Thar's My Booty Shorts-Girls' Sycamore Shorts

Can I tell you a secret?  I don't really like making kids' clothes. What?!  I am at heart a selfish sewist. I love having the reward of a new piece of clothing with each finished piece. I know there are thousands of amazing girl patterns out there but The Little Miss is a no-fuss kind of girl. She would be perfectly happy wearing nothing but free summer reading t-shirts and yoga-style pants. I'd love to make a peppermint swirl dress or a boho-chic bodysuit but she'd never wear it.

I'm also not convinced that kids' sewing is cost effective. Indie patterns will cost more than a pair of RTW shorts before you even begin to add in supplies. I know when I sew something for myself it has lasting power. Anything I make for TLM will have MAYBE a year of wear time, and will probably not make it past the summer. Add in the fiddly-ness of tiny clothes and I'll probably just turn to the $5 shorts and t's from The Children's Place.

Occasionally though, a fabric comes around that I just can't say no to. That's the case with this amazing pirate fabric, part of my $2/yard Craft Warehouse haul. I saw it and immediately had visions of an old school jumper/pinafore complete with large, yellow, plastic buttons and maybe a kangaroo pouch on the front. Paired with a simple white shirt, it would be the perfect summer outfit for my rough and tumble LM.

Well, you know how plans are. TLM vetoed my lovely jumper deciding that pirate shorts would be a much better idea. Enter the Sycamore shorts pattern by Sew Like My Mom. Free pattern + bargain fabric = kids' sewing win. I pulled out some brown brick fabric for the accent pockets. Looks kinda like the side if a pirate ship right? And saved me a trip to the store.

These were great to sew up. One quick note. I did have troubles deciphering the cutting instructions. I ended up with everything I needed but I'm pretty sure I didn't do it "right".   Other than that, the construction is brilliant.

The wonderful pockets are created to have no raw edges. This does make them a bit bulky at the bottom. When I make another pair I might see if there's a way to reduce this bulk.  I was a little skeptical about the 1/4" seam allowance but it worked perfectly. The brilliance come with the casing and hems. They are all measured and pressed before the shorts are put together allowing you to measure when they are flat.  I'll definitely steal this technique for other pants and shorts I make. It was truly the easiest time I ever had with an elastic casing. The only change I made was to use button hole elastic instead if no-roll.  It's what I had on hand and gives me some wiggle room since TLM isn't around to measure. I reduced the casing to account for the thinner elastic.

I'm sure there's at least a couple more pairs if Sycamore shorts in my future. Who can say no to those pockets?  And why don't more girls' clothes have pockets??

As always, there are more adventures to come. See you soon!