Another Round of Spots - New Look 6100

First of all thank you  SarahLiz for confirming I am a light Spring because it is easy to second guess yourself
even after going through the steps on the site a couple of times .
Barbara  here is the link -  www.thechicfashionista.com .  This will take you to the main site .Then click on fashion 101 at the top and then on colors . I tried to link directly but it didn`t work for some reason.  Also  I hope the site doesn`t have any issues with it but for what it is worth it doesn`t seem to ( this coming from a virtual computer illiterate ) .
BeaJay - Exactly !!  your thoughts about the colour analysis what if you don`t really like them or you love ones that aren`t in your group - life is too short to be conscripted to certain rules . However I realise that  I tend towards the colours that suit me   - I prefer cream over white , navy over black , softer muted colours over  really bright ones anyway.

OK , onto the shorts. I have made three pairs of New Look 6100 this year with one pair yet to come !
Two pairs were muslins - black and white spots and navy and white spots plain cotton before moving onto the `real ` fabric - a stretch cotton sateen with a circle pattern  from Spotlight last year . In the end I went down two sizes from my daughter `s measurements because the ease added was a lot and I was using a stretch fabric and she did not want baggy shorts.

The I have to maintain my status as favourite child pose. Just a family joke really and honestly .  

The I can`t  believe I am posting this on the internet shot. 

The shorts has a curved waist band/ yoke, front angled pockets and a side zip . They were fairly simple and came together well but trying to pattern  match circles in the front, sides, yokes, pockets  etc sent me loopy and in the end didn`t work out  the way  I wanted ( but I don`t think DD cares ) . I should say I made the straight leg pair but there is a flared leg version which would  look good in a drapey patterned rayon .

The real pair of shorts with my annoying pathetic attempt at pattern matching . 

Now my eldest DD wants a pair just like above and because I bought a ridiculous amount of fabric there is enough left over ( but I am sneaking in some selfish sewing for me beforehand )
PS I should clarify I don`t have a favourite child and because very rarely my family looks at this blog I love you all !

Kwik Sew 3854- Sailor Star Shorts

As I sit here safe and snug in my home I admit it doesn`t feel right to be writing something as trivial as a sewing post so I am sending all my wishes to those who are being affected by Hurricane Sandy that all will be safe but according to the live new reports it is certainly going to be a terrible event.

My middle daughter did not want to buy any new clothes this summer instead she wanted me to sew her a pair of shorts and a dress and I can now tick one off the list.
She wanted a vintage feel to her shorts and something a bit different. After a marathon trip to Spotlight and searching literally every pattern catalogue she chose Kwik Sew 3854  and navy blue twill printed with white stars .

Trying to live by my motto of RRR - Reduce, Recycle and Reuse we went through my stash and she found a remnant of soft cotton - maroon /navy houndstooth and six gold buttons from a previous 90s project ( when gold buttons were all the rage ).
I thought I was so clever to be able to cut out the side and back waist band pieces and pocket pieces as she wanted from the remnant . I thought I had been careful in tracing out all the pattern pieces but  it  seems my skills in counting are as good as my talents in trying to persuade my middle DD to model the shorts. I had not cut out the main pocket piece that is on show and I did not have enough fabric left to cut them. My daughter looked crestfallen and wanted me to start all over again. Luckily I had just enough fabric to cut bias strips to sew along the pocket opening edge  and she was happy with that - phew - I admit I can be a bit lazy in some ways.

The shorts open by the flap in the front unlike your usual pants.

As per usual the Kwik Sew instructions were excellent = clear and concise with good diagrams. They clearly explain about understitching and the correct procedure for trimming seams. The only things I did differently were to sew the side seams last to get in an extra fitting opportunity and finished the waist bands with some satin bias binding. I also managed to sew up the gap at the front flap/ inner pockets more than suggested because my daughter could easily get the shorts on .

Another inner shot .

Overall these are a cute pair of shorts and I would recommend this pattern . Another bonus is they don`t take much fabric at all so they were alot cheaper than buying any RTW pair. At the end of the day my daughter is happy she got the unique pair she wanted. Now hopefully she will like the dress to come.  Stay Safe . Cheers Janine.