Sewing

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 Review: Noelle by Made for Mermaids

I recently tested the Women’s Noelle pattern by Made for Mermaids. I searched for pictures from when I tested the girls version. It was three years ago! It’s part of their Dreamy Collection and it is definitely dreamy!

We even made her Christmas dress from the Girls Noelle pattern.

She was thrilled to get a new dress in one of her favorite patterns.

I made the dress with both the peplum and the long skirt. Since my fabric is a bit heavier, I used clear elastic to reinforce the shoulder seams, side seams and the waist. It will help the fabric not stretch out so much with wear.

The cowl neck is one of the main features of this pattern. For this version, we folded it down like a turtle neck, but you could leave it unfolded and add a drawstring to make it a little more casual.

The other feature is the high-low hemline. It adds to the dreaminess of the dress.

The best part of this pattern is definitely the full circle skirt – you can twirl & twirl!

It’s also available in baby sizes and girls. There are bundles available too. Go check it out here and then let me know what version you make.

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 T-shirts into Pillows

My husband had these shirts that he really likes but they were just too hot to wear in SWFL. He hated to get rid of them and definitely didn’t want to throw them out. They sat in my pile of stuff to do something with for quite a while (probably close to two years!).

Last November, I bought some new pillows on Black Friday to replace our flat pillows. I washed and dried the old pillows and then added them to my pile of stuff to do something with sometime. Then, I had an “a-ha” moment and knew what to do with the shirts and pillows – make pillows for the sofa.

I measured the pillow (folded in half) and then measured the shirt. Happily the pillow would fit in a case made of the front of the shirt. For a smaller shirt, you would need to use the front and back.

Sew around both sides and then 3-4 inches across them top on each side so you have an opening to turn it right side out.

To square the corners, I flattened the corner by matching the seams and then sewing across it a couple inches down.

Next, stuff the pillow into the case.

The last step is to close up the opening. I normally do everything I can to avoid hand sewing, but this is one of those cases where it just can’t be helped if you want a neat finish.

Tuck the raw edges in and clip or pin the opening shut.

A quick demonstration of how I close up the pillow.

Admire your new pillows.

How to Sew: Replacing Elastic in Shorts

Ever have a pair of shorts that you love, but the elastic in the waist looses it’s stretch? Well, I haven’t had these shorts long enough to love them (they were hand-me-downs), but I love the cargo style (hello pockets galore!) and knew that they would be comfy. They were a size too big, but that meant they would fit my hips and then I could just take a couple tucks in the waist to make them fit. After I tried them on I realized that the elastic in the back waist was shot!

Skipping ahead for a minute just so I can show you the elastic. Look how stretched out it is! No wonder the shorts were so loose!

Since these shorts were otherwise in great shape, I knew I wanted to try and fix them. The first step is to remove the old elastic. To do this I took out the seam at the bottom of the waistband

Of course the elastic was also sewn in along the top and it was sewn in along the fold at the bottom. So, I had to seam rip three seams total! Fortunately, it was pretty easy.

Check out the old elastic vs the new elastic! I cut the new elastic at about 80% of the length between the belt loops on either side of the center back. Then I clipped it in place and tried on the shorts just to be sure they were tight enough/not too tight. It’s very easy to adjust the length now! It’s frustrating to get all done and realize they still don’t fit.

To put in the new elastic, just reverse the process. First, I sewed the elastic to the waistband on either end.

I pushed the belt loop over just a bit and sewed the elastic in place. This way the seam will be hidden by the belt loop.

To make sure that the elastic is evenly stretched, I mark the middle of the elastic with a highlighter. I also marked the middle of the waist with a pink fabric pencil.

Then I line them up and clip the elastic to the waistband

I sewed the elastic in place using a zigzag stitch since it won’t show from the outside. This way you aren’t trying to stretch the elastic evenly and sew the waistband back down at the same time.

At this point I realized that the center back belt loop was going to be in the way of sewing the waistband back in place.

I undid the top of the belt loop so I can easily fold it out the way.

Then I folded the waistband back into place and stitched it down with a straight stitch. I sewed it on the outside so that I could be sure I was staying on the original stitching line. I also redid the top stitching along the top of the waistband and sewed the center back belt loop back down.

Now my shorts stay put and I’m sure I’m going to love them because, again, pockets!