Denim Maritime Shorts







fabric - loose weave denim, spotlight
pattern - maritime shorts, grainline studio

I'm trying to take the time to sew the things I wear on a daily basis. And with a little boy to follow around all day, these Maritime Shorts from Grainline fit the bill easily.

Like a few other sewers,  I had to adjust the centre back seam. After making a wearable muslin, I sewed a size 10 & changed the back pieces accordingly:
  • took in approximately 2cm from the centre back seam
  • added 2 darts, both in the centre of the two back pieces (approximately in the middle of where the top of the pockets sit). I made sure I didn't sew on the pockets until I could try the shorts on to fit. Both darts take in about a 1.5cm each.
  • I then adjusted the length of the waistband to fit the changes made.

 Because of the loose weave of this denim, I knew these shorts would stretch & loosen during wear. I usually wear a belt but I wanted to do something to keep the fit snug all day long. In a favourite pair of RTW shorts, the back waistband has elastic added to it. I thought this was a great idea that would fix this problem - and I was right! I added some 3cm elastic into the back portion of the waistband. I didn't stretch it too much, you can't really tell it's there. And because these are fairly casual pants I think it looks ok, and practically makes for a snug fit all day long.

I don't really love sewing fly fronts. There, I've said it.
I added belt loops following a Colletterie tutorial.
I also made them slightly longer (?3cm).

I bought a decent yardage of this denim so of course had to make a matching pair for my son (with the promise to never wear them at the same time. That's a bit too matchy-matchy for me!!). I used the MADE kid shorts, racer variation.



The final pic shows me wearing these shorts, in my best mum-pose (making sure the kid doesn't fall off) on the jetty on Fraser Island, Australia's largest sand island.

 

Popular posts from this blog

Maternity Jamie Jeans

Image
Jeans in June ! And they're the Jamie Jeans by Named Patterns . That's a lot of J's. Where to start? I think it was a previous season of Project Sewn and I kept seeing these jeans pop up in the competition. Prior to this my thoughts were "Jeans - why would I EVER sew them?". Suddenly, it was " Why WOULDN'T I sew Jeans?". Just like the first Archer shirt I made (collar! buttons!) I was a bit intimidated. But then I sat down at my machine, took it step by step and I'm so happy with the result. But the twist? Well, my waistline isn't quite as trim as it was. And won't be for the next 9 months (give or take). yep, that's a baby bump! I'd cut these jeans out earlier this year, but the weather was too hot in sunny Qld I just couldn't bring myself to sew them, let alone wear them. So they sat in the UFO pile. And then the weather chilled down, and all my other pants are beginning to... ahem... feel a bit tight. So what co...
Read more

laser cut leather clutch

Image
tory birch laser cut leather clutch. This stunning emerald green leather is from The Fabric Store (Brisbane). Using their tutorial on their blog , with black leather strapping from Spotlight as "thread".  Such a quick & easy little project, looks fab, and would make a great gift. I might change up the clasp, but for now this button from my stash will do just fine (anchored into laser cuts with some hat elastic).
Read more

Tencel Colfax Dress

Image
My latest make! It's the new & shiny Colfax Dress by Kelli at True Bias. I think she has an absolute effortless style and I love everything she makes and the patterns she drafts. I have made 5 (!!) versions of her Southport Dress alone. Her patterns fit me with minimal changes needed, so we are definitely talking TNT AND #fangirl territory.  Her latest dress pattern is a lovely summer dress- cutaway/racer back style in a slightly A-line shape. The pattern has a lovely front yoke (which I then proceeded to omit... More on that soon.) I think this style is quite timeless so I used a dark Tencel for my version (Spotlight). I loved some of the inspiration ideas Kelli linked to- there are also lots of denim/chambray swing dresses to be seen on Pinterest and I don't think there's one I didn't look at! In the end I got an idea for an exposed zip in my head and I had to go down that route. This style reminds me a bit of the Tessuti Ruby dress, but I like tha...
Read more