completed: simplicity 5110 red high-waisted shorts

just finished another piece for my summer wardrobe – yeah!!

i’ve been meaning to make these forever – it’s almost embarrassing how long i’ve put this off.

i’ve actually used this pattern twice in the past – once for green shorts, once for blue, both view 1. the problem with my previous shorts resulted in a bit of an off-fit – the crotch is a bit too low for my comfort. also, the waistband is too big (note: that’s not my pattern pictured; mine is a 28″ waist. jsyk!), but that can be quickly fixed during construction. i kind of waffled around on exactly how to fit a droopy crotch (PROTIP: it’s not a matter of “making a bigger seam allowance” uhhh yep tried that haha), found sunni’s tips on crotch depth, and 1″ worth of tucks & taping later, success!

i also had some problems with the zipper. zippers & i have never really been bffz, so to speak, so this really doesn’t surprise me. i lurked around my sewing books & the internet, took lots of pictures, and i think i ended up with a pretty good fly-front! i will post a tutorial within the next week 🙂

as far as pattern changes i made, there were a few. i ended up widening the waistband to double the intended width… this was an easy change, instead of folding the waistband over, i just cut 2 waistbands & sewed them together at the top. the waistband is interfaced with horsehair interfacing; my previous shorts made from this pattern show that lightweight interfacing isn’t stable enough to keep the waistband from folding over when i sit. hopefully, the horsehair will remedy that! i also opted to close the top with pants hooks & eyes, as opposed to buttons & buttonholes… partially because i only had one jeans button on hand (and i needed 2 for this waistband) and partially because i like the clean look it gives the shorts. i considered adding belt loops, but decided against it. mostly out of laziness 😛 hey, at least i’m honest!

sorry in advance for the picture quality… red photographs like shit. who woulda thunk?

isn’t the crop top amazing? it was given to me by a friend who wore it back in the 60s-70s 🙂 i actually made these shorts specifically to wear with this top. it is totally see-though (sorry, mom!) but we all know that i am a-ok with my bra hanging out all over the place (sorry, mom!).

idk why i always cut off my shoes (or, uh, lack of shoes haha). here is a sorta-kinda-not-really full bodyshot

you can see the detail better here. there are pleats at the front. and the stitching next to the zipper tab is crooked. whoops.

and pockets!

zipper – i had to go with ~taupe~ because for some reason, my fabric store doesn’t stock red jeans zippers. huh.

and since i already have your attention, here is another way that i plan to wear it (this counts, i totally altered that shirt down from an XL):

AMERICA
no, seriously, the polka dots are actually stars. so are the buttons. HAHA!

Tags: completed, shorts, simplicity, vintage