Drawstring Linen + Viscose Shorts and Navy Tee

Orange and Navy- Two of my very favorite colors! I’ve been planning on sewing up some shorts for quite some time but just couldn’t find a pattern I liked. I drafted this pattern using my pant sloper and so far so good. This is the first very wearable muslin so the pattern still needs a few tweaks. I’ve also made and remade these shorts since photographing these images back in May. It’s been so hot/rainy lately that I just haven’t had the energy to retake all the photos. Especially since I have a huge lineup of makes that are still in need of pics.

These are one of the few planned looks for Spring/Summer that I’ve actually completed! The shorts turned out almost exactly how I envisioned them and the scoop tee is simple and comfy. The shorts are self drafted while the tee is a modified version of Jalie 2805 -my fav basic tee- with a scooped out neckline. Jalie patterns are the best. Great drafting and instructions plus having all the sizes from child to adult means I can make them up for my daughter and myself. This is the same fabric I used for my last Jalie 3131 Tank and it’s so soft and silky. I’ll get a ton of wear from this tee in the fall. Right now I’m in tank tops every day to beat the heat!

Construction Details:

I designed the shorts two have a two piece front with an inserted pocket in the side panel that extends the full length of the short. The waist panel has an inserted drawstring (a navy shoelace) as well as inserted elastic. Currently the waist elastic is 1″ but at the time these were photographed I was out of that size elastic so it had 1/2″. I had left the seam open so I could switch it out as soon as possible but still be able to wear them.

The back has welt pockets which I’ll probably skip next time. At this point they’re faux. I stitched them down and closed and removed the pocket bags. I like the look but in the linen they were a real hassle to have to iron and kept bunching up. Plus they are very crooked looking in the images which I didn’t realize until after taking pics! Totally remedied now. Another change is I removed the cuff. It was pressed up and sewn at the seams but again, a pain with ironing. I’ll probably do a fitted waist with a front zip on my next version. These are comfy but I just prefer a smooth waist and hipline.

Fabrics-

Silky Linen & Viscose – Burnt Orange – 1 1/2 meters OOS. Blackbird Fabrics

Bamboo Jersey Knit Solid Navy 2 yds Stylemaker Fabrics

Below you can see detail shots of how the shorts currently look:

We’re in the very lazy days of summer here. Lots of rain followed by crazy heat. At least my garden looks amazing! The vine in the pic below is now twice that size! And all my summer flowers are in full bloom.

At this point my kids just want to vedge and play video games. I sure can’t blame them. We rarely get outdoors in late summer other than beach trips. Summer in Florida is our indoor time much like winters up north. Exploring nature and playing outside is so much nicer the rest of the year. Looking forward to the cooler days of fall so we can get back to our family walks and the kids can play outside comfortably.

Luckily school starts up Aug. 19th (online to start the year because of our high Covid #’s) so I’m looking forward to the daily structure and maybe a bit more time to myself. I’ve been a bit burnt out lately but slowly getting my sewing mojo back. I sewed up some matching rashguards and leggings for Ami and I (in pale pink and dark grey knit) and made myself a new bra set. Plus I have some lovely fabrics from Blackbird on order.

Back soon with more new makes! Happy Summer sewing!