Who wears short shorts?

Or, a study on trousers.  For whatever reason, making a pair of trousers seems so daunting to me.  Perhaps it is because of my two epic fails earlier this year.  Both pairs are sitting in my wadder pile, waiting to be ripped out and re-fitted.  I decided that making shorts might be a good solution to conquer my fear.  I would work on fitting and techniques without the investment of an ENTIRE pair of pants.  You know what I mean.  It's a different level of commitment when the garment goes past your knees.

Why, Tommie, you may ask, do you feel like you need to make a pair of trousers?  Well, let's start with the obvious.  I don't like getting wedgies.  I figured that if I could make my own trousers, I could fix the rise issues and avoid the wedgies all together. Secondly, in the world of shapes, I am not a pear, or an apple, or an hourglass.  I am a rectangle.  That's right.  No waist.  My shoulders, waist and hips are all about the same diameter.  Pattern makers and RTW clothing all assume that you have a waist.  Therefore, I usually squeeze in and get the dreaded muffin top.  It's not cute.

So, my objective in making shorts is simple:  no wedgies and no muffin top.

I started with a Cynthia Rowley trouser pattern (Simplicity 1783) and went from there.  These shorts are my second make from that pattern and I trimmed off about 1/4" from each side in this make.  The fly front construction notes are so good...the diagrams and instructions make it very easy.  I cut these out last week and sewed them this weekend. 

Here's a picture of them on my cutting table. I traced the original pattern and just folded up the pant leg to the desired short length.  I do cut out my dart lines...I find this to be much easier for marking (in case you were wondering).

The fly front during constuction.

And me...hello.  The shorts look a little wrinkly.  : (

Overall, my hubby said, "Those look really good."  And he's the type of person who would ask me "Are you wearing THAT?"

So there you go.  I promise the pictures will be better going forward...I had to ask my 8 year old to take the one of me...she doesn't have the patience!

Starting...

So, I decided that I wanted to start a blog.  I've been playing with the idea for some time, and I finally got around to figuring all this Blogger stuff out.  It probably makes sense for me to tell you a little about myself...

• I'm a mom to two beautiful girls and one very cute, but rotten dog
• Married and have a wonderful husband
• Work full time
• Runner (dabbling in triathlons)
• Type A
• Can't tell a joke or a story to save my life

My mother is a professional seamstress and is the most amazing home sewist.  She can make anything.  I used to sit with her when I was a little girl and make shorts and simple elastic waist band skirts.  I remember being so proud of myself for creating something from nothing.  I never had the patience though - so I stopped sewing for a long time.

For the last several years, I have been learning to sew again. I wanted to experience the creative process again and this seemed like a good idea.  I realized very quickly that I needed to learn a lot.  The first few garments I made were a complete train wreck!  Needless to say, I wanted to expand my skills so I could make the beautiful garments that are in my mind.  So, this is my journey/challenge:  In an effort to improve my sewing skills, I will not purchase any clothing items for one year.  This blog will chronicle my progress and learning - wadders and all.