I love love love these shorts! It’s funny how things turn out – I had this pattern in mind to make and some lovely burgundy suiting-weight fabric picked out from my mum’s stash.  However,  being a complete novice I decided at the last minute to make a “test” pair first. I’m so glad I did.

The fabric is… actually,  I’m not sure what it is. It is a medium-heavy weight like fabric with an interesting texture,  but loosely woven so it feels quite soft to work with. It creases with wear just like linen too. My guess would be a linen-cotton blend upholstery fabric.

I found it in a grimy bag in dad’s workshop under a pile of sawdust and chicken feed, and thought at the time it was so ugly it wouldn’t matter if I made a total hack job. A trip or two through the washing machine and the fabric didn’t look so bad, maybe I could even make a wearable prototype.

These shorts really came together when I also unearthed a ginormous roll of white piping (it’s seriously huge,  according to the label there’s 300 metres!), which I thought would be great for defining the waist band. If I knew how fiddly it would be to insert the piping in the seam I probably wouldn’t have started,  but I jumped blindly in and now it’s done it was definitely worth it.

I faithfully measured myself and looked at the size chart,  and I was bang-on in the middle of the medium and the large. I decided to cut the large, thinking it would be easy to make them smaller if needed, but I’d be stuffed if they were too tight. Note to self: ignore the size charts and look instead at the finished garment measurements next time. I doubled the width of the darts, took at least an inch off each side seam and made a smaller waistband to make them fit,  and they’re still a bit loose.

I actually made these the Australia Day long weekend, and I wear them everywhere now. These photos were taken impromptu in the park with the kids yesterday. I like to pair them with a white cotton cheesecloth-y shirt and my short hair in natural finger-curls gives them a very ’20s vibe I think.  Tres cool.

The pockets are deep and functional, the wide waistband is perfect for avoiding any unsightly muffin-top, and the button closures make it super-easy to adjust the size if I continue to lose post-baby weight (here’s hoping).

I’m definitely keen to make a few more of these, and I will do so once I get around to tracing the smaller size (I hate tracing patterns). I think I’ll do my next pair in a navy twill with brass buttons, or denim with jeans stud fasteners, or a dressier pair with cuffs in black stretch cotton sateen. So many ideas!

Fabric: I’m guessing a cotton linen blend, rescued from the floor of dad’s workshop.

Pattern: Kwik Sew K3854

Liked: Almost everything.  The fit and style are great for me and the instructions are really easy to follow.

Disliked: Making buttonholes, and the size charts were way out for me. I also didn’t finish the darts well and they’re starting to open.  Must fix them.

Would I make them again?  You bet