I didn’t want to leave you hanging and confused by my description of how to make shorts yesterday. A few of you got it and understood, but I thought a picture is worth a thousand words, hence today’s post of step by step instructions of what I meant. I hope this will make it crystal clear…
The way most shorts are sew together is to sew the front center seam and then the back seam. You then sew the side seams, hem each leg and then sew from the bottom of one leg, through the crotch and down the other leg. It makes for a rounded area in the crotch and sometimes the hems shift and you shorts will appear shorter on one side than the other.
I propose this is the way to do them. It’s not hard to do and the shorts hang SO much nicer. Each leg is even with the other and the crotch lays smoothly.
So let’s get started…
Cut out 2 fronts and 2 backs…
Then sew one back to one front at the side seams…
Serge your seams and press them toward the back piece…
Serge along the bottom edge of the pieces and press up where you want the hem to be…on ONE of the pieces…
The best way to make sure they are even is to press up the hem of one of the pieces and then lay the other one exactly on top, folding up the hem so they are even and then press it.
Take each piece now and sew the inner leg seam… and then serge it.
Your shorts will be much neater if you take time to hand stitch the serger threads down… it only takes a few minutes, but looks so much nicer.
They should look like this…
NOW… take one and turn it right side out…
Put that leg inside the other leg…
Line up your hems so they are even and place a pin there… This will assure that your shorts legs are even…
Now take them to your sewing machine and begin sewing at the back top edge and go around the crotch and up the front…Making sure you don’t get any wrinkles in the shorts. It’s a little tedious but it only takes one minute to sew it… You can hand baste it if you feel better about doing that.
It will look like this…
Very carefully clip just in the curved areas of the crotch seam making sure not to cut into the seam you just sewed.
Now serge that curved seam…
Turn them right sides out and they should look like this…
Your crotch seam will be perfectly even and the legs hang wonderfully well…
I usually press them flat and put a nice crease in them…
I finished them up but will have to show you another time how to finish the waistband…
In case you wanted to see what else I was working on…how about this sweet white birdy camp shirt! I tweaked my pattern from the green shirt and this one fits much better…
The bottom edge is even, but my camera angle doesn’t make it look like it is.
This is why I call it the birdy shirt… Can you see them?
Well, that’s it for today… I will keep working on things and one day we will have a complete listing!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, the outfit is adorable and it fits perfectly. It is a sweet July into August ensemble.
Hi Dorothy,
Oh my, you are our early bird today!!
Thanks for the compliment on the set so far..I’m still adding pieces today!!
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, no I was left over from the night before (laugh). I am kind of a night owl.
Very cute outfit (someone is ready for camp, I think!), and a good tutorial.
When I am doing something that requires clipping curves and then serging, I usually spread the clipped seam allowances a bit so the seam still has a bit of give to it. I also press that seam flat and to one side, at least where the seam is straight. Perhaps you do that, too, but didn’t show that particular step in the photos.
Other than that, what you do is Exactly what I do for doll shorts/slacks! (Of course, with human garments so much bigger, I wait until the side- and in-seams are sewn before trying on the pants and pinning up/sewing the hems! That would be impossible in doll clothes, though!
I’m glad you mentioned about hand-sewing the serger tails so the seam looks neater. That’s an important step!
Hi Charlotte,
Yes, Isabelle does look like she’s ready for camp, doesn’t she?
I do press that center and back seam over to one side.
And yes, the hem would be done last in human or even kids clothes, so that seam edge didn’t show.
Thanks “judge” Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
Great tutorial, Jeanne….you’re very kind to have done that for us. It’s not a wonder that you are as great of a seamstress as you are….one can tell your work has those extra touches that make your clothes so special.
Blessings.
Thank you Becky,
Why not share what I know and do with others. My hope is to get more people sewing!
Thsnks so much for your kind words!
Blessings, Jeanne
Such a perfect tutorial and so easy to follow. What a great teacher! I do like how your shorts look so crisp and hang so well. One thing I often do is eliminate the side seams and cut the front and back as one piece. Makes a nice presentation on floral fabric. I know your pattern included a waistband, but most of the time, I do a simple fold over waist to insert elastic. I always sew the front seam and leave the back open partway at the top. Then fish in the elastic, try it on and adjust the waist and then sew up the rest of back seam catching the waist elastic, and I’m done. Probably not quite as finished looking but very quick. 🙂
Now, here in northern CA, we’re going to be getting the hot weather. Weekend is supposed to be pretty miserable. Remember, we have no air conditioning.
I forgot, I enjoy seeing the serged seams, but I don’t have a serger. I just pink mine and it works. 🙂
Oops, I missed you Joy… how did that happen?
Yes, You can eliminate the side seam and make things go faster, but the way I added the waist band there needed to be a side seam… Maybe I’ll show that sometime…
Pinking works just fine too! :o)
I hope you and your girls don’t get too hot… miserably hot is awful! Been there, done that! :o(
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Cute shorts fabric and the close-ups showed the birds on the shirt fabric. Lovely fabric. You actually confirmed some of the things I was doing. Since a pattern I used once called for the sewing of the crotch seam this way, I’ve always done it and do like it that way. I never knew exactly what difference it made but it did seem neater to me. As for ironing while you sew, I had an aunt that was a seamstress, and she always told me you use your iron as much as your sewing machine when you sew. I took that to heart. Because of her advice I always make sure I have a good, heavy iron. I bought some doll clothes from a woman on Etsy one time who seemed to have never heard this. All the things came looking rumpled. Problem is that when I tried to iron them, they still did not look right because without ironing along the way, the pieces weren’t sewn “true”. The clothes were adorable but lacked a really polished look.
Charlotte mentioned the sequence of steps between doll clothes and people clothes. I have some patterns, especially the vintage doll clothes patterns, that sew the doll clothes like people clothes, but it is difficult to maneuver in those often tiny spaces so I was glad when someone was brave enough to move away from the stricter sewing techniques and create how-tos for doll clothes. With the use of a serger, the inside of doll clothes can look neat using the simpler methods. I wasn’t sure exactly how you did the serger threads, but I do feed mine back through for a distance and then clip them. It always annoyed me to have those serger threads everywhere in store-bought clothes and a pattern called for hiding the threads once so I do that. I worried that on some outfits/fabrics it might stiffen things too much, but so far so good, but I would like to know exactly what you did.
Well I’m off to mow. Should be a lovely day for it. Cooler temps and low humidity. It should go faster than usual too.
HI Barbara,
Oops, I missed your comments somehow! Sorry about that!
Your aunt was right about the ironing part… On days when I plan to sew, I turn my iron on and it stays on all day as long as I’m in my sewing room… I press every single seam every single time I sew one! :o)
My serger needs some new carbon blades I think. I noticed it is catching on a few places and think that is the problem…that and the probably 100,000 miles I’ve put on it! :o)
Thanks Barbara,
Happy mowing!
Blessings, Jeanne
Good morning Jeanne! You might wonder where I have been, but I really don’t sew much for my dolls , so felt this didn’t pertain to me, but I am very interested in how you make things look so professional! A lot of your information goes right through me, since I don’t sew much, but I do see that it helps others., and that is what this is all about.
Oh that “birds shirt” is just adorable, and how cute that you paired it with leafy green patterned shorts! Love it! The shirt reminds me of Molly’s camp shirt, but of course hers is plain white cotton. What a cute combination you put together!
Hi Linda,
You DO sew…I know you do…but it’s okay to just watch. I’m glad you enjoyed seeing the steps even if you don’t plan to use them. I’m always glad to just have watchers…sometimes they bring up the best points.
Im glad you like the little white shirt. It was the tiniest one I think I’ve ever made.
Thanks Linda,
Once I finish this and get it listed I’ll be on to other things!
Blessings, Jeanne
Ooooooohhhhh. Now I understand! I’m going to start doing this. I made a cute pair of shortalls last year and the crotch always gaps despite repeated pressings. Going to look through my stash for shortall fabrics. Thanks for doing another tutorial, Jeanne!
Hi Julia,
I actually did this step by step post just for you. I didnt wasn’t you or anyone else to be confused…so I thought this was necessary to clear things up.
After you give this way of making shorts or pants a try, let me know how it worked!
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
I heard through the “dolly grapevine” that Ten Ping thinks camp sounds like fun and thinks she needs a camp shirt.
HI Dorothy,
Oh she does? Thanks for letting me know… She was actually in my hands today… I was looking at her sweet face… just to make sure it was still as cute as I remembered!
It was!
Thanks Dorothy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Gigi (Ten Ping’s friend) is in agreement here! (And she loves PINK! lol)
That makes perfect sense, and it does make a nice finished garment. That camp shirt is adorable. I love the little collar!
Thank you Carolyn,
I was pretty proud of how that little shirt turned out too… It was fun to put it together…and see it on Isabelle. 2nd one was a much better fit.
Thanks so much!
Blessings, Jeanne
Looking at your little shorts makes me think I should let you know about the trick I’ve seen a lot in my great-grandson’s shorts and pants. The makers hide a piece of elastic in the waistband with buttonholes to adjust the waistband sizing. The same might work for dolly clothes.