Last week, I participated in Selfish Sewing Week over at Made with Moxie. I reviewed the Dixie Movies in the Park Shorts. You can see the original post HERE.
But thought I needed to have the review on my own bog as well! Enjoy!
Hello fellow selfish seamstresses! I am Brianne from Ali Cat & Co.
(alicatco.blogspot.com). Thank
you, Jill, for having me over at Made With Moxie. It's a pleasure to be here talking about selfishness. I think we can all agree that a little
bit selfishness is necessary to help us detox.
I started sewing when I had my first daughter. I mostly sewed for her with an
occasional bag for myself. Lately,
thanks to some really fabulous friends of mine, I've become 75% selfish sewist.
One day, it hit me like a bag of bricks. WHY sew for my children? They grow so fast; it seems like a
waste. My oldest daughter has
become extremely particular about her clothes recently. My youngest daughter wears the oldests'
hand me downs. So I ask the
question again. WHY?
We can all agree that store bought clothes rarely have a
perfect fit and tailoring store bought clothes can be difficult. What's the answer? Make it myself. Not only are there AWESOME women's
patterns out there, but you can make pretty clothing that fits for less than
the store.
Believe me, once you go selfish, you'll never go back!
Do I need to continue to twist your arm? I hope not, so lets
get on with the beautiful shorts pattern from Dixie DIY Patterns.
First, this pattern is $4. Fabulous price for a fabulous pattern.
Second, my opinion of this pattern is 100% based on my
experience sewing the shorts. I do
not know the creator of the pattern nor are my opinions influenced by any other
factors.
As with ANY shorts or trouser pattern, you need to do a
muslin first. If you don't, you'll
only be angry with yourself and regret not doing it. If you are new to making muslins, here are the basic steps.
1. Cut the
important pattern pieces out of muslin fabric. The important pieces for shorts are waistband and front and
back pieces. Which in this case are all the pieces!
2. Sew those
pieces together per the pattern instructions.
3. Try on your
muslin. How does it fit? Does it need to be bigger/smaller in
certain areas? Pin together areas
that need to be taken in and mark with chalk areas that need to be let
out. Here are some great resources
for identifying problem areas and how to fix them. HERE and HERE
4. Make another
muslin based on your first muslin pieces after making the necessary
changes. Repeat again, if
necessary.
5. When you
final have a perfect fitting muslin, then cut out your real fabric based on
your final muslin. (It's helpful
if you draw your pieces on banner/tracing paper as you go)
YES, making muslins can be a lot of work and honestly, a Debbie
Downer some times. But as I said
before, if you make your shorts and they don't fit correctly, you will regret
not making that muslin.
Here are my Movies in the Park Shorts. Oh yes, lovely. Just look at that bum! Don't be shy; I don't mind. Check it out!
I used homemade piping instead of bias tape on the
edges. Although I love the look, I
wouldn't recommend this change.
Stick with the bias tape.
The piping made the side seams bulky.
As for the side buttons, I only made the top three
functional on each side. I could
have gotten away with only make the top two functional OR only the top three on
one side functional. I also made
the first buttonhole on each side horizontal. The waist is where you will have most strain on your
buttons; you definitely don't want those popping out! All other buttonholes are
vertical as per the instructions.
This pattern sewed up fast and nicely. Total, it took me just under 3 hours
after I got the fit. That time
does not include making the piping, which took 1.5 hours.
The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. I like that the instructions are only 3
pages so I felt ok printing them out and not reading from my tablet.
I wouldn't recommend this pattern to a brand new sewist because
of the potential tailoring. If you
are a seasoned beginner, then you can absolutely handle this. Tailoring is a fantastic way to improve
your sewing skills.
My honest opinion: I LOVE these shorts! I will be making more. Linen or chambray would be exquisite!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at
brianne (dot) matlage (at) gmail (dot) com or via the Ali Cat Co Facebook page
Now go get your selfish on!
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