Wanted: Summer Shorts

Shorts, shorts, where art thou shorts? Today, I went on a shopping quest to find some summer shorts. More specifically, I went on a thrift store shopping trip to find shorts. Sadly, I was met with rows and rows of all sorts on interesting and downright hideous bottoms, none of which suited my taste.

I know what you all are probably thinking. Why not stop by the mall, run to a few stores, and come out with a few pairs of shorts for those hot muggy days?  The answer? That option lacks the treasure hunt element that I love about thrift shopping. I do love digging though rack after rack of others castoffs until I find that one piece that makes it all worth it. So, what's the solution? Sew some shorts of course!!

 There is only one little hiccup in my plan. You see, pattern companies are still offering up shorts patterns that look like this.

 

No, this is not some 80's pattern that I dug out of hiding. This lovely little gem is still available from McCalls.

Not exactly what I had in mind for my summer wardrobe. Lets move on, shall we?

To be fair, McCalls does indeed redeem itself by being the only big four company to offer a basic shorts pattern in a variety of lengths. I will definitely be picking this one up at the next sale.

The shortest version of these uses less than one yard of 60" wide fabric. I always love when you can make a cute item without using a bolts worth of fabric.

Vogue offers one shorts pattern. The styling is quite interesting in the picture and it makes it a little hard to tell exactly what they look like, but the line drawing looks like a standard pair of shorts.

Simplicity also has this wardrobe pattern which includes a pair of shorts.

There are quite a few more shorts pattern options, but sadly they all contain elastic waists. I don't have anything against elastic waists, they do have their place in some garments, but for summer shorts that will be worn out of the house I want some sort of real closure.

In other sewing related news I am about half way done with a skirt that is loosely inspired by a Kate Spade skirt. The verdict is still out on whether or not it is going to zip, as I wasn't careful when choosing a size and the pattern happens to be a Burda pattern, which I had never made before.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a post on some RTW shorts that I will use for my inspiration. As always, I LOVE your feedback. Do you wear shorts in the summer? Have you made shorts before? Have you used any of the patterns that I mentioned?

Happy Sewing!