Sewing shorts - Zipper fly, baggy crotch, long crotch, tight butt and other alteration issues

I decided when it comes to jeans (or medium weight woven) bottoms to start with shorts instead of pants, This way if it did not fit right I would save fabric and money. Smart thinking on my part. This blog post will show my experience with my first and second ever pair of shorts, the problems I found, the fixes I discovered, and where I am for next time. Hopefully it helps someone else.

To kick things off I decided to start with McCall's pattern 7165 view A.

For my first go-around I decided to just complete the pattern as-is. No adjustments, just to see how it would end up fitting on me.

Of course, never having done shorts with a zipper fly I had to pause there to figure it out. My McCall's book for beginner sewers had completely different instructions than what came with the pattern. Then, when I looked online, people has additional different ways on how to do it. I was so confused. I decided to just do what the pattern called for. 

After basting the front pieces together, with the wrong side of the shorts facing me, I placed the zipper facing up under the left side of the fly. The fly is folded along the fold line. Here I used the zipper foot to sew it to the fly. The top of the fly sticks up past the top of the shorts. Eventually the part sticking up will be hidden in the waistband.

Once the zipper is sewn to the left side you flip it over facedown. The zipper should land in the center. The zipper edge will not line up with the right edge of the right fly. Here I sewed the zipper to the right fly.

That's really it. I didn't have much of a problem with making the mock fly zipper. I can get into more details on my next pair of shorts if requested.

Of course when I was making these I was not thinking of how hard some of the stuff I would be talking about would beto see in photos. These are the shorts. From a distance they are no too terrible. Honestly I was just happy they fit around my waist and my legs could go through them.

Look at all that extra fabric in the crotch area though! Talk about baggy crotch problems! The crotch of the shorts was about an inch or two lower than it should have been. 

The back was a little too baggy. No butt profile at all. Definitely mom shorts. But I'm not even a mom! Haha. Other than that the back fit wasn't too bad. Much better than the front.

Because the fabric is black this photo isn't much help. But not too bad. Just a little looser than I would prefer.

I have to do something about all this fabric.... So what do I do? I had no clue at the time. Internet research to the rescue!!

These are the websites/blogs that helped me out the most:
Lladybird's blog post on trouser fitting.
This picture from afashionablestitch.com
The Colette patterns pants fitting cheatsheet

I can't recommend them highly enough and probably would just be wearing super baggy pants and shorts if it wasn't for their help.

So for my next pair of shorts I knew I needed to shorten the crotch and adjust the crotch shape. Since this was my first time doing it I had to eyeball and guess how much (because I still have no idea how to measure myself on this stuff...)

Can you see where I folded the pattern? I ended up taking out one inch of fabric. I did this to both the front and the back pieces. I did this where the pattern said lengthen/shorten here. This will shorten my crotch line. Then, where you see the blue ink is where I adjusted the crotch curve. I put an arrow to the thick line that I ended up using. I decided to not go as aggressive as I originally drew the line.

My second pair! Not perfect, but sooo much better in the front than the last pair! I don't look like I'm reserving room for anatomy parts I don't have... Plus the crotch doesn't hang down ridiculously.

Side view is also much better. It doesn't just go straight down in the back. I actually have a profile.

The back is a tad too tight. It is wearable, I don't think I'll bust the seams. But on my next pair I'll add just a touch to the back crotch line.

It's so nice to be able to make my own shorts!

I'm thinking my third pair will be near perfect. I just need to go to the store and get more fabric. I still don't feel comfortable cutting into my nice organic cotton. I'll do one more purchase of the cheap stuff for shorts #3 and will let you know how it goes!

Cotton Lawn Tunic

With all these tunic posts I've been coming across lately I decided to see what all of the fuss is about and make one for myself.

I opted for Simplicity 1461 view D. It is offered in misses' and plus sizes. I love the length of tunics and am already thinking about others I can make.

I need to look up reviews for A, B, and C because they just seem like they would be really revealing...

I love how this pattern has different pattern pieces for bust sizes. I'm lucky and rarely need bust adjustments on patterns. But for those who need to make adjustments all of the time this can be very time saving.

I do unfortunately still need to make adjustments for my hips. So I sewed my standard size 12 top and graded to a size 14 for my hips.

I love the fabric I used. It is called The Hit Parade Lawns Unicorn Hunt Orange and you can find it at Fabric.com. It is a combed 100% cotton lawn.

The only thing I would do differently is fix the placement of the unicorn. I really did not mean for it to end up on my stomach. Lower left/right would have been better. But oh well. 

Cotton lawn does wrinkle easily. I did iron it before the pictures. Me iron? I know, shocking. But I did. But after sitting it looks like this. Probably won't be a top I put in my suitcase for my cruise...

The sleeves were simple and turned out well. On these I did purposely place the unicorn on them.

This is the stitching looking at it inside out. I do like how on the tunics they are stitched a second time about an inch or so in. Not only does it give the top a higher end look, it keeps that darn interfacing from being able to pop out.

Overall I really like the top. I think next time I will try it with higher end soft material like a silk or something. I'll have to do some more peaking around blogs to get ideas. It is definitely a pattern I'll keep around.

Tank top time!

I made this a week or so ago but life got busy and I could never blog about it. The weather warmed up here and got me ready for the warmer weather.

I decided to attempt McCall's M6751.

The model is super cute in it so I looked forward to the end result. I tried finding a similar colored cotton fabric but nothing really stood out to me at the store. I ended up finding a cotton fabric at Joann's. The fabric is called Burnout Cotton Fabric-Packed Floral Multi and is 100% cotton. It was see-through so I lined it with a plain white cotton (basically I cut out two identical tops using each fabric and sewed them together).

I cut a size 12 and graded it out to a 14 for my hips. I also added 1" in length because it seemed short on the model and I know I couldn't pull it off.

And the result?

I apologize for my hair. I've been lazy with it lately. I should have put it up like the model...

The front neckline does not lay flat. It isn't bad but can be noticeable. Not sure if this was my fault or the way the pattern is done.

The back is where I am most disappointed. The hole is right where your bra strap is. I am not one to be able to go braless. Not sure what to do about this. Any suggestions?

Even adding an inch my belly still shows when I raise my arms. Something you might want to think about if you're making this top.

With the exception of my bra showing in the back it's not a bad top. It is comfortable, easy to move around in, and good for warm weather.

Taking a look at my top now and the model's I see her straps are smaller. I might go back and make mine smaller as well. But it won't fix the bra hole :(

Seriously? Another t-shirt?

I know. It's another t-shirt. But what can I say? I like me some t-shirts. They are comfy! Plus, this is what I really needed. But soon you will see me tackling some new things. Especially now that it's warming up outside. 73 degrees today!

My first time attempting a Butterick pattern. Butterick 5354 Fast & Easy to be exact. I used my standard size 12 top and graded it out to a 14 for my hips.

I decided to make the short sleeve (green) version.

I have to say, if you are beginner and you are doing one of your very first patterns do not start with Butterick. Start with Simplicity or McCall's. Not that this was very difficult, they just don't explain things as thoroughly in the pattern instructions as Simplicity or McCall's. They expect you to know more and have some experience.

For example, this is an instruction from Butterick on how to fuse and finish a neck facing:

And here is an instruction from a standard Simplicity pattern on how to fuse and finish a neck facing:

And lastly, here is an instruction from a McCall's "Learn to Sew" pattern on how to finish a neck facing:

So as you can see, depending on the pattern company, instructions on how to do the exact same thing can differ. I'm sure there are many other detailed instructions, and lacking instructions out there.

And now hopefully you can save yourself some stress. And for those people who roll their eyes because this is sewing 101, sorry, let's move on to my top!

This is what I get for having my husband take the pictures. He didn't tell me to fix the shirt! Also, sorry for the wrinkles. I hate to iron.

Since it was too dark to go out and re-take the picture here is it up close on my dress form.

I like how the sleeves are sewn on. I have never done them this way before. For some reason it reminded me of a flower. On the bottom (in the arm pit) the result is this..

See my zigzag stitch? Yeah, I still need a new sewing machine. Just have to decide which one to get and how much I am willing to spend.

The fabric used was from my very first order from Mood Fabrics. Yay! The fabric is dark pink medium-weight cotton jersey. You can find it here. It's very comfortable. I probably won't wear it when its 100 degrees outside, but it is wonderful in this weather.