Thursday, July 18, 2019

Organic Twill Pietra Shorts

Have legs, will wear shorts!!


I have to thank Grace at Maker Mountain Fabrics and Gillian, well, you know Gillian, for inspiring me to make shorts. The first shorts I've sewn for myself in years (literally years, the last pair I made was in 2014)! 


Grace had me thinking about shorts generally and Gillian made some amazing denim Pietra Shorts that had me considering heavier weight pieces of fabric in my stash that could work for the Pietra Shorts (I really adore the Pietra Pants I made during testing!).


The fabric for my shorts is organic cotton twill in plum from Organic Cotton Plus. The piece is a remnant from the Lander Pants I made a couple years back, which I sadly had to give away because they were just too snug on me. Luckily, they went to a good home.


The twill remnant was just over a yard and I was able to eke out these size 18 Pietra shorts. I didn't make any fit changes; just went for it. Initially I would have thought a twill like this (7 oz) would be too heavy for the Pietra Pants, but it actually works really well. #SewingLeftovers for the win!


I love how the front waist facing acts to smooth out the front zone really nicely, especially in a heavier weight fabric.


I'll admit: I am still apprehensive about shorts. My upper legs are a sensitive zone for me. I feel a bit exposed in these shorts, and yet I also love the way they look at the same time. Are my legs pale, cellulite-y and covered in bruises and mosquito bites? Yes. But I am going to wear these shorts anyway.


Here I'm wearing them with my Seamwork Adria, a cropped top. In reality, I can probably only handle one boundary-pushing garment at a time, so I imagine I'll likely wear these shorts with a regular t-shirt and the top with a full length skirt or pants.


I'm very pleased with these shorts! They turned out really nice, as far as shorts go. Thanks for the inspiration, Grace and Gillian!