The experimental shorts: the crushing verdict

In the world of patternmaking, I like to persist with things and Get It Right.  It’s not often I give up easily on a project.

Last week I experimented with a short/trousers draft, which I found in one of my old sketchbooks.  Unfortunately I hadn’t dated it or noted the source, but I might have seen it on Pinterest (although I didn’t pin it to any of my boards).

I’ve since sewed them up properly and finished them off.  I made some adjustments noted last week to improve the fit, and put a separate elastic waist on.  The main problem is their appearance, which is a pretty important criteria!  The shorts are very baggy at the centre front and back crotch, and the fabric bulges as well as gathers…unless one is jumping on the trampoline doing the splits in the air: for a fraction of a second, all fits well!

I tried them on my favourite nine-year-old.  She said they were very comfortable and ended up wearing them for the rest of the day (she hasn’t worn them since though….).

Yes, there are better ways to cut shorts/trousers, however, it’s good to try these things and accept that not all ideas that look feasible on paper actually work well in reality.

Cheers!