togged out like the gal in the spread.

Well, maybe I could still figure out a way to fit that duster style dress into my lifestyle…

Earlier in the month I created a toile of this pattern. Some stained home dec ex-curtain fabric was the perfect muslin for the fit I was looking for. I’ve also pulled a heavy black houndstooth print out of my stash, and I think there’s enough for the short-sleeved version. I’m imagining it as go-to summer and fall garment, in our temperate California San Francisco Bay Area climate. It could even extend into our mild winter as a kind of jumper over my pale pink quarter-sleeve tee or my petal pink cowl neck long sleeved tee shirt.

But when it comes down to it, even if the dress turns out exactly as I imagine it, will I really get much use out of another dress to keep the others company in their far end of my closet? I hope those girls have an active social life back there, because they rarely see the light of day.

In the meantime, I've sewn a nice new pair of shorts and another cute tee. 

But the black houndstooth print is eyeing me from the back of my sewing table.


You may also enjoy.... Romancing the Dress 1: Dainty