Pattern Hacks

Pattern Hack – Making Lined Shorts (Part 2)

If you missed part 1, check it out here. It includes the link to the free pattern I’m using.

For this pair, I’m using a cotton lycra for the inside layer and athletic knit for the outer layer. I’m using the Tupelo shorts by Sew Like My Mom again. It’s such an easy pattern! I cut the green layer about an inch shorter than the pattern (DS doesn’t want the shorts to be too long). The gray layer is cut to the pattern.

For this pair I sewed the inseams first.

I decided to hem the legs at this point. It seemed like it would be easier to do it before assembling the shorts. You can use your double needle or zigzag for a different finish.

Slide on lining (the gray) inside the main fabric leg (a green leg in this case) making sure that the right side of the lining is on the wrong side of the outside. In this case, the right side of the gray is against the wrong side of the green. I clipped them together to make sure that everything lined up.

Repeat on the other side. You should now have two mirrored pieces.

Turn one leg set inside out – in this case the gray is on the outside now.

Slide the leg with the right side showing (green in this case) inside the other leg. You should now have four layers – lining, right side, right side, lining.

Basically the outside fabric (the green) is now sandwiched between the lining.

Note that the right sides of the green are together. The right side of the gray is against the wrong side of the green. Sew the seam.

Turn them right side out and breathe a sigh of relief when all the layers are where you want them!

Attach the waistband per the directions. I put elastic in mine because the fabric doesn’t have great recovery.

Make sure that you get all four layers in your seam.

Admire your work! It really isn’t that hard and now that you know how to do it, the next pair will be easier.

Pattern Hack – Making Lined Gym Shorts plus a Free Pattern


*This post contains affiliate links.

Have you seen gym shorts that have two layers? Usually a light knit underlayer and then a stretchy mesh kind of top layer? Well, I decided that it can’t be that hard to make them without buying a special pattern. Guess what? I was right! My boys have both been wanting new gym shorts – the kind with just elastic, no tie waists.

Elastic waistband

I ordered some fabric from Amazon (yes, they really do sell everything!). It was a little thin so it was perfect for my experiment. I’m using the Tupelo shorts pattern by Sew Like My Mom which is free, by the way, and comes in sizes 12M – 16!

This is my wannabe ninja putting his shorts to the test.

For the first pair, I used a double layer of the orange. I folded the fabric the “wrong” way because I wanted the fold to be at the hem of the shorts. Instead of folding the fabric with the selvages together (so it’s half the width), I folded the fabric and kept the selvages on either side (so it’s half the length).

Place hem on the fold.

Keep the pieces folded and treat each one as one piece. If it helps, you can baste the raw edges together. Sew the center front seam and the center back seam. You will be sewing through 4 layers of fabric.

Line up all the layers to sew.

Then clip the inseam together and sew that as well.

Clip the inseam together

Because there is no need to hem them, you will need to tuck in the tails from serging.

Tuck in serger tail

Thread the tail into a large eye needle and pull it into the serger stitches.

Now it won’t be visible from the right side.

Next, attach the waistband per the instructions in the pattern. Just remember that you will be sewing through 4 layers of fabric rather than three. Also, because my fabric doesn’t have very good stretch/recovery, I used 1.5″ elastic. I measured it to fit my son’s waist, zigzagged the ends together and put it in the waistband before attaching it.

Attach waistband

Because the hem was cut on the fold, there’s no need for hemming! If you wanted it to look hemmed, you could sew a line of stitching around the bottom 1/4″ from the fold, use your twin needle, or zigzag (one of my current favorite ways to hem sports type clothing).

No need to hem because they're cut on the fold

The neon orange is one of his favorite colors (actually, any neon is good with him).

*This post contains affiliate links.  See my disclosure policy for more details.

Upcycling a T-Shirt and Color Blocking a Dolman

Finished Dolman Upcycle Color Block

My daughter got this shirt for her birthday year or two ago and loved it! However, it has recently gotten a little tight and she was sad about the thought of it going to the rummage sale.

Original too small shirt to be upcycled

I told her I might be able to upcycle it into a “new” shirt. She was agreeable and I decided that a dolman was my best option (OK, actually I was going to do a raglan, but I would’ve had to reprint the pattern…foster kittens got to it….the dolman pattern was all printed and ready to go). The first step is to cut the sleeves off (and throw them away!) and cut the side seams and shoulder seams. I cut as close to the seams as possible. You should end up with a front piece and a back piece.

First cut off the sleeves, upcycle

To make the dolman work, I would have to color block. Color blocking is not my strong suit! I have a hard time seeing what the finished thing will look like. I tried laying out the fabric on the pattern so I could get an idea of what it would look like.

Laying Out color blocking

While doing this, I realized that I needed to straighten out the sides to the shirt and the arm cutouts to make it more like a panel, so I trimmed it down some. Once I was happy with they way it looked, I sewed my pieces together. First I sewed a pink rectangle to a blue rectangle. I also hemmed the bottom of the blue since I was keeping the original t-shirt hem. Then I sewed it to the newly straightened out sides of the the old t-shirt. I also decided I was going to need to redo the neckline, so I cut the neckband off.

T-Shirt Color Blocked

Then, I folded my piece of fabric in half and put it on the pattern and trimmed it to fit.

Attach the color blocking

Then, I sewed the side seams. At this point, I was really worried about the neckline. It looked really wide for my very modest teen! I was hopeful that the new neckband would pull it in!

Dolman upcycled t-shirt

I had her try it on and I was still worried. It just seemed overly big!

Dolman neckline too big, upcycled t-shirt, color blocking

I figured at this point, I might as well finish it. All I had left was the neckband and hemming the sleeves. I’m actually pretty happy with the way it turned out!

Finished upcycled color blocked dolman

I probably could’ve made the neckband smaller, but it works as is too.

Side view finished color blocked upcycled dolman

Do you upcycle your kids clothes? Do you color block?

Back finished upcycled color blocking dolman

Pattern Review: Camila Swimsuit by Made for Mermaids Plus Two Simple Hacks

*Some links are affiliate links.

I recently tested the Camila swimsuit by Made for Mermaids. It was my first venture into girls swimwear. I’ve made swimsuits for my boys and they’ve worked out really well.

These Monaco swim trunks are so comfy for my boys! They’re made from swim knit are so much easier to move in, plus there’s so many more options for fabric! The shark shirt is one I drafted myself based on a shirt that currently fits. The turtle shirt is the Boulder Tee by Gracious Threads.

Back to girls swimsuits – I’ve never made one! I’ve thought about it, but never took the plunge. The Camila is an easy swimsuit and it comes with a couple options. For my first one, I did view B (ruffle under the arm) with halter ties.

Camila Swimsuit Ruffle Halter Tie

A very simple, but nice touch was the ruching on the sides. It’s so easy and looks so professional.

The acid test was jumping in and horsing around with her brothers.

It survived!

There were a couple small problems. I felt like I couldn’t tie it tight enough to keep the suit up but not be too tight around her neck. Also, there was a lot of extra fabric in the back. I decided that it was because there was nothing to hold the back up, so it just kinda sagged down. The elastic in the top was pretty loose too – in hind sight I should’ve measured the elastic around her before I sewed it to the swimsuit which would’ve helped with the sag.

Note the sag at the top of the back and the saggy butt look. Both of which we want to avoid!

Since I didn’t want to have a date with my seam ripper and rip the whole elastic piece out, I opted for the simpler solution – cross the straps and attach them in the back. I had her try on the bathing suit and shortened the straps enough so they pulled the back up, but were still loose enough to get the swim suit on and off. Presto! Perfecto!

Criss Cross Straps Camila Swimsuit

What my daughter really wanted though was to have the ruffle on her shoulder. View A has an off-the-shoulder ruffle with shoulder ties, but there isn’t enough room to pull the ruffle up on the shoulders. So, I used the ruffle from the Daphne top & dress. I attached it just like you would normally for View A, but the part of the ruffle not attached was much longer. I used the elastic measurement from Daphne and attached it like Camila. The result was perfect!

Sewing swim suits is not hard! You need to take your time, make sure you have the right kind of needle (ball point), and remember pins or clips are your best friend! Take the plunge!

*This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Skipper Skirt Hack – Adding a Third Tier

Skipper Skirt Hack Adding A Third Tier

*This post contains affiliate links.

When I tested the Skipper Skirt pattern a few weeks ago, I made my daughter a school skirt. When it was done and she tried it on, it was just barely long enough to meet the dress code. If I had been thinking when I made it, I would’ve measured the finished length and then lengthened the tiers and ruffles. However, it never occurred to me, so I’m adding a tier.

A simple stacey top and skipper skirt.

I measured the around the bottom of the 2nd tier and ruffle. Since I’m doing a size 12, my measurements were very close to the measurements on the cutting guide. I need a tier that’s 5″x41.5″ (don’t forget to add your seam allowance – in my case 1/2″) and a ruffle that’s 5″x72″ (again, seam allowance). Also, if you’re material isn’t that wide, you can cut two pieces that are both half the width – so I’ll cut two 5″x36.25″ pieces for the ruffle. Sew the short edges of the tier together. Repeat with the ruffle. You should have two tubes. Hem the bottom of the ruffle using your preferred method.

Ruffle and tier for Skipper skirt hack

Now, follow the directions in step 7 of the Skipper Skirt pattern where it tells you how to put together the bottom ruffle and attach it to the skirt.

With the extra ruffle on it the Skipper Skirt is definitely long enough for a school uniform skirt.