McCall’s M7726 Faux Leather Shorts + Tips for Sewing Pleather

My first faux leather make – hot shorts! Shortly before the Covid-19 lockdowns, faux leather was a major trend for Spring 2020. On Instagram and Pinterest I kept coming across leather shirts, dresses, culottes and shorts. With the challenge of a new fabric, I decided to use a familiar pattern to bring the trend to life. This is now my sixth make of McCall’s M7726, and none too perfect for a fabric that can’t be basted or seam ripped. 

My headspace in February 2020 had all of the right motivation for sewing these shorts. The month began with a great night out in Brooklyn – the stylish First Saturdays party at the Brooklyn Museum followed by bar and club hopping around the neighborhood. I had lived here for 6 months, but it was my first time discovering BK nightlife gems like The Good Life and Ode to Babel. I wanted to commit myself to going out more often, to meeting new people in the neighborhood, maybe doing something about the fact that I’m single and generally don’t date. So I needed some club-appropriate outfits that would communicate my style without words and show off my assets without making me look…thirty-one. 

These faux leather shorts check all of those boxes. The red pleather is a shiny style statement. They’re short, but cover my booty. And there’s even a bit of stretch so I can move and dance comfortably for hours. I can style them with tees, camis and crop tops; with sneakers or with heels. Now that I’ve figured out all of the tips and tricks for sewing pleather, below, I look forward to making more in the fabric.

Pattern

• McCall’s M7726, View A
• Sewing Difficulty – 3/5
  • This pleather fabric upped the sewing difficulty 1 notch
• Fit Difficulty – 2/5
• I love this pattern and have made it 6 times now! Here are some others:
  • Black and white printed wide-leg pants
  • Lavender cropped pants
  • Black linen shorts

Fabric

• Red stretch faux leather from Fabrics World USA, bought in Manhattan’s Garment District
• I wish I had bought an extra half yard to sew a matching belt!

Fit & Modifications

• Success for this pattern always requires sizing down 2 sizes for me.
• For #sewingtall, I added 2″ to the rise and to the pocket pieces.
• I did a slight thin thighs adjustment by shortening the front crotch curve by 1/4″.
• I chose to not topstitch the pleats or pockets because I could not get the results I wanted after several attempts on scrap fabric. It’s a great detail on the pattern, but I don’t feel there’s any loss with my shorts.

Tips for Sewing with Faux Leather

• Use a sharp leather needle to sew faux leather in order to make clean punches through the fabric.
• The surface of pleather can stick to metal and other plastic so use a special sewing machine foot for sewing. I bought both a non-stick Teflon foot and a roller foot to test and found better results with the roller foot.
• Don’t use pins! Any cuts or gouges made in pleather cannot be removed so use clips instead of pins to hold pieces together when sewing.
• A hot iron will ruin the surface of pleather. Lower your heat to the polyester setting and use a pressing cloth between the iron and your fabric. Never touch the iron directly to your fabric.
• Pleather does not fray so there is no need to overlock or apply other seam finishes. Simply trim down your seam allowances after they’re stitched.

Tutorials that were helpful

• I watched this video to make sure I understood the right amount of length for the cuffs.