Linen-ish shorts using S3796 (ish)

What’s with all the “ish” you ask? Well, this fabric/pattern combo ended up not being quite what it was meant to be.

I found some linen-like fabric in my stash of unknown origin. I’m pretty sure I bought it with the intention to make some casual Capri pants years ago. I have no idea what the fabric content is but it’s meant to look like linen, has a loose weave, and I think is some kind of polyester-blend. It is most definitely not 100% linen but I think the poly content will help with wrinkling so that’s a good thing.

It turned out I had even already traced this pattern out! I have no memory of doing this. Yay – half the work, done!

However, I did have to make some modifications to end up with the look I wanted. I basically just used the pattern pieces as a guide and then adjusted (everything) from there.

>>> S3796 Review <<<

Pattern Description: Misses’ Skirt in three lengths and pants in two lengths or shorts.

Pattern Sizing: 8-16. I made a 14 with some fit modifications.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? No, but only because I changed everything around. It is obviously inspired by the pattern, but doesn’t look like any of the views.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I looked at the instructions but realized that I wanted to make enough changes to make them obsolete. They seemed clear enough.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the casual look of the pattern and the elastic waistband. The legs were too wide for my preference and the pocket application was not to my liking so I changed that. I didn’t like the location of the buttonholes for the ties but that may have been user error more than the pattern.

Fabric Used: Linen-look poly blend of unknown origin that has been hiding in my stash for years. It was very easy to work with, soft, and hopefully won’t wrinkle too much.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: So many things! Mostly because of personal preference. Here’s what I changed:

• Pocket – I kept the basic shape of the pocket but added about 1/2″ to the side seam to make the pocket just a touch bigger. Instead of finishing the pocket edge with bias binding (as the pattern calls for) I added 1/2″ seam allowance and cut out a facing of about 1-1/4″. I stitched, under stitched, then top stitched this on to each pocket before top stitching the whole thing to the front piece. This way the pocket edge was incorporated into the side seam rather than laid over the side seam, as the pattern called for.

• Leg Shape – I pin based one front and back leg together to get an idea for how wide the legs were and how long I wanted it to end up. I had already traced view C (years ago) but wanted a knee length finished hem, so ended up cutting off about 3″. I took 1/2″ off the inside seam for both front and back, and tapered from the hip (about mid-pocket) to the hem on the outside leg seam, ending up about 1″ narrower than the pattern for both the front and the back.

• Center Back Seam – I’m not sure what this alteration is called…maybe a big-booty adjustment? Basically I took out an upside-down triangle of fabric at the center back (kind of like an in-seam dart?) so there wasn’t so much of a gap above my rear.
• Waistband – Instead of using the pattern piece (its just a long rectangle) I just a cut a strip the same width by width of fabric and fit it to the shorts. I did use the placement for the buttonholes for the drawstring but they ended up too low! I didn’t have any twill tape so I just made a drawstring out of the same fabric.
• Finishing – everything got double top-stitching which I think adds to the casual vibe.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Maybe, now that I have a nice fit on it. I really like the way the brown bag waistband looks but may try one without the drawstrings. I may also end up making one of the skirt versions in the future, but have so many other things I want to make first.

Conclusion: Nice basic pattern that was easy to modify to exactly what I wanted. The instructions seemed fine, but I didn’t love all of the design elements, but like I said, that was easy to modify.