Short and sweet

As most of you would know, I’m something of a hoarder (although I prefer to think of it as “collecting”). Some of my favourite things to collect are vintage sewing patterns such as this one.


Admittedly I rarely get to actually use any of the patterns I buy, because I never seem to have the time but also because I already have so many clothes that it seems wasteful to make more. Also, I often rework the things that I have, so I rarely make things from scratch any more. However, I felt I needed a pair of shorts in a basic colour to get through the summer, and I just happened to have some black moire taffeta lying around (bought last year or so for a few dollars at an op shop – of course), so I thought I’d give the bloomers from these shortie pyjamas a go (pattern piece D).

Here’s how they turned out! Sorry that the pictures are a bit dark, it’s hard to get detail shots of black clothing!
Front:

Back:


Side:

African-inspired-Frida Kahlo-style at the Botanical Gardens while styling for a fashion shoot for couturing.com

The pattern was so easy that the shorts only took me about an hour. There are only two pieces to sew together – ie one for each leg – but I adapted it somewhat, having already made pyjama shorts as a test run (which I won’t show you as they are super daggy). I added about 16 cm to the leg width and instead of putting in elastic around the legs, made three tucks to take in the fullness. The waist is elastic, so that was easy too (I took a few centimetres off the waist as the crotch was way too long!). If you’re interested in making these shorts, I could try to scan the pattern, so let me know – or you could always try scaling up piece D in the pic above, if you like a challenge!