Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Kwik Sew 3614 shorts ... and September!



Way back in July I noticed a dearth of shorts in my wardrobe. I'm not a big fan of shorts ... specifically, I'm not a big fan of how shorts look on me. Mostly because I don't tan at all and my white legs scare people, but also because I don't like wearing anything higher than just above my knee. Since I have a spiffy new sewing machine, I decided to make some shorts that met my requirements and I feel comfortable wearing on the hotter days of summer.

Enter Kwik Sew 3614, a pattern I first read about on Sewn. Elizabeth had mentioned how members of Pattern Review raved about the fly construction instruction on these shorts, and after making a couple pairs, I have to agree -- fly fronts can be tricky, but it's smooth sailing with this pattern.

My first pair was constructed out of lavender-colored cotton twill I purchased a few years ago from Fabric Place. I traced and cut a size L and followed the directions for view A (the longest version) exactly, making no modifications. The shorts came out well and I've worn them a lot this summer. My only dislikes were having hook and eye closures on the closure tab. I decided with my next pair I'd use a button and buttonhole.

My second pair are the ones I'm wearing in the photos above. I can't remember where I got the fabric, a navy blue cotton twill ... either Joann's or Sewfisticated Fabrics in Framingham. The button/buttonhole closure works much better. For future shorts I plan to use a contrasting facing on the waistband, as well as softer pocket fabric. I used matching twill to make pockets for both pairs of shorts. They're fine, but maybe a little bulkier than I'd like.

This is a great pattern and I will definitely get my money's worth from it as I have plans for olive, white, and red shorts for next summer.

Since I took a bit of a blog break for the last six weeks, here's what else is going on. My mother and I took a week-long trip to central Maine in August and had a wonderful time. I didn't take any pictures (bah!) except for a shot of my yarn haul from Halcyon Yarn in Bath.  I'll do a run down of what I purchased in a separate post.

I've been a bit down because my father and stepmother are going through a painful divorce. It's not a bitter one, just very sad because of the circumstances. I'm hoping that once the smoke clears, things will get better.

Then my husband's car died. We were down to one car for the last few years, so it has been necessary to do some car shopping. It looks like I'll be getting a new VW Jetta by the end of the week. It's funny because VW was not on my "car-buying radar" until I rented one a couple weeks ago and fell in love. Even better, my son loves it and my husband, while not a fan of practical four-door sedans, admits that it's a smooth, responsive ride.

And oh, that cat you see above? That's Winston. I'l write more about him in another post, but we decided after a year of having no cats it was time to welcome a new cat into our home ... and hearts. We adore Winston ... he is a sweet, lovable, friendly guy. And even better,  he doesn't chase my yarn.

What have you been up to this summer? Are you glad it's September?

1 comment:

  1. Those shorts are great! That's the same length I like my shorts to be, which is probably because I also have legs that don't really tan. I'm sorry to hear about your father and stepmother. Divorce in a family is never easy, no matter how civil both parties are during the process. Congrats on the new cat!

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