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project 4 - pj shorts

These pajama shorts mark a pivotal turning point in my sewing career--namely, the crotch.

I impulsively bought this Little Red Riding Hood fabric because of a disturbingly Freudian connection I have with the character. I bought only 1/2 meter of fabric because it was expensive, and I was dying to make something I could wear. So, these shorts were concieved.

I was terrified of the crotch seam. Lost sleep thinking of how, exactly, it worked. "So there are four pieces..." I would think to myself. "And they connect at... wait... you turn it inside-out..."

I was afraid to ruin my darling pair of shorts with a too-tight fit, since the cotton fabric wasn't stretchy at all. I also thought, naively, that I didn't need an elastic waistband since I wanted to make a drawstring (a before-I-knew-what-bias-tape-was drawstring, mind you). That was dumb, since my pattern was a pair of pjs that did have an elastic waistband. The result is a baggy, bunchy, balla pair of shorts that a gangster would be proud of, if they weren't pink and covered with Little Red.

I really hate dark photos, don't you??



Procedure Highlights:
  • Using a pre-existing garment as a pattern. (Pin garment in sections along original seams, as flat as possible. Draw outline, including seam allowance, then un-pin, turn garment, and re-pin.) This method is good for simple designs, but not suitable for darts, tucks, etc, because you can't tell how much material you would need from just looking at the pre-made item.
  • I used this tutorial, which is for children's shorts, which may have had something to do with the general fit failure.
  • Curved seams.
  • Learned a lesson about serging. (That is, I should have. The crotch ripped within the first few weeks.)

I really want to emphasize that these shorts are laughably large. Since they don't have any elastic, they fold out all the way--I made the mistake of leaving them out while I was hosting some friends, and everyone demanded to know where I was hiding the circus-show fat lady.

Fabric: 1/2 meter 100% cotton print @ 1600 yen/meter


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