pattern hack


*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.

Making A Tiered Skirt

I recently made my daughter a Chloe skirt (a yoga waistband maxi skirt by Made for Mermaids). She loved the maxi length and wanted a knee length one too. Well, I didn’t actually measure her when I made the shorter one and it was a little too short (her feelings too, not just mine plus she’s on the tall side so even though it isn’t really short, it looks like it is). I hated to scrap the skirt and was sure there was some way I could add length to it. I thought about just adding a ruffle to it, but I wasn’t sure it would look right. Then I wished I could make it into a maxi length somehow. Tiered skirt to the rescue.

The short Chloe – she really likes it, but wished it either was a couple inches longer or had shorts attached.

I measured the length of the maxi Chloe and divided by 3 (I wanted three tiers). I added an inch to that number for two 1/2″ seams (in my case 33″/3 = 11″ + 1″ = 12″).

Length of the Chloe Maxi

For the first tier, I used the Chloe pattern and cut the skirt at 12″. For the second tier, I cut a rectangle that was 12″ high and the width of the bottom of the first tier + 10″. You should add at least 25% of the width but not more than double. So, if your bottom measurement is 20″, the next one should be at least 25″, but no more than 40″. Repeat for each tier. The longer the piece is, the more gathers it will have. I wanted very little gathering for this skirt.

Sew the short edges of each tier together so you have a circle or fabric. Run a gathering stitch around the top of each tier.

A gathering (or basting) stitch is a long straight stitch with no back stitches at the beginning or end.

Pull up the gathering so that it fits the bottom of the tier above it. Spread the gathers evenly, pin, and sew. Repeat for each tier. Make the waistband per the instructions in the pattern.

I’ve been using my twin needle a lot recently, and I pulled it out again for the hem of this skirt. I love the professional look of two perfectly spaced rows of stitching.

Hem with twin needle

Chloe skirt with Grace top.

Tiered Skirt, Chloe Pattern Hack

Pattern Hack – Making Lined Gym Shorts plus a Free Pattern

Making A Tiered Skirt – Pattern Hack