Disclaimer: This is not a tutorial. I, as with most things in life, did not know what the fuck I was doing. I know how to sew and I have repaired some clothes before. I even added some elastic to the back of a top once (it said it was ‘one size fits all’ when it was one size fits small). I have never done something like this before. But, you know what, despite the fact that I had no clue what I was doing, the shorts turned out surprisingly well. And to think, it was the result of some “xl” shorts that barely got past my knees…and that I was too awkward/stubborn to send back.
The process:
So, the first step was buying a pair of shorts off of Amazon. It took a while before I found a pair that I liked but, once found, I chose a size 1-2 sizes larger than what I’d normally go for and gave the sellers my money. The shorts then arrived the next day and they did not fit me in the slightest. As stated prior, they barely got past my knees.
A normal person would have sent them back and gotten a refund…but not me, though. Honestly, I just couldn’t be bothered, and I still needed a pair of shorts. I then remembered that I once wanted to turn a pair of jeans (that also didn’t fit) into a pair of shorts but never did. So, I decided that I wanted to modify these shorts, and I was determined to actually follow through with it this time.
In order to get the shorts to fit me, I figured that I would need to add panels to the sides of them. So, I cut the shorts, straight down each side, and sort of butterflied them. I also labelled each side with safety pins – labelling them side 1 and side 2.
After that, I started working on the panels. I wanted to make them unique and interesting and to lean into the short’s already slightly tatty and alternative look. Basically, I wanted them to look kind of cobbled together; especially since I do not own a sewing machine, and knew that I was going to have to hand sew everything and it likely wouldn’t look the neatest.
The base of the panels were made from a fabric that my friend gave me years ago (when I had intended to convert the aforementioned jeans into shorts). I estimated a rough size and length for the panels and then pinned them to the sides of the shorts. I tried them on a few times, while being careful not to stab myself, until I felt that they were a decent fit. Before unpinning the panels from the shorts, I added a few pins and saftey pins to the top corners of each panel. These were to mark out both the size of each panel and to label which sides they would end up on, respectively.
After that, it was time to start designing the panels. I didn’t really have much of a plan going in. The only thing that I knew that I wanted to add was the remnants of a belt that didn’t fit me (are you noticing a theme here?) and that had already harvested some elastic from in order to modify a top. I ended up using almost all of what remained of that belt, some other fabric that I had laying around (both the front and back sides of it), some lace from a bra that just didn’t look good on me (but did actually fit), and a small part of a cloak that was NOT as advertised.
Here’s what I came up with:
After pinning all the bits and bobs to the panels, I then proceeded to put off actually sewing them together. Instead, I started adding some extra details to the shorts themselves. The first thing that I actually sewed onto the short was some lace (again, from the bra that didn’t look nice on me) onto one of the pockets. I really liked the way it looked and it, weirdly, motivated me to keep going.
After that, I added some fabric around the top band of the shorts. I used the reverse side of the fabric for this and did it in 2 pieces to get around the belt loop. This probably wasn’t the best way to go about it and I think it ended up being my least favourite part of the shorts. At least this bit is easily hidden by whatever I wear on top.
The last thing that I added to the shorts (before going back to the panels) was some fabric to one of the ass pockets. Not much to say about this one; it looks nice enough.
And then it was back to the panels. With nothing else to distract me, I sewed all the pieces onto the panels and trimmed them down. I also added a blanket stitch to the bottom side of each panel so that they wouldn’t fray.
It was then time for the most nerve-wracking part of the whole project – attaching the panels to the shorts. I started by pinning the panels into place, according to the pins that I’d put in the top corners earlier, and trying them on once more. This time, I couldn’t avoid stabbing myself several times with the pins. After a slight bit of fiddling, the panels were ready to sewn in. Here’s what they ended up looking like.
Not gonna lie, sewing the panels in was a nightmare on the fingers. And, yes, I am very aware of how crooked the top of panel 2 is. It’s not a huge disaster, though, as the top of the shorts are likely to be covered up when wearing them and, again, I was going for a cobbled together look.
Anyway, enough defending my sewing skills. Once fully sewn up, I tried the shorts on again. I found that they fit really well around the hips and thighs but the top of the shorts ended up being a bit too big.
I debated leaving them as they were, as I could probably get away with it, but I ended up putting a couple of darts in. I figured the easiest place to put these in would be in the panels themselves, although I knew that it would make the top of the shorts look even more skewiff than it already was. I did it anyway and put a dart on each panel on the edges towards the rear of the shorts. This resulted in a perfect fit.
My new shorts were complete.
Some outfits with the finished short:
So, the primary reason that I wanted a new pair of shorts in the first place was for Download. Before I went, I put together the outfits that I wanted to wear – 3 of which included my newly-modified shorts.
Some bonus Download outfits (with a different pair of shorts):
I thought I’d also show off the other 2 outfits that I planned for Download. It didn’t seem fair to leave them out.
Final thoughts:
I really like how these shorts turned out – especially since I didn’t know what I was doing and I was on a bit of a time crunch. Granted, there are a couple of issues – the bit between the legs rides up a bit when you walk (although this is easily countered by wearing tights…which I always do) and the pockets are in kinda weird positions (due to adding the panels). I’m still super proud of what I managed to do, especially since I made it up as I went along and I was just using random bits and pieces that I had lying around the flat.
Since their creation, I am happy to report that the shorts have survived both a very wet Download and a wash. I have even been wearing them since and they are still pretty much intact, aside from the distressed bits on the front of the left leg of the shorts – which have started to snap. This is not a huge disaster, however, as it just adds to the rough look of the shorts. This would have happened even if I hadn’t done anything to the shorts.
Overall, this was a fun project. 8/10 – would do again (but maybe with the help of a sewing machine next time).
– Natalie
Right, time for music. I thought I’d share a recent discovery of mine – The Faun – Greaver
Natalie's notebook 