A Short Tutorial

I have a confession.My idea of clothes shopping is to go to my closet, get my favorite pattern, and find the fabric in my collection; and start sewing. Our shorts were looking a bit ragged. So, I took a trip to the closet. It may seem boring, but I have been sewing this same shorts pattern for myself for decades! When something fits, and is comfortable, why change?! I have sewn them in cotton, linen, rayon, silk and supplex nylon. It only consumes about a yard of fabric, and a couple of hours.
On this trip to my fabric stash, I found a piece of cotton sheeting that was a remainder of a quilt back I dyed. I thought I would share with you how I construct a pair of shorts.

The first thing is to cut the fabric. Lay it on the grain, all that good stuff. I use a rotary cutter and cutting mat for all my projects. It really is the best way to go. These shorts feature an elastic waist, deep front pockets, rear patch pockets, and a crotch gusset.

Nine Pattern Pieces

Any edges which could ravel, and won't be sewn into a seam, get finished with the serger. In this case, only the rear pockets need to be clean finished. If you don't have a serger, use a zigzag stitch. 

Inside the back pocket. See the finished edge?

The ironing board comes next. As you can see in the above photo, I turn the edges under and press them into place. I work on any piece that will need the iron: the curve on the front pocket, and the inside edge of the front pocket facing.

Front Curve, turned and pressed under. Ready for top-stitching!

Just a mere 1/8" on the pocket lining. 

Back to the sewing machine. Time to top-stitch. I like to use the edge stitching foot whenever I can. It delivers professional results. I use on the first pass each time, and then line up the next row of stitching with it. 

Edge Stitching foot. It practically drives itself!

The Second row of Top-stitching. 

I start assembling the front parts; the pocket lining is sewn on after the curve is stitched down. Now, the original 9 pieces are down to 7.

The Fronts. 

 Progress. On to the back. The rear pockets are pressed, and the top edge has been top-stitched. Pin them on the back, and do the edge stitch and a parallel row. That's done.

Pinned and ready.

The Backs.

See there, down to 5 parts! Most shorts do not use a gusset, but it has been a part of all my pants and shorts since 1988. Seriously, I am into comfort. Back in '88, we designed and made custom turnouts for the Clark County High Angle Rescue Squad (CHARS), and all the pants had gussets, and the men loved it! The gusset is sewn on to the left back, serged, and top-stitched. The right back is attached next. Hey, look at that, if I only had a butt I'd be done! 

The back, with gusset.

The serger, cleaning those edges.

Right front. Left front. No orphaned parts. Leftover pieces would mean something was terribly wrong!

The front: sewn at the gusset and sides. No spare parts!

All the seams are top-stitched and complete! I run the raw waist edge through the serger and get the elastic ready. My elastic seems to have a curve in it, and I will take advantage of it and match it to my own curves. I butt the cut ends of the elastic together and put a scrap of fabric under it. Then I zigzag over it to form it into a circle.

My preferred joining method.

The elastic marked in quarters.

Match the quartered elastic with the shorts seams. CAREFULLY pin into place. Then, top-stitch 1/4" from the fold. Lots of stretching and another row of stitching 1 1/8" away. That secures the elastic. Hem the legs and wear for the next 8 months!

The Finished Shorts: Front

The Back

Pretty cool!