Thurlow Shorts! PR Sewing Bee Round #1

Long ago, I made a pair of Sewaholic Thurlow shorts.  They were not great:

I thought I'd still wear them but I never did.  I thought I had donated them before I moved.  Lo and behold, I found them in my refashion bin and was able to assess what went wrong last time.

I have put on a little weight since I made the first pair and they were a little small in the hips.  The waistband also fell on an odd spot which made my stomach poof out over the top.  No good.  I started my new attempt by cutting a muslin one size larger, a 14.  I raised the front 1", and I raised the center back up 3/4" increasing to 1" at the side seams to match the front.  The fit was good through the hips but very large at the waist.  I needed to take it in quite a bit at the center back seam.   Rather than just adjusting the center back seam, I took a little off  the side seams at the waistline and about 1/2" off at the center back.  I didn't want the back pockets to appear too close to the center seam so I shifted them and the back dart outward by 1/2".

I am not a fan of double welt pockets.  They look like lips to me.  Not the look I'm going for for my back pockets.  So I switched them to single welt pockets.  I used this excellent tutorial by poppykettle to make for single welt pockets.

When I first had them assembled, there were some butt-flossing issues in the back.

I scooped out the CB seam at the seat and it made a big difference.  I've never had to do this adjustment before, and was very happy with the result.

Seriously...that is a great view.

See?  Impressive!

One thing I did with these shorts that was unusual for me was to hem them much shorter than I normally do.  I was talking with a friend who has a similar shape as me, (although she is MUCH taller) and she told me that a stylist once told her to wear shorter shorts. That gave me the confidence to hem these with a 3.5" inseam rather than my typical 9".  I really like how it looks and I feel young!

Apart from scooping out the CB seam and raising the waisband, I made only minor changes.  I cut a size 14 with a slight decrease at the waist and a slight adjustment on the front pieces for athletic thighs. 

I skipped the belt loops...one reason I sew is to have bottoms that fit--no belt needed.

A note to future Thurlow sewists:  check the length of the left waistband. Mine was about 1.25" too short.  The pointed end of my waistband did not cover the entire fly extension. Some online research revealed that this has happened to other people as well. I didn't have enough of the gray denim to cut a new waistband on the correct grain-line, so I had to be creative. I wanted the pointed end of the waistband to completely cover the fly extension. I cut my waistband just to the inside of the zipper and cut a small piece of denim 1.75" long and the width of the waistband and waistband facing. I used 1/4" seam allowances to sew this piece to the main waistband and also to the pointed end. I pressed the seams open to minimize bulk. This little extension stays hidden behind the front closure.  Not everyone has has this issue but there are definitely some of us.  Save yourself a headache and measure the waistband and compare it to the left front, back, and fly extension.

  I am happy to report that I made it on to Round #2 in the Sewing Bee with these Thurlows!

Completed Thurlows and some Ponderings

My Thurlow shorts are finished!  I had an uninterrupted chunk of time today where I just sewed and sewed.

They are finished.  They fit, they don't ride up and they don't fall down.  I don't need to wear a belt (yay!).   My welt pockets came out well.  Yay!  But are they the most amazing looking things?  Nah.  Are there some weird wrinkles?  Yup.  Did I try and try and TRY to fix them?  Yup.  Did I finally give up?  Yup.

Here they are:

Front View:  Not bad.  

Side View:  Not terrible.  The side seam swings to the front.  My butt looks a little more pointy than it should

Back view: Legs apart and legs together.  Very odd V shaped wrinkle at CB...gack!  

Other wrinkles point to outer thigh/full hip

Am I being too critical?  Are we as sewists overly critical with the things we make?  Do we accept less that perfect fit with RTW, but not with our own creations?  I remember making my first Renfrew top and being annoyed at the armpit wrinkles I had.  Yet when I tried on every one of my RTW tees, there were armpit wrinkles there too.  Shouldn't we as sewists give ourselves a break?  Don't we deserve it?  I should really take a few photos of the back view of my RTW shorts that I wear all the time, then I might be happier with the look of these.  

I made a size 12 in these shorts and took in the side seams about 1/2" at the waist tapering to nothing 4" down.  I took a small wedge out of the waistband pieces to accommodate this and it work perfectly! Once I had the shorts assembled enough to try on, I needed to let them out at the low hip (darn summer indulging).  

I am very grateful for LLadybird's tutorials, particularly the ones for the welt pockets and for the fly front. The instructions were clear but it was nice to have photos to follow as well.  I think my welt pockets came out very well, and there's no reason to panic about them in the future.  I did baste the welts together before sewing the sides of the welts, which held them centered in the openings.

The fabric was from an early purchase in India.  It was a slightly stiff "trouser fabric" (that's as specific as the Indian shopkeepers ever got).  Once I laid the fabric on my cutting table, I noticed this:

Yes, I bought some "Tessuti 2-ply Premium" fabric in some filthy alleyway in India for a steal.  I couldn't possibly have spent more than $5/yard for this!  Otherwise I would have balked and bargained for it.  I don't know what the fabric content is but it is machine washable.   The right side is a bit shiny and the wrong side has a twill weave.  I used the wrong side of the fabric for these shorts.  

Would I make these again?  Sure.  Next time I will use a less stiff fabric.

Here's a view of the insides:

Woo Hoo Fly Front!

I used a paisley cotton print (also purchased in India) for the lining.  It peeks out just a tiny bit on the front waistband at the trouser hook.  No matter, it's not often I tuck my shirts in.  :)

The final question regarding these shorts:  Will I wear them?  Yup.  I'm giving myself a break.  :)

Edited July 23:  I've decided that just because I got frustrated with the fit doesn't mean I should be finished.  I'm going to let the CB and side seams out a bit and give my bottom more room.  Then we'll see if some of the wrinkles diminish.  So...more to come!

In progress

Here's a little peek at what I have been working on:

Yup, that's a welt pocket.  My very first one!  Maybe you guessed, but that's going to be a pair of Sewaholic Thurlow shorts!  They have been cut out for some time and have been sitting patiently while I have been sewing swimwear.  I should really finish the shorts while it's still warm enough to wear them.  

Ok, back to the machine!

MMM Day 15 to 19

We are 19 days in to Me Made May and I have only taken 2 days off.  I pledged to wear me-made 5 days a week so I am doing very well!  Both of those days off were Saturdays and were chock full of the kids' activities which required me to schlep to soccer/softball fields and sit in the sun or (as was the case yesterday) in the rain.  Apart from my newly made tee shirts, I don't have many me made tops that have sleeves which I need when out in the sun.  That is definitely a wardrobe hole.  Another need I have is shorts.  I have started a muslin for a pair of Sewaholic Thurlow shorts.  I cut a straight size 12 even though I was worried the waist would be too small.  However...that was not a problem, quite the opposite.  The hips were ok, perhaps a tiny bit big, but the waist was huge!  Check it out:

I am always perplexed when there is such a big difference between what I expect and what is.  (That applies to life in general-not just sewing)  I will be taking these in along the sides and may take some fabric out at the center front as well.  There are some very good things about this pattern, but in it's current state it is definitely a work in progress. 

But let's get back to Me-Made-May!

Wednesday May 15, Day 15:

Hey look!  A new Tee shirt for me!  Another Butterick 5354, this time made in a Rayon blend Tee shirt knit from Denver Fabrics (which is very soft, thin, and it wrinkles like crazy!)

Love this neckline!!

Thursday May 16:

A warm day needs a summery top.  My first Sorbetto was pulled out!

And guess what else?  I got a wireless remote control for my camera!  Ka-Pow! 

Friday May 17:  My husband (who works from home) and I went out to play 9 holes of golf in the afternoon.  I wore my orange (aka "light tangerine") Kwik Sew 3341 for the first time.  There are knit attached shorts underneath the skirt and I was a little worried that I had made them too short to be comfortable playing golf (or doing anything in the heat).  I almost changed my mind about wearing them but decided to suck it up and give it a go.  

I don't have many collared shirts that will go with an orange skirt.  I chose navy rather than black to avoid a Halloweenish outfit.  Verdict on the skirt: yes the shorts are too short, but everything else is great.  I may add on a strip of matching fabric to the bottom of the shorts to lengthen them.  Oh, and I could use a white polo shirt.

Saturday May 18:  Day off of MMM.  I pledged to wear me-made items 5 days a week so I haven't broken that pledge yet :)

Sunday May 19:  

Once again a whole Me-Made outfit!  The top is my just completed (yesterday in fact) Jalie 2566.  Let me tell you it is a great tee shirt pattern.  It is quick, classic, and versatile.  I've made 3 versions for my girls and finally got around to making myself one.  It may even be better than the Sewaholic Renfrew.  I had fewer wrinkles under the armpits with the Jalie.  I plan on doing a side by side comparison to evaluate and decide for sure. The skirt is my second version of Kwik Sew 3341.  When I made this version, I lengthened both the skirt and the shorts underneath.  Smart move.  The shorts are perfect: there's no bunching or riding up and no 'chub rub'. :)

That's it for now, more soon!