Jean shorts (or jorts, as I like to call them – because it’s ridiculous and hipster and sounds completely stupid) are something that have been on my to-sew list for a looong time. Super long. In fact, my jort supply has long run dry – I used to get those the old-fashioned way, by waiting until summer to hack the legs off my jeans so they’d be warm weather appropriate (and later realizing my huge mistake come fall – argh! Whyyyy!!). Jean shorts are an American thing – and I haven’t worn a proper pair in years. No wonder I always see pictures of bald eagles crying:
Anyway. Back to jorts. I knew I wasn’t going to get them by way of cut-offs (I love my jeans too much to do that to them!), so I figured I’d make a pair from scratch and call it a day.
My denim is a bit special – I actually bought it during Imogene + Willie‘s big yard sale. I went because I knew they’d have markdowns on jeans (although, when I finally got there, they’d put all the pants away due to threat of rain, wah), but I didn’t realize they’d also have leftover yardage of fabric! For cheap! I got 4 yards of this ridiculously amazing denim for $5 – yes, it’s super narrow (it is selvedge denim, after all), but still. That’s cheap as shit.
The denim was really nice to work with. I always complain that good-quality denim is really difficult to find for the home sewer – either it’s too lightweight, it has too much stretch, it has awful stretch recovery, it feels cheap, the color is awful, etc etc. And while I have found some really great denims that make fabulous skirts and dresses, I’m not so convinced when it comes to pants. This fabric, though, is really good. It’s very sturdy and luxurious, with absolutely no stretch.
Honestly, I think the lack of stretch is what did me in. These jorts are, unfortunately, a fail for me. Wah!
They look WAY better in these pictures than they look in real life – so much, I’m almost second-guessing my fail label. But, no, they’re pretty bad.
I had a somewhat traumatizing experience while making these. Things were going along great – I’d unearthed my Featherweight to do the topstitching (which is BEAUTIFUL, btw! Well. Beautiful where it’s not crooked lolz), I was having a lovely time stitching that denim, I was confident in my TNT shorts pattern, Grainline Maritime shorts. I love my Thurlows, but these are a fab casual shorts pattern if you don’t want all the fuss of the lining and welt pockets! I’ve made them a couple of times before, and while I’m not going to discuss the sizing and construction in detail on this post, you can read all my thoughts on the pattern here and here.
Anyway, I decided to try them on before attaching the waistband, and the zipper immediately popped in half.
“Well, that was probably a shitty zipper. It looked kind of old, probably just gave up on life right as I was pulling them on. I’ll put in another zipper, should be fine.”
So I unpicked the zipper, inserted a new one (have you tried to insert a zipper into a front fly that’s already been assembled? It’s… weird. Not a fan.), attached the waistband, and was getting ready to stitch down the waistband facing when I decided to try the shorts on again.
Oh, right. I popped that fucking zipper too. DAMMIT!
This is when I took an emergency trip to the fabric store (guys, I never do this – but desperate times call for desperate measures and I am DESPERATE for some jorts ok) and bought the strongest denim zipper I could find. I figured the shorts were probably straining against the bottom of the zipper because there was no give in the fabric, so I decided to let out as many seams as I could. I gave myself as much extra room as I could squeeze out, and then reinserted the (third!!!) zipper and finished the waistband.
Then I tried them on. Meh.
The fit is just… weird. I’m guessing my emergency unpick didn’t work as well as I had anticipated, so now I’ve got some weird lumps in seams that shouldn’t have weird lumps. They also just feel vaguely uncomfortable – I get that selvedge denim is pretty tough, and needs to be worn in a bit before it’s actually comfortable, but I don’t like it. Not in shorts, anyway. I know it looks like they are painted on, but they are honestly not that tight (except I guess somewhere around the base of the zipper, where it strains when I pull them on). Then there’s that whole issue with me being terrified that I’m going to snap this zipper every time I pull them off.
Here’s a closer photo of the shorts and the way they fit. You can see they’re kind of off – it’s not horrible, but it’s enough to bother me. Actually, I think the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that the damn waistband isn’t lined up. I have NO idea how that happened – it matched up perfectly the first time I attached it (right before I popped the second zipper), but it looks terrible. Oh well.
Aside from the fit – and the laughingly terrible waistband assembly, seam pucker and all (fyi, that’s where I gave up) – the construction is something I’m moderately proud of. While I didn’t go as far as doing flat-felled seams (and thank GOD for that, since I ended up unpicking them. Well, it didn’t help in the end. But, you know), I did topstitch them with proper denim thread. It looks so good!
Well, I guess it would look better if the topstitching were straight, haha! Oh well! Like I said, I used my Featherweight to do all the topstitching – I figured it would be better than unthreading my Bernina every couple of seams. I’m really glad I did, because being able to switch machines made things go a lot faster. Plus, the Featherweight just produces some of the prettiest topstitching! Now I understand why people flip their shits over these machines. They’re pretty fun!
Of course, that machine handles entirely differently than the Bernina I’m so used to, so I definitely went through a bit of a curve with this project. My topstitching isn’t straight, but that’s ok. It was a good practice and I’m over these shorts anyway 🙂
I’m totally ashamed to admit that I’ve barely used that Featherweight since I bought it, btw. I used it to make a failed Amy Butler bag right after purchase, and after that it just sat on my cabinet as decoration… until I pulled it out to make these failed shorts. And now I’m wondering if this is a jinxed machine ohgod.
Anyway, here’s that damn fly that gave me so much trouble. At least I have lots of practice sewing flys now! Haha!!
Sorry for all the unclipped threads and general messy inside. I think I just mentally gave up on this project after the first zipper broke.
So, overall – these jorts are definitely a fail for me. Not entirely happy with the fit, I think the topstitching looks sloppy, the back pockets are weirdly in the wrong place, they’re uncomfortable, the stupid waistband looks stupid, but most importantly… I will always always be afraid I’m going to break that zip when I’m taking the shorts off. Not worth the stress. Also, as a side note, that’s my Briar I’m wearing and I’m thinking it looks too big and droopy on me now 😦 Sad.
I’m not entirely bummed with this project, because I had a good time making them (despite the multiple zipper incidents) and I definitely learned a lot during the process. This probably makes me look bad now, considering I just announced my pants making extravaganza, but you know what? Mistakes happen. None of us are immune to the occasional sewing fail, and even if I don’t get a completed outfit out of it, I at least come away with the knowledge to improve on future makes and not repeat those mistakes. I’m also really happy that I reunited with my Featherweight! Maybe I’ll get around to actually fulfilling my sewlution of using that machine to make an entire garment. Sure, it was set for 2013, but… better late than never, right? 🙂
LLADYBIRD 
So sad! I’m struggling with a pair of pants right now, but hope to try some Maritime Shorts soon.
Do it! Just don’t make ’em too tight out of non-stretch heavy denim haha 🙂 I do really like that pattern, tho 🙂
I must say your determination is amazing, I would have ripped them to shreds and hit the gin after the second zipper!
You know, I totally considered it! Then I thought, “Well, I’ve already got this far…” and powered through. I can’t say I have amazing determination in every aspect of my life, but I definitely do when it comes to sewing haha 🙂
For what it is worth, I think they look super cute! But I know a garment has to fit and feel well in order for it to be wearable, so I get why you don’t like them either. And a sewing fail (i.e. an unwearable for you finished garment) is still a learning opportunity, as you say. I tend to learn more from my fails than from my successes, personally!
If you don’t mind a non-traditional zipper placement, Gertie’s capris would be easy to make into shorts, and I’m a fan of the fit; also Wearing History’s Smooth Sailing trousers are super easy and well fitted for shorts as well. Denim would work for either pattern. (I’ve made Gertie’s in denim, and the Smooth Sailing pattern into shorts with a heavy canvas type material that is similar in drape to denim)
I’ve looked at both those patterns, and while I do like them, I think I prefer a traditional zipper and lower rise for this particular garment. Just looks more casual to me! But I’ve had my eye on those Gertie capris, and the Smooth Sailing Trousers are something I’d like to tackle someday, so it’s good to know the patterns get thumbs up!
Sigh, you can’t win them all. They do look pretty amazing in the photos though, you could have totally passed them off for good jorts. The crying eagle was a nice touch btw.
Every post should have a crying eagle hahahaha
Ack! I just had Megan print me out the Maritime shorts. Not that I’m attempting jorts and I can bet with my lacking derriere that they’ll be a sagfest anyways, but this makes me a little more nervous!
Are you going to try washing them and see if that loosens them up? I know people are gaga over raw denim, but I prefer my california style sunbleached, sand-distressed denim. I don’t want to wear something that feels like sail canvas!
Noooo girl, don’t be nervous!! I actually really love this pattern… I hope it didn’t come across in my post that it’s flawed! My problem was poor fabric choice. You can totally do it!
I’ve already prewashed the fabric a couple of times and I don’t think it’s going to soften up anymore. I think I may wear them around the house a bit and see if that loosens them up, although it won’t fix the wonky waistband (ok, *I* could fix that. But you and I both know I’m not gonna do that hahah)
Any chance you’re letting your unhappiness with the shorts cast gloom on everything around them? (Meaning, personally I like your top and I think it looks adorable and not droopy at all. Shorts/pants/other layers appear to be peeking themselves out from underneath, like daffodils or something.)
Oh, no, haha, I’ve been eyeballing that top in fit-disgust for a couple of months now 🙂 I still love it – but I also feel like it looks obviously too big. My perception might be skewed tho, since I feel like my entire wardrobe is suddenly too big haha
Omg. Sounds so frustrating. After the 2nd zip I would have thrown in the towel. But your topstitching is just gorgeous. Love your process.
The topstitching makes me feel better about the whole saga 🙂 haha!
Lauren, huge thanks for sharing your sewing fails! It’s a huge encouragement/comfort to those of us still learning–that fitting/sewing is always a learning process. You rock.
I totally agree! We all need to be reminded that we’re all capable of failing every now and again 🙂 The important part is that we learn from our mistakes!
While I think these shorts…jorts…lol look great on you… cause well, you look great in everything, I get it. The fit and comfort is what counts. I just tossed a pair of shorts that had some serious wedginess that I couldn’t stand. I think that most pants or shorts need a little bit of stretch. Good luck with the next pair!
Hahaha, not everything, but thank you 🙂 And I agree with you – I think they need a little bit of stretch to be comfortable. Well, good thing I finally learned that HAHA! 🙂
“Now I understand why people flip their shits over these machines.”
So funny! I’m genuinely lol’ing at starbucks. I’m a featherweight shit flipper. What can I say? It’s awesome, adorable, and it delivers the damn goods! When does one find that, ever?
Another vote in favor of the Featherweight. I have my mom’s, which she acquired sometime in the 60s. It’s my only machine, and it’s quite lovely. Eventually I’d love to have a more modern machine with more options, as well, but mom made some amazing things with this when I was younger.
It’s definitely pretty fun to sew on! And how cool that you got your mom’s – I wish mine had that kind of back story, but it’s just from an antique store 🙂
It’s true! Dream machine 🙂
WOW I needed to read this today. I threw in the towel on some Thurlow shorts just yesterday and have been feeling very down about it. It’s nice to know that even the superstars have fails 😉 I also tried that beautiful denim topstitching thread, it’s amazing and now I want to use it on everything!
Random side note: I don’t have the Maritime pattern but it looks like the rise is about as high as the Thurlows. Is it just me, or is it difficult to find patterns with a low rise? Am I the only one who LIKES a low rise?!
Nooo, you shouldn’t ever feel down about killing a sewing project. Sometimes it’s not worth it to power through, you know?
The Maritimes are about the same rise as the Thurlow. Not sure where you can find lower rise patterns – you’re absolutely right, they are more difficult to find! I wonder if it has anything to do with pretty much everything available in RTW being a low rise, and thus pattern companies offer higher rises as a way to fill in the gap? I dunno, I look awful in really low rises so I just don’t wear them haha!
But they look super good from the inside 🙂
Well, that counts for something 🙂
Thanks for posting this, Lauren. I’m glad even you have fails. 🙂 I just finished my first pair of jeans with great denim procured by Jennifer Stern in New York City. It had a little bit of stretch, so it was quite forgiving. The top stitching was so fun! I am feeling excited about sewing another pair with Japanese selvedge denim. Thanks for the heads-up on the challenges!
Oh, that denim sounds really nice! Jealous! 🙂
What a pain in the arse they didn’t work out for you, especially since you had to go on the emergency zipper hunt. At least now you have a stylish pair of gardening/painting jorts on hand. I really love the pockets, they are really cute. I think jorts should always have a bit of stretch in them
I think you’re right – next jorts (will there be a next???) will definitely include a little stretch!
That topstitching is lovely! And I love the pocket lining. I’ve been sitting on some selvedge denim and was considering shorts, but I sure don’t have the stamina to install three zippers…
Hahahahaha well hopefully you’ll only have to install just one 🙂
The photos look pretty good. My only thing about them ( but this is a personal freak thing of mine) when it comes to pants and short it’s imperative for me that the bottom of the zipper is at the very bottom of my crotch. I know I’m wierd. I don’t like the zipper to be higher and have some seam at the crotch it’s my personal fear of CT which to me is the horror of horrors! Anyway that is a pattern issue anyway . I think your shorts look good but if they are uncomfortable then the point is mute. Thanks for sharing!
I see what you’re saying, but I feel like that would be uncomfortable! I guess that’s why we make our own clothes, though – so we can make things fit and function the way we want them to 🙂
You know, they don’t actually look to terribly bad in the pics. But I find most things look better/different in pics than they do in person. And re-insert a zipper…not once but twice? NEVER GONNA HAPPEN! Good for you for persevering & finishing the shorts. 🙂
Ahh shame that this project didn’t work out.. But your topstitching does look good from over here 🙂 I hope your next project will be more succesful, but I’m sure it will!
I always seem to learn the most on projects that end up in the “room of frustration” (yes I have a whole room in which to throw sewing projects when they frustrate me!) at least for awhile. Thanks for sharing a less than perfect project – I think we all get caught up in only sharing the ‘perfect’ makes but sometimes it is nice to discuss what went wrong! Like that time I cut my dress sleeve out of the skirt piece by accident….
Ahahaha I can’t believe you have a whole room for that! Haha! It’s probably a good thing I don’t, otherwise I’d be throwing in the towel a LOT more!! 😉
As I always find that denim stretches with wear, I’d wear them around the house a few times before tossing.
That’s a good point, I should probably try stretching them a bit first 🙂
Thanks for sharing this story. I just canned a chiffon tunic this week as a fail. I was somewhat discouraged from the wasted work. Sorry your shorts did not turn out as expected, I do understand – believe me, I was cursing like a sailor!
Oh no, what a bummer! I had a massive sewing fail recently as it’s really broken my sewjo…I need to get back on the horse but I feel kind meh about sewing at the moment. The shorts look great…but I know what you mean, often the photos are so deceptive.
I think we are all our biggest critics – I think you Jorts look great as do others. Maybe a revisit in a week of two may change your opinion. However sometimes a failure is just a failure in our own eyes and there is no changing that. Are you going to try again?
I honestly don’t know if I’ll try again. I already know I don’t like making jeans – so I dunno why I thought jorts would be different. But I think I may just thrift some old jeans and turn them into cutoffs. Not sure if sewing them up again is worth my time and energy, you know?
Well, these look fine in the photos, but I would never wear a pair of shorts with a dodgy zipper either! Although it’s disappointing given all your hard work (and that topstitching looks good), sewing does seem to be one of those things where we learn a lot from our mistakes. I’m thinking no matter how long you’ve been sewing, you’re bound to make a few.
Oh, absolutely! People who claim to never make mistakes (or can failed projects) are big fat liars 🙂
Hopefully after a few washes they might be more wearable for you!
It’s refreshing to know about your fails as well as successes. It’s definitely relatable. A lot of people are saying they would have given up after the first zip broke, but I would have done the exact same thing as you. I would have tried again and again too, ER store run and all.
I’m not very good at sewing yet in my opinion and I have a lot of fails!
All those fails mean you’re learning a TON though, right? 🙂 Gah, I wish I had some of my old fails from when I started sewing… those things were hilariously bad hahahaa
Gah! I hate it when this happens. Glad you cracked out the Featherweight, though.
Me too! Love my Featherweight ❤
In the photos they look great, but if you are worried about the fit there are a few things you can do with a proper selvedge denim that might help?
To get them to mold to your body so they crease where you want and hug the curves you want them to hug. Then put them on and sit in a lukewarm bath and then wear them till they drip dry. It opens up the fibres of the cotton and as they shrink back when drying it molds them in. It can leave you with a blue body so be sure to wear underwear you don’t care about and stay away from sitting on pale things.
The other way is to break the fibres. Attack the fronts with sandpaper or a sander (maybe experiment on a test first) and break the fibres off the top to help loosen up the whole structure and make them look more worn.
If you need more info drop me an email and I can send across more, I’ve worked with selvedge denim a bit in a commercial capacity so learnt a few tricks along the way.
I’ve heard of wearing wet denim and while it sounds awfully uncomfortable, it may be worth a shot (won’t fix that dodgy waistband, tho. OK I GUESS I CAN DO THAT hahaha). I’m also interested in the idea of breaking up the fibers! That sounds like it would actually be a great stress reliever haha 🙂
Thanks for the tips! I’m going to try these and holler at you if I need more ideas 🙂
Ugh! How frustrating!! I totally would have given up after the 2nd zipper failed! So huge props to you for actually seeing these through. The denim does look really dreamy – maybe the more you wear them the better they’ll fit. I hear that’s the magic of selvedge denim. And waistbands can always be covered up with t-shirt hems….
I really appreciate that you’re telling us how you really feel about your garments. It’s true, even the best of us can make mistakes! You appear more professional as a result. It takes a lot of confidence to admit to publicly one’s mistakes so congrats. Great post!
Of course, I think they look great, but can totally understand the thrown mojo that occurred after the zipper incidents. I admire your determination to make it work!
Please let us know if you try the “shrink-to-fit” bathtub/wet denim method. When I was in junior high in the 80’s everyone would buy Levi’s and get them to fit in this manner. The thought of wearing wet denim, though, ugh, forced me to buy other, less cool brands, like Jordache, lol.
Loved the post. Thanks for sharing the “fail” – glad to know even the experts have them.
I think they look nice , though I think you know yourself if something doesn’t feel right . I have a zinnia skirt that suddenly somehow I just feel too poufy in , though I used to always like that style of skirt . I always enjoy your posts, the crying eagle cracked me up .
I think they look fine too, but I know how it is when something doesn’t feel right. It just makes me cranky when I have to wear something like that, no matter what anyone else says.
And a side note, I hope this doesn’t sound creepy, but I’m really jealous of your legs! If mine looked like that I think I would wear shorts too.
Not creepy at all 🙂 I do a lot of leg-stuff (running, biking, and I recently realized that the majority of my swimming is leg-focused haha, my poor arms), and I love how strong they are as a result. So yeah! Get to biking and you can have big muscle legs too haha 🙂
I know what you mean about if-it-doesn’t-feel-good! I’d like to know: what do you look for when you’re denim shopping? How can you tell good denim from denim-fraud?
Your guess is as good as mine! I’m still learning at this point. Right now, I try to find denim that feels similar to the denim used to make my favorite jeans, and try to get something that doesn’t have a lot of stretch or is super lightweight (my experience with those types of denim is that they’ll stretch out and then not recover until you wash them again – which means your pants will be super baggy after a couple of hours of wear!), but there’s definitely still a learning curve.
I think they look great on you!
Ugh! I can completely commiserate with you on fails. I recently got all cocky making a pair of Named Jamie jeans and there’s all this bunchy excess fabric in the crotch. Total faux camel toe city! So they’re taking a time out under the chair of shame while I consider ripping out a ton of topstitching. I hope your featherweight isn’t cursed & your next make is more successful!
I can’t believe your stamina! I just made a pair of jeans from the recent burda pattern and realized that they’re really high waisted after I put the fly in. Grrrr. I did take it out and put it back in again, but I can’t believe how annoying it was. That and all the other issues would have sent those jorts in to the bin for me!
Here’s guess about why you might not be happy about the fit of the jorts though: I think that the maritime shorts are more of a traditional short pattern, meaning that the inseam swings out giving you more room at the hem. In fairly straight cut jeans the inseam stays close to the body, if their loose, their loose in the outseam and the inseam too. All this is to say that you might have a better result with a trouser pattern that you “cut off” in the same way as you’d cut off finished jeans, rather than starting with a shorts pattern. Just a theory though!
This is really fascinating, and makes total sense. Something to think about for my next jorts attempt 🙂 Thank you!
Oh, definitely give the bathtub thing a shot!! I’ve done that with many pairs of new jeans, as a shortcut to setting my shape into them, esp. around the derrière, haha! It really relaxes the denim and is totally worth a try since you did all that work. Yes, wearing wet jeans feels totally gross, but with shorts it won’t be too bad and you don’t have to keep them on until they’re completely dry… just mostly.