shorts

The slowest project ever? Velvet shorts

Thanks so much for all the lovely comments about my Burda coat. I couldn’t have got the fit right without the help of the sewing blogsphere; you’re all wonderful!

I haven’t sewn anything new I can show since finishing the coat. I’ve been tracing patterns and making a muslin for a dress for my sister. But I do have a little project I made earlier this year and never blogged about. I think this garment has had the longest gestation of anything in my entire wardrobe.

When we were undergraduates, a scarily long time ago, one of my friends had a pair of black velvet short shorts which she wore with black tights. She always looked amazing in them: sophisticated and sexy. So when I made my first pair of shorts this spring and shortly afterwards got my hands on a remnant of black velvet I knew what I was going to make.

Burda 111 06/2011

The trouble with black velvet is that it drinks up the light even more than most black fabrics so there’s not a lot to see in the pictures. The shorts haven’t got much in the way of external detail anyway. They close with a zip in the side seam and they have inseam pockets. The original Burda pattern (111-06-2011) had patch pockets on the back but I wanted a very smooth line so I left them off.

Burda 111 06/2011

I lined them in cotton poplin and bound the edges of the waist facing in black cotton bias. I love this finish on waistbands. It’s easy to do with a binder foot and it looks so neat and tidy.

Inside waistband of black velvet shorts

I’m not saying how many years it is between the original pair of shorts and my copy. I’m claiming this is a completely timeless style!

Save

I made shorts!

I finally did it. I made shorts. They are not the most perfect shorts the world has ever seen, but I think they’ve actually turned out wearable. I’m really pleased with the results. Thank-you all for your good advice and encouragement! I really can’t imagine sewing without the Internet sewing community.

Burda 111 06/2011

The pattern is 111A-06-2011 from BurdaStyle magazine. It’s also available to purchase as a PDF download. I picked the style because it has a side zip which I figured would be easier than a fly closure for a first attempt at trousers. The design is extremely simple. The only real detail is the cute patch pockets on the back.

Burda 111 06/2011

There are inseam side pockets as well. Putting an invisible zip into a seam with a pocket attached was easier than I expected. The side in this photo is the one without the zip, which surprisingly came out looking worse than the zip side. It looks OK in this picture, but it’s a bit wobbly in real life. I think it could use a bit of understitching and stay tape to stabilize the pocket edge and side seam. My fabric is a stretch cotton twill and the pattern is intended for non-stretch fabric.

Burda 111 06/2011

Using stretch fabric makes it a bit difficult to judge the fit, but I think it’s come out OK. The only thing I want to adjust is to let the side seams out a very small amount. I should have realised I needed to do that in advance, but I didn’t look at the size chart carefully enough.

I hitched my jumper up in most of the photos so the waistband is visible, but in practice I’m far more likely to wear these shorts like this.
Burda 111 06/2011

I wonder if I can get away with these at work. Perhaps without the purple tights.

Anyway this bodes well for trouser-making! I’ve just acquired some really nice black stretch denim for an attempt at some Burda stovepipe trousers. Wish me luck.

Save