MeMadeMay 2019 day 5

“MeMadeMay (2019) day 5. Can you tell how much I love ridiculous prints yet? Chicago weather is insane (it was 40 degrees yesterday, 70+ today) so I got to pull out my favorite shorts a bit earlier than expected. They were made form one of those 70’s era one-yard shorts patterns (Simplicity 6946 from 1975), but I had about… barely a half yard of the pink print. (A friend had bought enough to make throw pillows before giving in to the inevitable and foisting the fabric on me.) I had probably about 6 square inches left at the end of the day. These shorts always get worn with a belt because, after 3+ years, I’m still too lazy to put the button into the waistband.”

Chalk one up in the “things I absolutely would not have remembered” column, that these shorts go all the way back to 2016 or so. I guess that makes sense though, considering how ultimately short-lived the friendship was with the gal who gifted me that fabric.

I didn’t actually end up putting a button on the waistband at all, which was probably wise, because my sewing machine absolutely hates making buttonholes (to the point where I make them by hand now, if I have to do it at all). I did end up putting a skirt hook and bar in instead, which is my general go-to whenever I make shorts now.

This pair of shorts (and, actually, this entire outfit, which I still have every part of, including that belt which is falling to pieces) is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. I took a lot of time and care in the finishing of them, and they have nice topstitching around the waistband and two rows of stitching on the hem. And, in spite of the fact that I had to do some very suspect grading on the original pattern, I managed to do it well enough that I’ve made this exact pair of shorts three times. (I graded the pattern twice, in fact, because I made these and a second pair, promptly outgrew them, and graded the original pattern *again* to accommodate and made a third pair!)

As always, if you’re new to the blog, or to MeMadeMay, you can read my overview here!