Monday 23 July 2012

Shorts on the Line...

Denim is a staple part of my wardrobe. Jeans would have to be the one article of clothing I just couldn't do without. And, much as I love all the fabulous prints that are around, denim is still my favourite fabric for kids' shorts and pants. It's hard wearing, doesn't show stains easily, but most of all, it looks so cute on kids.

As denim is a rather thick fabric, I wanted to top stitch all the seams for comfort. Easily done on all seams except the side seams. As there are pockets inserted in the side seams, I couldn't see how I could topstitch the seams without stitching up the pockets. My solution was to do a row of hand stitching. At the pockets, I just sewed through the top two layers of fabric and not the whole pocket.


Once my hand stitching was done, I decided the shorts could do with some more stitching. I didn't want another row of hand stitching around the hem. Then I remembered the machine embroidery I'd seen earlier this week on a cushion. From there, my mind jumped back to the Retro Flower Power Pillow I'd done some machine embroidery on. Problem solved... one row of machine embroidery to secure the hem. As these shorts are for a boy, I played with stitches to find one that wasn't too flowery. Thanks Fiona!

Can you see the stitching in the seam to secure the elastic? My stitching in the ditch is improving!!!

Once again, I've used the Mud Puddle Splashers pattern. Bonnie, from Fishsticks Designs, has created this pattern specifically for charity sewing, but she is happy for shorts to be made for our own kids, once we have sewn some for charity. Using Bonnie's pattern, I made five pairs of shorts for the July sew-along, with Kristy over at Hopeful Threads. These denim shorts are for a little member of my family.

It's not too late to join in with Kristy's sew along this month. There are some fabulous prizes!!! You can see all the shorts that have been sewn so far in the Flickr group.

I'm posting my denim shorts in the Shorts on the Line Flickr group, run by Imagine Gnats.

shorts on the line button Shorts Button

... Pam

11 comments:

  1. I love the cute embellishment you've done on these shorts. Also, the right kind of denim is SO comfortable. My favorite as well.

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  2. They look great, I love all the extra stitching detail you did.

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  3. More great shorts Pam! I agree - you can't go past denim for hard wearing kids clothes!



    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  4. Love that decorative stitching! I really must use my decorative stitches more often, even just for hemming. I have a very basic model machine but there are still a lot of stitches to choose from - I don't thing I've ever used anything but my straight and zig zag stitch!

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  5. Fabulous! Love the special touches of the stitching you've added Pam!

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  6. nice job, I am a denim lover too and could be without it! I haven't tried to sew shorts in years, maybe I should try to make some for me!

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  7. These look great! Love the top stitching details. Thanks for sharing at Etcetorize this week~

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  8. Pam, I love the detailing on these shorts! Wish my old sewing machine made decorative stitches like that. Too cute!

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  9. Love the big stitches down the side.:)

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  10. I love denim too, it's so versatile! And those shorts are super cute, you did a great job on them :-) Thanks so much for sharing at The Fun In Functional!

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  11. These look great! Thanks for linking up at the Creative Genius Link Party!

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