Shorts on the Line

The first day of summer! And so I decided to sew up something fun.

Here is the before shot. As part of my collaboration with Warp & Weft Exquisite Textiles I received this beautiful fabric. It’s Bella Flower in Blue by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics. I can’t tell you how long I have coveted this fabric!

And since the shorts on the line sew along is taking place right now, and I’ve been eyeing the new Parsley Pants pattern from Made by Rae, I figured the stars were aligned for a pair of Parsley shorts.

I am really happy with these. They aren’t your boring, everyday shorts. The pattern has a number of variations included, and there are additional tutorials for this pattern on the Made by Rae blog. I opted for added pintucks on the front and back, box pleat pockets and a flat-front waistband.

I also followed Made by Rae’s instructions for how to make shorts from a pants pattern, and partially followed the tutorial for how to make super seams where the Parsley shorts are used as an example. I used flat felled seams for the inseam on my shorts.

Here are the shorts are on my 6-year-old. I was going for a surfer girl look, and I think this is a success largely because of the fabric. It’s fun and not too precious for my big girl. I made the shorts in a size seven, though according to the pattern sizing my daughter should be in a six. But seven fits perfectly and should last the summer. I’m so glad I opted to go bigger.

I used a 2.5 inch inseam when making the shorts. They end up being long enough that the box pleat pockets have enough room, but still look girly.

I love this pattern! And kid #2 has already requested his own pair of shorts, so the kids like it too.

There was quite a bit of extra fabric, so I decided to make a headband to match. I used this German pattern from Erbsenprinzessin. But things went badly awry. The headband turned out to be way too small. We don’t have a shortage of small heads here, so I was hoping it would fit my two-year-old, but no!

The only head that would fit is my 11-month old, and she has no hair! I’m not usually one for headbands on babies (I think she looks a bit like a ninja), but since I had already sewn it up, I figured it should be worn at least once.

So back to the drawing board! I made the whole thing again much larger and it seems to be a big hit.

Now that I have the sizing right, I’ll probably make this pattern again.

Summary 1

Pattern Review: Parsley Pants (as shorts) from Made by Rae.

Fabric: Bella Flower in Blue by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics, courtesy Warp & Weft Exquisite Textiles.

Size: 7.

Sewing Level: Intermediate (with the modifications below), or beginner.

Modifications: I followed the included instructions for added pintucks on the front and back, box pleat pockets and a flat-front waistband. I top stitched and edgestitched the pockets and pocket flaps. I also used flat felled seams in the inseam.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

Summary 2

Pattern Review: Haarband für Kinder  by from Erbsenprinzessin (in German)

Fabric: Bella Flower in Blue by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics, courtesy Warp & Weft Exquisite Textiles.

Size: one size (but I enlarged it by almost 1/2 inch in all directions).

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: I enlarged the pattern.

Results: Great, when resized. I would recommend this pattern with modifications and will probably make it again.

This project is part of the shorts on the line sew along and a project for the Warp & Weft Sewing Society.