Hello Sewists! Yes, I’ve done it… albeit in a reduced capacity! I’ve drafted a pattern for myself! Admittedly, I only took four measurements, but I did it!
The drawing says it all, but here’s how it happened…
- Draw a line on the left of your paper the same length as from your waist to the top of your thigh (or whatever length you want your shorts… I wanted mine short!)
- Along the bottom draw a horizontal line; Thigh circumference + 10cm divided by 2. Make this into a square.
- Down the right hand side mark the crotch depth measurement, draw a horizontal line in.
- From the top left corner measure and mark; Waist + 10cm divided by 4. Draw vertically down from here to join the crotch mark.
Use a curve to shape the bottom corner of the side seam and the crotch curve. Add seam allowance; I added 1.5cm to the waist, crotch and inseam. Then just 1cm to the side and hem (to match the fold on my bias tape). I drafted a patch pocket for the back and an inside pocket for the front…
I made a trial pair out of some light gingham I had in my stash and used a pack of pre made bias tape. They came out pretty well…
They’re a bit see through, so only for wearing around the house.
Next up, I made a LOAD of bias binding… way more than I’d need … my current addiction to making and using bias binding seems to have escalated now to also include hoarding it!
And I made myself a black pair to wear to tap class in this hot London summer…
With a floral inside pocket…
I don’t think I’ve left the house so underdressed before in my life! But the heat will do crazy things to a person. I’m also wearing my last black polo shirt – I used to have a ton of these before I started sewing, they were perfect for work in the summer. They’ve gradually all fallen apart or been mutilated by hair dye (I’m a hairdresser) over the years and this is the last man standing. I’m seriously going to have to start making polo shirts soon.
This is the order I sewed them up in…
- Make and attach patch pockets to the back pieces.
- Sew crotch seam and seat seam. Finish raw edges and stitch down.
- Sew inside leg seam, finish edges & stitch down.
- Apply binding to the leg seams: all the way down the front side, round the curve, under the leg and up the back. I stopped about 3cm past the curve at the back. (Stretch the binding around the curves so that it lays flat once it’s turned over)
- Sew the binding to the wrong side, press over to the front.
- Align the sides and sew the binding in place, catching the folded seam allowance at the back also. Sew down to just above the curve, turn 90° and sew across the binding then up the other side back to the waist.
- Stitch the rest of the binding in place (folding the front/ back leg out of the way)
- Make the inside pocket, baste it to the inside front.
- Fold the waistband in half then turn up the allowance on one long edge. Sew the short ends together.
- Feed the elastic through and secure the ends together.
As they’re so short, they barely use up half a metre of fabric, a real stashbuster! Being a grown adult male (… of a certain age…) I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’m going out in gym-knickers, but as I said, the heat will do strange things to a person! I know I’ll be making more and more of these before the summer is out. And if you make a pair please do tag me in if you post them on Instagram – this formula worked for me, hopefully it’ll work for you too!
Happy Sewing!
Notes to self:
- Get the scraps out and make more more more!
- Keep building up that bias binding stash.
- Get some fabric and make some polo shirts!