Magic In My Shorts

This post is about actual literal shorts, so get your mind out of the gutter people!  Disappointed?  Don't be, these shorts are pure magic.

Sewing magic is what happens when you step outside your comfort zone and end up creating something really fantastic as a result.  I have never really liked shorts because they are always too reveling and also a bit too casual for my style (yes, I am a fancy lady).  But the Iris pattern is a lovely vintage inspired exception. Wishing for the J. Crew shorts I blogged about last week, I  made these white brocade ones  (after the blue and white ones I used as a practice pair, which are shown at the end of the post) in my own size for so much less money:

And then I made these beautiful green ones:

Front. 

Back.

Lovely bias tape was used to cover the zipper edges. 

Ahhh!  So pretty! They turned out exactly how they looked in my head, if not even a bit better.

Sadly, I can't lie to myself and believe for a moment that these shorts will have a long shelf life and not because I'm afraid they wont stay on trend (I'm not really sure that that semi-high waisted brocade shorts were really the "in thing" to begin with) but because they are so fragile.  Shorts were meant to be durable and these shorts are anything but.  I think I snagged them already by accidentally breathing to hard near them.

However, that is the nature of brocade.  It is beautiful, but overly delicate and snag prone.  This delicious  fabric was designed to break your heart.  No matter, I will cherish my time with these shorts, however short (puny!) our time together will be.  All they are is sparkly thread in the wind.  Thread in the wind.  All they are is thread in the wind. 

Then there are these lovely durable ones that I made as well. I have had these ones cut out and ready to sew since last summer, but I wanted to figure out how to make waist bands properly before I made them, and so they waited.  for some reason waist bands made no sense to me until recently.  Now it feels obvious, but of course once you learn something it seems like you always should have known it. 

Inside waistband.

Pocket. 

I feel sorry for these little blue and white shorts because if I hadn't made them just before I made my gorgeous brocade ones, they would have been my favorite thing.  Alas, I did make them just before, so I'm not sure how much sunlight they will actually see.  They are quite nice though, if just a bit on the snug side.  I'm glad I made them first as a practice pair so that I could adjust the brocade ones accordingly before I cut into the not-so-cheep fabric.  I am really committed to making muslin's (or practice pairs) from here on out.  I am very lazy and impatient (as I have blogger about many times) and hate to have to make practice garments, but finished products in my best fabric turn out so much nicer when I do. 

So there you have it folks-the loveliest shorts in the world (did I mention they all have pockets???).  All of these shorts are brought to you today by the letter A (for awesome!), and by the Iris pattern, which is the only pattern I will ever need for shorts. When it gets a bit warmer I will blog about these again to show how well a size 8 can rock fashion shorts. It will be glorious, though I am a bit scared that the first time I wear each brocade pair will be the last since they are so stinking snag prone. 

So, are you impressed and jealous of my mad skills at making weird shinny shorts?  Don't worry. I know you are.  Stay tuned, because I have several new patterns coming in the mail soon.  Lets see if I can finally figure out pants (everyone starts holding their breath in anticipation)!