At the beginning of summer there was a request from my eldest for new shorts; she had grown out of all the pairs I had made last summer (or was it the summer before?).
The pattern I’d previously used was the Lily Bird Studio Shorts with Pockets pattern it goes up to age 8 which now she is nearly 10 would be a bit on the small side. So I thought I would try the Sunny Day shorts free pattern from Oliver and S. Bethan chose fabrics from my stash, I’m just discovering that she likes green!
Bethan and I made these together. I did the cutting out but she did most of the sewing. We made a size 10 and added pockets from the Lily Bird Studio shorts with pockets pattern.
The crotch was stitched as advised in the pattern and finished with a zig zag stitch to avoid fraying. I think it’s always worth reinforcing the seams on childrens clothes especially when they like running around playing football.
I then made another pair; again with the fabrics of her choice:
I’m glad we added pockets, they add a nice touch to the shorts and my children love to have somewhere to put stuff. They are also an opportunity to add detail, I love the binding on the pocket :
On both pairs we stitched a flat fell seam on the inseam and the outseam of the shorts, giving a neat and tidy finish on the inside and extra stitching detail on the outside.
As mentioned the pattern is available as a free download and if you’re new to sewing children’s clothes (and even if you;re not) you will find detailed photo tutorials on the Oliver and S blog, well worth a read before you start.
I’m hoping we’ll get a few more weeks of wear out of these before the are put away until next summer.
They are brilliant! She has brilliant fabric taste and I think everything is better with pockets, even as an adult!
Very nice! Although I hope none of the ‘stuff’ unexpectedly makes it into the washing machine 😉
Fabulous shorts Mary and Bethan has inherited your good fabric taste!