Yes I’m referencing Tom Petty and not the dolls. Derek and I recently re-watched the 2007 documentary Runnin Down A Dream. It’s four hours long! But it’s fantastic. If you didn’t “get” him before, you’ll be surprised at this Southern boy, big star story. Doesn’t matter if you’re a fan or not; music documentaries make you fall a little in love. I’m addicted to music history anyway. My first “real” post-college job was as a music critic; have I ever mentioned that?
I just threw out my red and white gingham rodeo shirt, which I’m a little bit sad about because that would’ve been a real winner for this outfit. (It was time–the shirt was 70s vintage and threadbare and way beyond repair.)
A couple of years ago, I went on a “great shirt fabric” binge, with the idea, of course, that I’d be making some awesome shirts for my man. I think he’s given up hope (“our house is turning into a bra factory!”). This chambray was among those. I just love classic quality chambray, so I bought enough for me, too. This fabric was already slightly on the heavier side for shirts, a bit more of New York shirt weight than an Austin weight, but perfectly swell for shorts. I was craving a kind of denim-y looking pair but not in actual denim, and was totally inspired by Jen’s chambray-ish version in her tutorial.
The denim idea also inspired all the topstitching. I think I’m finally going to make jeans this winter, so I need some practice with that thick thread. Just the little bit of topstitching swallowed up a spool and a half and two bobbins! Note to self: buy lots of topstitching thread for your jeans, so you don’t run out halfway through the project!
I’ve practically lived in these shorts since I finished them. I just love that almost everything I made this summer is getting really, really worn. (The Cascade skirt makes its appearance at least twice a week!) It makes me feel happy to sew. This has been my most “I made this” summer yet. Derek was in a wedding over the weekend, and I was pulled out my dormant but absolutely wedding-perfect Cambie (along with the hat and shoes), which always feels a bit too girly for most days of my life. So I’m glad I make frosting, too. It was just too cool to get dressed up down to the handmade lingerie (this bra and matching knickers), and exclaim to myself: I made all of this! Sometimes you just have to stand back, admire, remind yourself how cool it is to sew.
Anyways, the shorts. I don’t have any good back shots. I just don’t have the sense of humor to show you the bad wedgies. I put a picture up, I took it down. And in the other half of the pics, I’m doing this:
The shorts looks great when I allowed them fall naturally around my hips, but I kept having this weird instinct to pull them up (to the point of pulled-up too much in the back, ha!). The thing is, I LOVE high-waisted shorts and jeans because proportionally it looks and feels pretty great on me. On me, most patterns are too long between shoulder and waist and too short between waist and hip. So any rise six inches or less just feels and looks indecently low. I think to correct this problem in the next pair, I would probably take the shorts rise up by about an inch and then take in a little bit of the center back for a smooth fit.
I’m almost considering turning this pattern into jeans rather than start with a new pattern. But then I wondered if I actually need the traditional back yoke of jeans to help with fitting. What say you?
I hope you all have a lovely weekend! We are off to visit Derek’s family for an extended weekend, before the summer goes away.
Details:
Pattern: Grainline Maritime Shorts
Fabric: cotton chambray fabric, Emma One Sock
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These look great! They fit you so well! I really like the fabric and the topstitching– great job!
I’m a big Tom Petty fan. He just seems like such a cool guy! I saw him in college in an amphitheater in San Bernardino, and it was one of my favorite memories from that time.
They look great, love the light chambray with that topstitching! You could easily add a back yoke to the pattern, it would definitely help with fitting the back on high waisted pants/shorts. I’m actually about to head out the door on round two of trying to find the perfect pair of high waisted black jeans to wear this fall with tucked in Archers. Man I’m ready for my fall uniform!!
Me, too. We are actually getting hotter here, blech. So the consensus is all for yoke–I think I’m gonna go for it!
You’re so cute. And now you have t. Petty stuck in my head. Great shorts. I mad ea highwaisted pair this summer but man do they give me a wedgie. Is there a pattern making solution to fix that? They look so good from the front but holy shmajoly behind….
Yeah, & don’t even get me started on the Travelling Wilburys. I can’t get those songs out of my head! I don’t know the pattern solution. Maybe dropping the crotch depth? I tend to mess with crotch shapes a bit when I’m in the mood to muslin. If I went at these like I went at bras, I’d probably have the secret!
I definitely relate to the cool factor that you feel when you’re wearing head-to-toe me-made garments. Even lingerie. I went out to dinner last Saturday wearing a skirt I had just completed that day and underneath was a new set of velvet undies!
Love the shorts. If they’re going to be an indication of how your jeans will turn out, then they’ll turn out amazing!
Amy, it’s so reassuring to know I’m not the only one who has become addicted to sewing bras! I have lots of other sewing I could do, but if you really want to know what I ‘want’ to sew… well, it’s those little bits of lace.
Great shorts! The top-stitching is beautiful.
It’s awesome that you were dressed completely in self-made garments.
looooooooooovely! i went to tom petty immediately. he makes you just want to jump around.
i can’t remember if i left a comment on your last edible pair of shorts (erm, you know what i mean?)–wordpress isn’t playing nicely with my tablet, but i imagine the inside of your closet must be perfection.
Ooh, I do love a good music doc- I’ll be checking that out soon!
The shorts are great, as is the topstitching! To help with the topstitch thread-eating dilemma, I just use the same colour (or match to the denim) AP thread in the bobbin. Cuts down on bulk, too- you just have to mess with the tension a bit on swatches before going to town!
I have the same problem at the back of my Maritime shorts. It doesn’t bother me too much, but I did make a note to take in small darts next time around. The yoke plan would be much prettier, though!
Great idea on the bobbin thread. I sometimes get thread tension issues when I mix threads but I will definitely give it a trial run! Yeah, the bunching doesn’t bug me, but I’m definitely going to refine it for a swayback next time around!
Oooo I like these. A lot. Very cute and worth the wadder history :D. I love the colours …. wonderful colours.
Great shorts, both in this post and the last one!
I just made a pair of jeans out of a pattern for leather pants. They don’t have a back yoke. I think with the full length leg, the back yoke breaks up all that expanse, especially on higher waisted garments, making the bottom seem less expansive (well, for me anyway…not making any comments on your bottom!).
It wouldn’t be hard to adjust your shorts pattern to have a yoke though. Just draw in the yoke line, passing through the bottom of the back darts (if you have any, it is hard to see in the photos) and fold out the back dart on the yoke piece.
Thanks Katherine for the insights. It doesn’t have darts so the only shaping is in the side seams. I definitely think a yoke or at least darts would be needed if I raised the waist on this. I like the thought of breaking up the expanse! I do have an expanding expanse there.
Those shorts are soooo cute, and the topstitching looks great. I can understand why you’d be living in them right now! I’ll echo the other comment about using regular AP thread in the bobbin… I think it works well, though you might have to adjust the tension slightly. Oh, and I totally have a stash of that-would-make-a-great-shirt-for-my-husband fabric too, that I’ve begun to use for other things… 🙂
These shorts turned out great, perfect top-stitching! I love the Tom Petty reference. You will not find a bigger Tom Petty fan than me :). I have every album and compilation, lots of live bootlegs, and American Girl is still one of my favorites.
Thanks, Taylor! He’s pretty awesome. Your Tom Petty collection sounds a bit like our Bruce Springsteen’s. Can’t get enough!