Four for the boys.....

Here is the fourth and last pair of shorts that I will be making for a while.  The material for these came from a long dress that my daughter was finished with.  They will fit a 4 year old boy.  I originally planned to make 5 pairs but realised at the last minute that the material I had set aside for the fifth pair was too girly for any boy to want to wear.

So this is the little collection of shorts that will be going off in the post to Sew Scrumptious for delivery to various countries in Africa and Asia:

Here is the free pattern and tutorial that I used for the shorts.  They were a very economical project as I already had the old t-shirts and thread.  I bought good quality waist elastic as this is a crucial part of the shorts!

I tend to sew in short spells....excuse the pun....and I feel that this spell is now over.  I have started on another project which I have been looking forward to for a few weeks.....but that will be another blog post.

Third pair of shorts....

Here is the third pair of shorts I have just sewn from this simple free pattern and tutorial.  Once again I cut up an old t-shirt and reused the material.  It is a soft shade of khaki green and should fit a child aged 2-3 years.  I have 2 more to make and will then send all 5 off to Sew Scrumptious for delivery to various countries in Africa and Asia.

....just a brief post today as I am still going through a very busy spell.

Second pair of shorts....

Here is another pair of shorts for boys aged 2-3 years.  I reused another old t-shirt.  I'm a bit bemused and maybe a bit flattered that one of my baggy t-shirts has only enough material to fit a toddler.  My paper pattern piece for shorts for 4 year olds is just slightly too big.

I had a Eureka moment and sewed in a little ribbon to show the back of the waistband. 

I recently bought a bargain job lot of ribbon and obviously it included a duff one.  This was a wide piece of black ribbon which I know I will never use......except for a project like this.  I simply cut a piece of ribbon, folded it in half and sewed the raw edges into the waistband.  The idea isn't rocket science, but I was stupidly pleased when I thought of it.  A little boy can find the back of his shorts and I found a way to use my black ribbon!

These shorts will eventually join a few others and go off to a children's charity. 

First ever shorts.....

I just had to blog about the first shorts I have ever sewn.  They should fit a 2-3 year old and are destined eventually for Sew Scrumptious.  Their "Dress A Girl Around The World" project is well known and they have distributed over 10,000 dresses to Africa and India.  Shorts for boys are also in demand but fewer than 1000 have been distributed. 

Having made my first ever pair of shorts, I am converted and will concentrate on these in future.  I have the material already waiting to be recycled and I recently bought a big roll of good quality woven elastic which is perfect for waistbands.

I have many old t-shirts like this baggy, shapeless horror:

I use them for exercise classes and keep them far longer than I should because I can't bear waste.  Now I can give them a new lease of life and buy some new ones.  Woo hoo!

I used the following free pattern and tutorial.  The pattern is one simple piece approximately resembling an inverted T.  You cut two of these shapes, do quite a small amount of sewing and ...hey presto....you have a pair of shorts.  I opted to make the 3/4 length shorts, though the pattern is easily adjusted to make long trousers or shorter shorts.

I can make age 2-3 years shorts from my old tops and when Hubby throws out his t-shirts I will probably be able to make age 5-6 years shorts.  In fact most t-shirt material is just the right strength for these shorts and it usually doesn't fray so is easier to finish.

I noticed that this particular t-shirt had a nice notch detail at the side seams.  So I decided to incorporate this into the legs.  Laying the pattern piece on the material wasn't as straightforward as I expected so the side seams have ended up slightly more to the front.  But I don't think this will be too noticeable when they are being worn.  Actually, I was making things more difficult for myself.  The pattern doesn't require outside leg seams.  The material simply wraps around the leg and is seamed on the inside.  In future, I will follow the pattern unless there is a really special detail on the side seams.

I liked the little appliqué detail on the t-shirt.  It ended up on the unused part of the material but I didn't want to throw it away.  So I added it to the hem of the shorts.  It is a nice little decoration and acts as an aide memoire to little boys trying to tell the difference between the front and back of their shorts.  It also draws the eye to the notch detail which I liked and wanted to use.

A skilled sewer could make these in an hour.  I took my time but still finished them in an afternoon.  I'm pleased with how they turned out and there will be lots more to come.