Thursday 26 September 2013

17

Selfish Sewing: Maritime Shorts

maritime shorts cover

In case you didn't notice, I am a Featured Stitcher on Made With Moxie's blog today with a pattern review for her and Imagine Gnat's Selfish Sewing Week.  When Jill asked if I'd be willing to review a pattern I jumped at the chance to a) actually make something for myself for fun and b) step out of my comfort zone and learn some new skills.  The Maritime Shorts from Grainline Studio fit the bill on both counts as not only have I never sewn myself woven shorts (or trousers for that matter) but I've also never sewn a zipper fly.  Shocking.

maritime shorts close

The printing, taping and tracing was a doddle and my measurements corresponded to a straight size 8 without blending between sizes.  Aiming for a wearable muslin for my first time, I used a nice teal thick canvas as it's already very autumnal in Scotland (as evidenced by the mid-shoot sweater addition- let's just say it was noticeably cold).  In hindsight, this wasn't the very best fabric to choose but more on that later.

maritime shorts back

I absolutely love the two cute pockets to the back; between these pockets and the tiny pocket I sewed on my Tumble Tee I think I've got a burgeoning pocket obsession.  Could they be behind my two cute pockets on the Panelled Pinafore?  Perhaps.  Crisp pressed edges, neat top-stitching, triangle corners... what's not to love?  And now the moment of truth... just how did I get on with that fly?  Not too shabby.  I admit that I had some issues with figuring out exactly how it would work (there is a separate tutorial on the Grainline blog with pictures that helped a lot) and I made some mistakes.  Clue: when she says baste she actually means baste because that stitching comes out later.  Despite knowing in my heart of hearts that no good would come of stitching both sides of a zipper face down, my cavalier attitude towards basting zippers (clue: nobody has time for that) won and my prize was a seam-ripper.  See also: baste the fly shield.

maritime shorts inside

Now that we're looking at the inside, I'll extrapolate a bit about the problem I had with this fabric - it has no right or wrong side.  Not a problem where the main pieces were concerned, but the cutting instructions had the waistband facings in the same fabric as the body fabric so I had two back pieces, two front right pieces, and two front left pieces in the same fabric, looking the same on both sides, and it all went haywire.  Because of the fly, the front left and right pieces are not symmetrical.  First I ironed interfacing onto the wrong pieces and had to cut them again.  And then I assembled the waistband wrong.  Finally I decided to find the precise back, front left and front right pieces needed to do the waistband correctly, set them aside and cut facings out of the pocket lining fabric.  In the end, this was a good idea as the canvas is so thick that a self-faced (with interfacing as well!) waistband would've been very bulky.  While we're talking about the pocket lining fabric, I also want to mention that you might need to notch the curve of the lining before pining and stitching it on, I just couldn't manage it without.

 maritime shorts full

I made one final schoolgirl error (entirely my own, no fault of the pattern!) in that I fitted it before attaching the waistband.  I have a tremendous swayback from my long career of standing louche-ly and when I tried it on I ascertained that I should pinch out an inch at centre back.  So I did, amended my waistband to reflect and soldiered on.  What I forgot, however, is that what I lack in the centre back I make up for in the centre front and that extra inch would be desirous at waistband height.   It's not a disaster and they're still wearable but I think I'll go right back to the original pattern for my next go.   Overall, I'm very pleased with how they turned out and I'm looking forward to making more for the summer in snazzier fabrics.

Disclosure: I received this pattern free as part of Selfish Sewing Week. All opinions my own.

17 comments:

  1. They look great! Love the contrast lining fabric, its like it was meant to be there!
    Oh how I wish my legs would suit short shorts!

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    1. Tights help a lot! Although that being said I wear short-short in the summer on account of giving zero sh*ts :) Totally agree that the lining fabric should always be there, made the process a million times more straight-forward.

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  2. Oh, I like them - I agree with Cassandra that it looks meant to be with the inside lining material. But does the pattern count for making them longer or will they look weird then? - the website doesn't really show a longer option and I really don't want short shorts!

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    1. They do have a pretty short inseam (and the hem is a double fold 1/4") but they wouldn't be *quite* so short if I hadn't removed the wedge at the back as it brought the whole rise up higher. I think if you were wanting to make them longer you would have to adjust the angle of the side seams slightly to make it less angled (rather than just extend the line as it'd end up too flared). Not un-doable!

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  3. Very nice! I've been wanting to try out this pattern too. Your fabric sounds like a nightmare but at least they look good in the end. Thanks for the tips!

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    1. You'd rock these shorts for sure! Sometimes it's good to have a fabric without a right and wrong side but this time was not one of them :)

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  4. super cute! Your fly looks great (perfect pick up line...) My first fly-zipper was a miserable disaster.

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    1. That pick up line would probably work on me :)

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  5. they're perfect, and I really love the pop of color with an otherwise all-black outfit. Your waist is so tiny! I think the rise on these would be too high for me and hit at my flabbiest part. I need my shorts' rise to be about 17 inches below my belly button to not cut into any loose skin and make it puff out over my waistband. Do they have a lower/raise line in the pattern?

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    1. I prefer a much lower rise too, I think most of my trousers have a toddler sized zip. I didn't notice an adjustment line, but I think it'd be pretty straight-forward (says the trouser novice) to lower it. These ones are also not quite so high waisted as they look- because of the hash I made with the zipper it somehow ended up being a shorter / higher fly that intended.

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  6. they look cute on you (as always) and I can relate to the zip-problems. I have made the moss skirt a while back (and plan to make another one) and I hated the zipper fly construction method Jen uses. I loved everything else though... (the way the waist band is attached - a dream come true - makes my skirt look so professional) I am not new to zipper flys - infact the first garment I sewed for myself back in 2007 was a pair of linen trousers (and I still wear those) and since then I have made a couple more jeans/trousers for myself. I ended up doing the zip three times - twice I tried to follow the instructions but then I gave up and used the tried-and-true Ottobre method... I actually send an email to Jen about my problems with the zip-fly-construction but she did not respond. Maybe next time I will make the skirt (or those shorts - they look very tempting for next summer, my wardrobe is lacking a good pair of shorts) I will just add more seam allowance where the fly sits...

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    1. okay, my aol-ID always makes for fun "names" above any blog comments.
      This is Susanne (IG ID lily28923) - have a nice day. I'll go and check out the lovely fabric in your shop that I do not have a budget for yet - maybe I'll treat myself to some of that goodness for Christmas)

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    2. Yeah, when I googled the zipper construction for the Maritimes there were other people who struggled with it too. I was tempted to try other methods people recommended as alternatives but as I didn't know what I was doing I didn't know if I would need to change any of the pattern pieces. I shall look at the Ottobre method!

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  7. I like your long sleeve and leggings with shorts styling. I mean when you put your heart into making something who wants to put it away for the Winter? Thanks for sharing, you look beautiful.

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  8. Your shorts look great! Love the color you pricked! I love this pattern. I've made 2 pairs. Check mine out on my blog

    Sewcharleston.wordpress.com

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  9. Your shorts look great! I love the color fabric you used.:)
    The Ottobre way for a zip fly was the only way I knew how to do one. The instructions for this one threw me a bit but in the end, I thought it worked out fine. I like the fit of the Maritime shorts on K, especially after I added darts in the back and did different pockets. I'm not convinced yet for me...there's parts I like (lower rise, front pockets, wider waistband, shaped waistband) but I think the back needs some shaping for my big booty, like darts or even a yoke.

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