May 3, 2019

DIY High Waisted Linen Shorts

My first shorts of the season! I start wearing shorts as soon as it hits 70 degrees and don’t stop until it’s sweater weather again. Most shorts are easy to buy even at my height so they’re staples in my summer wardrobe. It’s like the weekend comes and I finally get some relief from making the few pairs of pants I own work!

I still like to sew shorts even though I can buy them. Since they usually only take 1-2 yards of fabric, I can make shorts for a wearable muslin to practice getting the fit right before making pants. Saves money and more sustainable; it’s a win-win.

That said, these shorts are too high-waisted to buy. I’ve bought other “high-waisted” trousers in regular sizes, but rather than rising to my waist, they stopped at my high hip. Instead of accentuating my curves, they cut me off at a thicker point and made me look wider than I actually am. Not sexy.

While I’m proud of the pleating and top-stitching detail that I put into these shorts, I’m still not sure if I like how my silhouette looks in them. I first tried these on with a white top and I looked like a grasshopper – all legs! The proportion is much better with a matching top like I wore here for a day trip to cloud-covered beaches in Brighton, UK. I don’t want to wear black all summer, so if I make these again it will be with a light, neutral color.

I made these popular McCall’s M7726 shorts once before and they were tragically WAY too big. So big that I could fit a full wine bottle in my pocket – evidence here! They came in handy at Lovebox music festival – hands free drinking while grooving to Childish Gambino, haha.

I still want to make this paper bag waist trend as cropped pants and super long wide-leg pants. Now that I’ve sized down and gotten the fit right I look forward to making this pattern again and exploring a look I can’t get in stores.

Fabric

Black slub-textured linen blend with more drape and fluidity than 100% linen and more wrinkle resistance
Bought for a steal at Walthamstow Saturday Market in London

Pattern

McCall’s M7726, View A shorts
Sewing difficulty – 2/5
- Fly zip with hook and bar can be difficult to line up, detailed top stitching
Fit difficulty – 2/5
- Be sure to find the finished garment measurements on the pattern paper and adjust as needed
- I went down 2 sizes because the pattern had 8 inches of design and wearing ease at the hips for my size
I will make this pattern again to explore all of the views

Fit & Modifications

I really, truly do not understand why McCall’s drafted this pattern with 5 inches of ease at the waist and 8 inches of ease at the hips. How is it supposed to stay up? The answer is that it does not. Again, proof.
I cut 2 sizes smaller for this fit. General IG consensus at #M7726 is that everyone is doing that.
These pants are designed to rise even higher than the natural waist. To maintain that look, I added 2″ to the rise in the front, back, and side front pockets for a #sewingtall adjustment
I shortened the hem a little bit (less than an inch) to hit just above my fingertips

Tips

If you need to adjust the rise of this pattern, the lengthen and shorten line for the front pattern piece also needs to be added to the side front and pocket pieces. Here’s how:
- Line up the side front with the front pattern piece, matching the tops, and draw the lengthen and shorten line across to the side front
- On pattern paper, or directly on your fabric if you’re bold, lay out the pattern and mark the lengthen/shorten line and a second point the needed inches above or below that line
- Trace out the top of the pattern before shifting the lengthen/shorten line down to line up with your second marking
- Continue to trace the bottom of the pattern, reshaping the pocket bag to accommodate the new length
- Trace the new shape of the side front piece to the inner pocket piece so both shapes will match