Well as it turns out though, I don't need any shorts. Weird. I pulled out all my summer shorts to get an idea of what I wanted to make. Turns out I have more than 7 pairs of made by me shorts all from one pattern! Added to that are about 2 pair of Jean shorts (rtw), a random pair of gray bermuda shorts (also rtw) and a pair of wide leg shorts from the Jocole pattern. Even at my laziness- you know only doing laundry when you have no clothes to wear- I don't think I need more shorts, 11 might be enough. Oh and lets not mention the pair I have cut out from last summer that I never sewed up. Oops.
So instead of sewing up a new pair I thought I'd just show off my 7 pair of shorts from my absolute favorite shorts pattern the Colette Iris. I fit them a few years ago and have just continued to add shorts from the pattern to where I now have 7 pair! The slide show is missing the khaki pair and I think one other pair, I'd have to check. I'll be adding a red pair this year since they are cut and ready to sew up.
Seriously, I'm not sure I can say how much I love this pattern. I've made changes, style wise, such as omitting the pockets, moving the pockets, adding pocket stays, lengthening them (the mint pair below), and notably I generally sew the zipper in the back seam instead of the side so that I could, in theory take them in when needed. In reality, I'll likely just sew new ones in a smaller size!
I'll do a quick review and show off the changes I ended up making for this pattern. It really is a quick sew. Now with no elastic, fitting must be done. You will need to make a muslin. This pair (picture was taken on an iPad during when were in the process of a transoceanic move!) was my first muslin. The big thing that came from this muslin is that I found the pattern runs large. I cut a 14 based on my hip (my waist does not fit this pattern as its in a size 20 for Colette). After sizing down, I actually made only minor changes to the first few pairs after this one. All are wearable except the first as it was too big, the fabric loosen up too much with wearing on top of it and well, we were moving so seam ripping and re-sewing just wasn't happening!
This white pair was probably the second. As you can see I have some nice pulling heading into an area you just don't want highlighted. They are a combo of need a little more full butt room and having a sway back.
Now onto my adjustments:
- swayback
- full butt
- full belly
- moving zipper to center back
- pocket stays
- adding length to short shorts
You may not need all of these- which should make the shorts even better for you! If you do, they are super easy to do.
First the sway back- this is actually a fairly standard adjustment for me on all fitted garments. On fitted shorts and pants it really amounts to using a smaller waist band than the pattern size I'm using. I measure my waist along the back only from side seam to side seam and then double that measurement to find out what waistband I should use for the back only. I will also deepen the darts to accommodate the smaller waist band. This works about 80% of the time with no issues. It worked perfectly with this pattern. Now the other 20% of the time I end up having to shape the waistband into this wacky looking trapezoid.
Now the full butt- super easy adjustment. I went ahead and pulled out my tracings to show you what I did. First I started by scooping out the crotch curve. You can see the red line is the size 12 crotch line. Mine goes down farther. Now the triangle that is inserted there is actually a subsequent adjustment. I did that after the white pair.
I also added to the top of the center back seam to lengthen the seam just a touch more. You can also see how the curve is scooped out a little up here too.
Fully Belly adjustment is probably the easiest. I simply started curved the front crotch seam out to halfway between the size 14 and 16. I may have started with more but thats where it ended up.
No picture of moving the zipper, the seam allowances on the Iris make it an easy thing to do. I did have to cut the back waistband in half and add seam allowances to the center.
Pocket stays are so necessary for me in general. I find that they give just a little support to the belly plus my pockets don't pop open so much when I use them. I essentially followed this tutorial on the Curvy Collective. Because the pockets on these shorts sit right on the edge of my full belly they do still pop open a bit. Not as much as they did before I started using the stays though.
Lastly I lengthened the regular style of these shorts by just tracing to the 18 length. I found them just a tad too short at the drafted length. I did find that the length created a funny pool of fabric right in the front under my belly. To correct, I angled the inside leg seams on the front pattern pieces only, that fixed the issue for me.
With that I can tell you I will sew many, many more pairs of these shorts in my lifetime! Maybe not this year though- other than the red pair that is. Now go, sew your own, you'll love them.
Since I know you still need more inspiration, check out the other stops on this tour:
Summer Sewing, The Long and the Short Of It
6 comments:
Great info - thanks for sharing! I'd love to see a wrap dress tour in the future too!
I can see why you keep making this pattern -- it looks great on you! I have this one and have been meaning to sew it up forever. I actually have very few summer shorts. The Prefontaines that I blogged today are my only non-sporty shorts. I think Iris and I need to have a date sometime soon :)
I love seeing the details of all the adjustments you've made. I'm still new to figuring out how to make things fit me, and while it's still super intimidating, seeing other people walk through these steps makes it less so for me. Your shorts look great!
Thanks for sharing the pattern adjustments. That is awesome!
I bought this pattern a couple of years ago, but have been afraid to make it! I will need a full tummy adjustment - maybe I'll give it a try. :) I wondered if I could make the pattern out of stretch denim and make them pull on instead of zipped. What do you think?
Nita- I think it would work but you'd definitely need to make a tester pair. Something like the Jalie pull on pants for the waist.
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