Notions Of Fabric

 In the lead up to last summer, I made 2 pairs of what I considered 'essential' summer shorts. This is the second pair I made (the Landers have already been blogged!). And of course, they have become essential. I wore them all summer long and once it got too cold I popped a pair of tights on and a warm jumper on my top and kept wearing them! Both of these pairs will be looking after my wardrobe for years to come. This is the Maritime pattern by Grainline. I have made these shorts twice before, once in star print stretch denim, and once in heavy blue linen. They are my favourite shorts pattern so why mess with a classic? I think this also officially makes it a TNT (3 makes does that, right?)For fabric, I used a perwinkle twill I bought from the Village Haberdashery which I dyed black and added to some black remnants I already had from a (very old) Chardon skirt. That made sure I had enough fabric for both these Maritimes and also the Landers I made too. I cut a size 8 same as la...

I realised as we were approaching last summer that I had denim shorts, and navy blue shorts, but no shorts in black - which was clearly an oversight. So I made 2 pairs! This pair is by far my favourite and I have worn it loads. I am really pleased with the fit on it too! This is the Lander shorts pattern, which I have made once before. I really like the fit on these. I made a size 8, as last time I cut and made a size 10, but then ended up taking it in at the waist. I also made the hem of the shorts a smaller hem this time to give me just a little extra length. For fabric, I used a perwinkle twill I bought from the Village Haberdashery which I dyed black and added to some black remnants I already had from a (very old) Chardon skirt. That made sure I had enough fabric for both these Landers and also the Maritimes I made too (blog post incoming). As these shorts were going to get a lot of wear (and I knew that they would ahead of time due to their versatility), I put extra care into them...

Here is a real wardrobe workhorse - these Maritime Shorts must have been worn hundreds of times since I made them! These shorts were made before our trip home to Australia for Christmas 2018. It turns out that it was perfect timing - I had already made the Ogden which I am wearing in these pics, and I knew that a navy pair of shorts would be perfect for my wardrobe. This linen  is a fabric I picked up from Guthrie and Ghani, and the lining in the pockets is the scraps of Liberty lawn from the dress I made for the bbq the day after my wedding. I actually still have enough to make another set of pockets out of it, so I will be keeping it and making it last as long as humanly possible. It's such a nice lining and of course compliments the linen perfectly. These were the 'real' shorts that my starry print ones were the test for. Making those, they came out a little bit big so for this pair I went down a size and they were perfect! They fit really well, and I got ...

This is my first ever pair of bottoms that wasn't a skirt! My first shorts. These were definitely a test of this pattern, a wearable muslin as it were. And they are still hanging around years later... I bought this fabric in Paris (oh, I am planning a stash filling trip to Paris once things go back to normal!) from one of the coupon shops at the base of Montmatre. I don't remember which store it was as I had that fabric for a few years. I think I bought it on my first trip to Paris after arriving long term in the UK? That would make it 2017, I guess. I snapped up a 3m coupon for a great price, and I still remember at the time being really really pleased with my purchase The original plan for this fabric was to make a dress with it, but I released as soon as it was washed that it was too heavy for that purpose. So instead I made shorts! It does mean I have a lot left as I had 3m to start with (shorts don't take much!) These are the Maritime shorts by Grainlin...