This is my monthly feature where I road test a free sewing pattern or tutorial: sometimes a children's one, sometimes a women's one. I publish these posts every first Friday of the month, timed to provide inspiration for those of you who plan to get your sew-on over the weekend. I firmly believe that, if you pick your projects carefully, sewing doesn't have to be a crazy-expensive pass time. Thanks to all the amazing pattern designers who have offered up their hard work for us to enjoy for free.
I'm often inspired to sew for the opposite season that I'm currently experiencing. Therefore I found myself sewing a stack of summer shorts in November. And having made seven pairs now, I feel I have tested this pattern pretty thoroughly!
Pattern type:
This basic shorts pattern by Oliver + S is a fantastic staple for summer, and for sleep wear. The pattern consists of three pieces: front, back and waistband, and is an excellent stash buster, plus a blank canvas for customisation.
This basic shorts pattern by Oliver + S is a fantastic staple for summer, and for sleep wear. The pattern consists of three pieces: front, back and waistband, and is an excellent stash buster, plus a blank canvas for customisation.
Sizing info:
The pattern PDFs have been grouped into two sizing sets: 6m to 4 years, and 5 to 12 years. However, please be warned that this pattern comes up pretty small. Dolores has just turned four, and here she is wearing size 5. Frankie has just turned one, and in the picture above he's wearing size 3 (he'll be around 18 months when it'll be hot enough for him to wear these outside). The African wax fabric pair were made for a friend's son's fourth birthday, but he's big for his age, so I made him size 7 just to be on the safe side.
I'd recommend erring on the side of caution and making at least one size larger (unless the child you're making them for is little for their age). If you take an accurate waist measurement when cutting the elastic then they won't fall down, and you may be able to let out the elastic and get another season's wear from them. I always cut waist elastic 4cm shorter than the child's waist measurement, plus 2cm for an overlap which gives a bit of wriggle room if they need to be let out.
The pattern PDFs have been grouped into two sizing sets: 6m to 4 years, and 5 to 12 years. However, please be warned that this pattern comes up pretty small. Dolores has just turned four, and here she is wearing size 5. Frankie has just turned one, and in the picture above he's wearing size 3 (he'll be around 18 months when it'll be hot enough for him to wear these outside). The African wax fabric pair were made for a friend's son's fourth birthday, but he's big for his age, so I made him size 7 just to be on the safe side.
I'd recommend erring on the side of caution and making at least one size larger (unless the child you're making them for is little for their age). If you take an accurate waist measurement when cutting the elastic then they won't fall down, and you may be able to let out the elastic and get another season's wear from them. I always cut waist elastic 4cm shorter than the child's waist measurement, plus 2cm for an overlap which gives a bit of wriggle room if they need to be let out.
Fabric info:
As mentioned above, this basic pattern can be a great stash buster. The main reason I made so many pairs to test this pattern was because I kept finding small lengths of light or medium cotton in my stash. Plus, this is one of the rare sewing patterns that seem to work well in quilting cotton. The waistband could be made from a contrasting scrap of fabric if you wanted to use up even smaller pieces. I have also seen people on instagram use this pattern in stable knit.
Oliver + S always produce excellent sewing patterns, and the instructions are clear and easy to follow with great step-by-step diagrams. This is a good pattern for beginner sewers/sewists to get their teeth into, and others will enjoy a quick project with a slightly-less-common waistband/elastic casing method.
As for the finished garments themselves, here's where I reveal some entrenched gender bias that I'm not particularly proud of, but I kind of feel that the silhouette works better for boys than girls as daytime shorts. I'm totally going to let Dolores choose when she wears hers without steering her either way, but I'm kind of expecting her to use them (the stripy, fairy print and sharks print ones, and more obviously the plum check ones) as summer pyjama bottoms.
Customisation ideas:
Your options for making this pattern unique is pretty limitless. Here's some ideas:
- Add patches or appliqué (I stitched on a section of woven ribbon on the stripy pair like a little label)
- Add piping, lace, ricrac or braid in the waist seam or side seams
- Cut the waistband from contrasting fabric
- Add patch pockets to the front or back
- Add in-seam pockets
- Split the pattern pieces to create colour-blocking
- Lengthen the legs to make bermuda-length shorts (like the African wax fabric pair below) or into trousers/pyjama bottoms (like the plum checked pair Dolores is modelling)
- Stitch the seams on the waistband and hem in a contrasting coloured thread
- Make a bow from ribbon, braid or cotton tape and stitch to the centre front of the waistband for a faux-drawstring effect
Would I make it again?
Most definitely! It's great to have a pattern on hand to help turn random half-metres of cotton fabric into useful, wearable kid's clothes.
