Prefontaine Shorts are here!

It's the last day of Shorts on the Line and today I am proudly presenting to you my Prefontaine Shorts Pattern! That's right.! It's done! And I'm so excited. A huge thank you to all my testers! I couldn't have done it without them.



This is what testers had to say:
"The shorts are adorable! I love the front pockets."

"The shape is so comfortable, the pockets are perfect, the pattern allows cool fabric combinations."

"I made another pair this morning and it was just over an hour. That is AWESOME."

"It just looks SO much better than typical quick shorts. And the pockets. He LOVES the pockets."

"KILLER new pattern! I love this pattern so hard. Wicked quick sewing. Literally in my top 5 all time most favorite patterns. I LOVE IT."


This is how I felt after reading the tester reviews.


Prefontaine Shorts are designed to fit like the running shorts from the 1970s. They are slightly shorter and baggier than typical kiddo shorts. The pattern features front and back pockets as well as retro contrast trim.

These shorts can be made with a wide range of fabrics: Light weight wovens, quilting cotton, jersey knit, flannel, terry cloth, velour, minky, velvet, upcycled beach towels…the sky is the limit here. The retro trim is a jersey knit trim recycled from an unwanted adult t-shirt.

Sewing Skill: Beginner to Intermediate. Sized from 18-24 months up to kids size 7/8. Best of all, they only take 1/2 to 3/4 of a yard of fabric.

Prefontaine Shorts Pattern: $8 Available now for instant download.

What are retro 70s shorts without crushed velvet?




Jane rocking her Prefontaine mustache.

This post is part of shorts on the line sewalong hosted by imagine gnats and small + friendly, sponsored by Jo-Ann, Pretty Prudent/Pellon®, and Hawthorne Threads.



Here is the schedule:

6/17 girl inspired and Casa Crafty
6/18 Frances Suzanne and Caila Made
6/19 Made by Rae and Craftstorming
6/20 Noodlehead and emmyloubeedoo
6/21 Siestas & Sewing and Made with Moxie
6/24 imagine gnats and small + friendly

Thank you so much for stopping by! Don't forget to add me to use the tool bars on the left to add my to your social networking feeds. That is where I post sneak peaks of new projects and post to look for pattern testers (like, you know, maybe Prefontaine Shorts for Adults?)

Making your own Boxer short pattern

Last month, I showed you the uncensored awesomeness of my husband rocking the boxer shorts I made for him as part of Shorts on the Line. Instead of reviewing a store bought pattern, I made my own from an existing pair of boxers.

I decided for this project that I would try my hand at making a pattern from an existing pair of my husband's boxers. They're his favorites and they don't make this fit anymore. Plus, it would kill two birds with one stone because I'd make a pair for him, but then I could steal them too!

Tools needed: Pencil (and eraser)
Ruler
Straight pins
Large pieces of paper (sturdy is good)
Well loved boxer shorts

For those of you that have never sewn a pair of pants with a fly from a pattern before, this may be a difficult thing to do, since you want to under stand how a fly is assembled. Then again, if you wanted, you could just make a pair for yourself and nix the fly all together since you wouldn't need a functioning fly.

Start with a well pressed pair of shorts. You will need to make a tracing of each piece of the shorts then extend each side to allow for seam allowances, hems and the waist band. Pin your shorts directly to your paper. I like to do this to get the most exact tracing possible. Pin along each edge and in the middle too. Do not try to pin the elastic waist band out straight or it will scruntch up your paper. Some pattern pieces may require you to trace one edge, then unpin and roll the shorts to lay the other seamed edge flat. The back pattern piece of my shorts needed this done in order to extend the piece through the crotch as you can see below.

Boxer short have french seams on their insides so they lay nice and flat. Measure the width of an inside seam and multiple it by two. This will be your the seam allowance you will need to add to your traced pattern pieces. Measure the hem height and double that for the amount to add to the bottom edge of your pattern pieces. Boxer short waist elastics are 1 1/4" wide, so you will need to add 3" to the top of your traced pattern. (1 1/4" x 2, plus 1/2")

Trace your back and front pattern pieces then use a straight edge or quilting ruler to extend each seam the correct amounts.

Fold your boxers so you can pin the curved fly piece flat to your paper. Trace the curve of the fly and measure the width so that you can draw the straight side of it once you un-pin your shorts.

Extend that tracing by your seam allowance measurement on the left, bottom and right sides and by your waistband measurement on the top. To create the second fly piece, use your ruler to draw a rectangle that is twice as wide as the first piece and 3/8" longer. Mark a dotted line down the center of the pattern piece so that you can cut it out on the fold of fabric.

Cut out your four paper pattern pieces and pin them to your fabric to cut. You need 2 fronts, 2 backs and 1 of each fly pattern pieces. I choose to use Alexander Henry's Los Novios fabric. It is a quilt weight cotton fabric with a nice hand. Pick a fabric that feels nice since it will be against bare tush. You will need about 1.5 yards of fabric to make a men's size large boxer shorts.

Shorts on the Line: Uncensored

Many of you are probably popping over here to get a good look at my husband in his underwear after seeing my Shorts on the Line post on Vanessa's Blog here. She didn't feel comfortable posting pictures of his fine ass on her blog. I won't lie. It's a nice view!

Enjoy!

I know. Not as racy as you had hoped for. I'll do better next time. I did salvage his "American Apparel" pose. Some one was being a smart ass and didn't think I would take his picture.

An Apron for Xavier

My sister-in-law requested an apron for my nephew, Xavier, who is the same age as Jane. A robot apron. The boy is nuts for robots. Lucky for him I had not one, but two robot fabrics so I made him a reversible apron.

I asked Jane if she would model X-man's apron for me.

Clearly, she was wowed by my raw, toddler apron making talent.

Jimmy, as always, was ready to ham it up. He can not yet stand on his own or I would have used him as my model. I told Jane we'd just take the apron off and call it a day. I almost lost my head.

I started to doubt my daughter's future as a blog model. Apparently all she needed was a good night's sleep. By this morning she had fully regained her awesomeness.

I give you, Reversible Robot Apron!

I can't wait to see the X-man in it. I hope he makes his Auntie some yummy pumpkin caramels this fall. ;)

P.S.- Have you been checking out the Shorts on the Line posts this week over at Small + Friendly? Next week I get to unveil the super sweet shorts pattern I made. Here is a sneak peek:

Shorts on the Line:

If you live in the United States, it is hot. Really, effing hot. (Unless you're like my in laws and live in Southern California, then it is probably perfect. But I don't live there yet, so we'll just pretend you're sweating balls like the rest of us.) So, it's hot. And I don't know about you all, but I don't like shorts.

Women's shorts are all too short or have dress waistbands and closures or are just damn uncomfortable. So when Rachael of imagine gnats asked me to participate in a shorts sew-along/pattern review, I didn't want to do it. But she's a pal and I hate to let a pal down, so I shopped around for a shorts pattern to make. Instead I will be making my own pattern for this event and teaching you to make one too. Oh and they'll be cute, they'll be comfortable and inexpensive to make. PLUS, if you make a pair with us you can enter to win some really freaking awesome prizes. Who doesn't love some Happy Mail? And so I introduce you to: Shorts on the Line!

This July, imagine gnats, Designs by Sessa, and small + friendly will be hosting "shorts on the line", a summer sewalong. 

for the first three weeks in july, we'll be sharing guest posts with shorts inspiration, tutorials, and pattern reviews. those sewing along at home will have a chance to be featured in our sewalong round-up posts the last week of july.... and some *great* prizes, including fabric, patterns, and gift certificates!

7.1 shorts on the line kick-off!

week one: imagine gnats
7.2 Rachael (imagine gnats) and Melanie (A Sewing Journal)
7.3 Courtney (mon petit lyons), Inder (Inder Loves Folk Art), and Nicke (Kiss Kiss... Quilt)
7.4 Rashida (i heart linen) and April (Sewing Novice)
7.5 Andrea (the train to crazy) and Kristy (Hopeful Threads)
7.6 Shannon (luvinthemommyhood) and Erin & Carla (Clever Charlotte)
7.7 Emma (Hello Beautiful) and Cassandra (Cass Can Sew)
7.8 Gail (probably actually) and Becky (Owly Baby)

week two: small + friendly
7.9 Carla (small + friendly) and Sophie (cirque du bebe)
7.10 Ros (Sew Delicious) and Veronica (sewVery)
7.11 Shelly (Figgy's) and Alyssa (Pile O'Fabric)
7.12 Jessica (a little gray) and Diane (from blank pages)
7.13 Kristin (skirt as top) and Kelley (Casa Crafty)
7.14 Katie (There and Back) and Tara (girl like the sea)
7.15 Alli (B. Yazoo) and Jennet (Feathered Nest Studios)

week three: Designs by Sessa
7.16 Vanessa (Designs by Sessa) and Jessica (Me Sew Crazy)
7.17 Cherie (You and Mie) and Jane (Buzzmills)
7.18 Karen (Sew Well Maide) and Stephanie (The Crafty Kitty)
7.19 Bianca (Sweet Diesel Designs) and Tara (true, pure, lovely)
7.20 Jenny (Stumbles & Stitches) and Susan & Adrianna (crafterhours)
7.21 Danny (Mommy for Reals) and Marian (Lady Face)
7.22 Jill (Made With Moxie) and Christina (2 Little Hooligans)

features and deadline
7.23 sewalong features, Rachael's favorites
7.24 sewalong features, Carla's favorites
7.25 sewalong features, Vanessa's favorites
7.26 final deadline for shorts sewalong entries
7.27 viewers choice voting begins

winners annoucements
7.28 judges' choice third place announced
7.29 judges' choice second place announced
7.30 viewers choice winner announced
7.31 judges' choice first place announced

the full sponsor list and guest judge line-up will be coming soon. until then, get ready by joining the shorts on a line flickr group and check out our shorts on the line pinterest board for some short-y inspiration.

grab the code and share the button!

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