Good morning, everyone! I hope y’all had a nice weekend – we spent the holiday driving back from the beach, which was AWESOME – well, the beach I mean, not the drive, ha – but I’m soo happy to be home! Apparently, my cat spent the entire time sulking downstairs and trying to attack my roommate when she would try to feed her. Great job, cat. And you wonder why no one wants to be your friend 😐
ANYWAY, now that the summer heat is in full swing round these parts, I’ve really started rolling with my warm-weather wardrobe. Beginning with shorts, obviously, because ain’t no way I’m trying to wear pants in this humidity.
The pattern I used is the Maritime Shorts from Grainline Studio. I have a long history with this pattern – having made shorts with crazy colors, home decor weight fabric, bicycles, and even some failed jorts. This is a good little workhorse of a pattern, and I love the modern, clean cut (which kind of reminds me of something you’d pull from a JCrew catalog, especially in a printed fabric like those bikes!). They’re also REALLY easy to whip up, Ikat fabric notwithstanding, and can be squeezed out of a fairly paltry yardage. All good things, in my book!
Since I’ve made these so many times before, there’s not too much to comment on construction or fit. I made my usual size, although it needed a bit of pulling in due to my fabric choice (more on that in a sec). I used stretch interfacing for the waistband and fly pieces and shortened the hem as much as I could before the pockets threatened to poke out. Most seams are serged, although there are a few flat-felled seams in where I could manage it. Oh! I also used both of my machines to make this – one threaded with white, one with navy. This meant that I didn’t have to change out the thread over and over, as I did with the skirt. Made sewing these shorts go a LOT faster!
When it came time to sew the fly zipper, I skipped over Jen’s instructions and followed the ones for the Thurlow pants (you can see my sewalong post for those steps here). I don’t know what it is, but the included fly instructions don’t make a lick of sense to me. This seems to be the case for about 50% of sewers who make these shorts – some people think the instructions are awesome, and some of us are just sitting there scratching our butts, confused as shit. Obviously I fall into the latter. Anyway, it’s easy to swap out the directions with something that makes a little more sense to you, so in my case, it’s Thurlow. All good!
If this fabric looks familiar, it’s because I’ve used it before – on another Grainline pattern, no less. This is a stretch cotton twill that I bought from Mood Fabrics aaaaages ago – and have been hanging onto ever since, mostly because I had to work up the courage before I attempted pattern matching again! As with the Moss Mini, pattern matching these shorts was a total and complete bitch. I cut everything on the single layer, but even then it was really really difficult. Matching plaids and stripes is pretty easy – I could do that shit in my sleep at this point – but I had it in my head that I needed to match the print like freaking wallpaper for this piece, so the Ikat pattern runs seamlessly all the way around. I actually did manage to do just that, but not without wasting a shit load of fabric – seriously, I think I started out without about 2 yards, and I just barely had enough to match the back pockets by the time I was done. I kept mis-cutting and it was extremely frustrating. Of course, I have more Ikat lurking in my stash and I’m just side-eyeing it with terror now. I don’t know if I can deal anymore. I just don’t know.
Anyway, I’m happy with how everything turned out – it was totally worth the effort. You’ll notice that my print-matching is not 100% – especially at the center back. This is because I used a twill with a heavy stretch, which rendered the shorts waaaay too big when I sewed them with the normal 1/2″ seam allowance included in the pattern. I tried them on before attaching the waistband, so it was easy to nip in the sides until I got a closer fit, but that meant I had to sacrifice some of my perfect print-matching. The Ikat still runs in a straight line, which is good – it’s just a little interrupted at the sides. The center back looks like a vortex leading straight to hell, but there’s really not much I can do about that, so whatever. At least the back pockets are good, ha.
All in all, I think I pinched out about 1″ off each side before the shorts were finally the right size. Again, this is due to the stretch in the fabric. I’d normally size down for this sort of thing, but I sewed the smallest size so that wasn’t really an option.
I don’t have much else to say about this project, so here are some pictures.
(I totally sewed the hook & eye on with pink thread – I am pretending like it’s a design feature, but in all honesty it’s because I already had a needle threaded with pink thread and I didn’t feel like changing out to white. Ha!)
Notice that the bottom of the fly shield is unfinished – I sewed it in upside-down on accident. This seems to be a running theme for fly shields+me, as it certainly isn’t the first time I’ve made this mistake. Oh well.
Ok, I guess that’s it! So happy to finally bite the bullet and put that Ikat to good use. These shorts turned out really awesome, and they’re much more wearable than the mini skirt was (it’s hard for me to justify wearing something if I can’t comfortably sit on the floor with it on). And they look great with my new coral button-up, so bonus!
In other news, I recently decided to quit drinking coffee for the next couple of weeks – I felt like my caffeine dependency was getting out of hand, so I wanted to try to 0 out and start new. Omg you guys, it is REALLY hard! I am fortunate not to have any withdrawal headaches, but instead I’m just tired and listless and feel a little depressed, which is weird. I’ve also taken way too many naps over the weekend. I’m hoping things will balance out soon and I’ll feel back to my normal self but – ugh. So pardon me if I seem irritable – I’m just under-caffeinated! In the meantime, if you have any tips to help me ease out of this ~trying time~ in my life, I’m open to suggestions! I mostly just miss the taste of coffee. It was like getting a warm hug in the morning.
Your pattern matching is impeccable, from where I sit. V. useful garment, even if at first glance the print seems to be one of those “I love this but I only dare wear it twice a year because it is such a memorable garment.” Not so with ikat. Yes, so, with the black-white-green-red-yellow-purple print of giant African masks on a wrap dress that I have to limit my wearings.
You know, even if these shorts were that memorable, I’d probably still wear them all the time just cos of all the effort that went into making them! That African mask wrap dress sounds AMAZING and you shouldn’t limit your wearings – I mean, the worst that could happen is that you’ll be known for that dress. Which doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me at all, ha 🙂
Will try to get Dear Husband to take a photo of me in the dress-that-he-hates, and forward it to you. You may change your mind when you see it, lol. Shoot me a message so I can reply, as I have deliberately lost your email address so that I would not become a daily annoyance to you.
DH hastens to defend himself: “I don’t hate your dress; I just don’t understand it.” BTW he likes your shorts, thinks they are just fine for summertime wear, and admires your finish work on the inside … I have trained him well.
Lurve the shorts!
Re: caffeine: I highly recommend drinking lots of water, and if you’re a yoga-er, do some yoga. And go for many walks/bike rides. And treat yo’self to some chocolate.
Also, if you’re feeling caffeine-desperate, maybe some green tea or white tea?
These are great tips, thank you so much! I’m usually pretty good about staying hydrated, but I’ve noticed that’s kind of been slipping lately, so I should probably water up more. And definitely do more exercise, especially yoga, since it does make me feel a lot better.
Print matching with that Ikat is SO HARD. You did a great job, even if it meant sacrificing a bunch of fabric. 🙂 I made a Moss Mini with that print once upon a time and yeah… it was a nightmare! Good luck on the caffeine withdrawl! I’ve done that a few times, so you’ll feed normal soon, but I’ve decided I just love coffee too much to ditch it.
Woof, it’s HARD, isn’t it?! (the print matching and the caffeine withdrawal, ha). I really really love coffee, so I may go back to it eventually – but for now, I just wanna see if I can do it! Getting through this week has been rough, though.
Why not try decaf? Then you still get the delicious taste, and probably the placebo-high, but without the caffeine
Why not switch to decaf? I went through a whole caffeine detox a couple of months ago, but I just love coffee. I love the flavor. So, I’ve switched to decaf. I know it isn’t 100% caffeine free, but it’s better than full caf and after your body adjusts, it won’t know the difference anyway, right?
I’m drinking a tiny bit of decaf just to wean off (like 1 cup a day), but I hope to be of it completely soon. Honestly, I just wanted to see if I could do it haha. That’s the same reason why I put myself through the torture of quitting smoking (cold turkey, even!). I wanted to prove to myself that I was bigger than my addictions.
Although, once this is over, I’ll probably keep with the decaf. I just loooove the taste of coffee so much haha.
awesome pattern matching! I just love those Itkat prints, I have the feeling a lot of people are sewing with them. Makes me want to go fabric shopping…
Ikat seems to be pretty popular these days! And I think you shoudl totally go fabric shopping 😉 hehe
Those shorts are so cute, great job using the Ikat fabric.
Thanks, Lori!
Organic Decaf so you don’t miss the taste? I’m a labor and delivery nurse in real life. If I quit drinking coffee, probably someone could die… Don’t need that.
haha yeah, sounds like you should continue your coffee habits 🙂 I am drinking a little bit of decaf, but I am trying to wean 100% off since decaf still has tiny amounts of caffeine in it. Totally being nitpicky, but whatever haha!
I know this sounds totally “granola”, but you could try hot water with a big squeeze of lemon? The hot water gives you that warm hug, and the lemon is surprisingly energizing.
Or if you want something more substantial, you could try one of these “superfood lattes”? The turmeric and vanilla one is really good. http://www.thefirstmess.com/2015/02/11/superfood-lattes-recipe/
Whatever, I LOVE granola shit! Really appeals to the hippie in me 😀 I did try warm water with the lemon the other day, and that helped a lot. I should buy lemons and drink that more.
Also, those superfood lattes sound seriously delicious. I am going to have to try those for sure. Thank you so much for the suggestions!
I make a version of that turmeric one but I replace the ground ginger with root ginger (I want to try root turmeric as well), and instead of vanilla powder I just use vanilla essence. And honey instead of maple syrup! But I tend to drink it before bed, not first thing in the morning, so I dunno how effective it would be as a caffeine replacement… if you google “golden milk” you can find loads of variations on the recipe.
I switched to green tea last year when I ran out of coffee one day and wanted to use up what else was in my cupboard! It still has caffeine of course, but I notice I actually do feel slightly edgier on the days I have caffeinated coffee so I stuck with the green tea. But I guess that replaces one addiction for another! Good luck with it.
Great pattern-matching btw.
Thanks for the tips! I’ve been drinking green tea (just a small amount – nothing like how much coffee I’ve consumed) and it does make me feel better throughout the day. Although I still want to pass out around 4 every day, and I’m trying to get past the need to drink caffeine to stay awake.
Ah, yeah, that’s a problem I don’t have an answer for since I gave up having caffeine after lunch yeeeeeaaarrs ago to try and eliminate my insomnia — which didn’t completely go away (there were also other factors causing it at the time), but it did help, and I noticed that the occasions I had caffeine in the afternoons I had trouble sleeping, so I still avoid it…
Although I just finished a cup of peppermint tea, which I haven’t had for ages, and I feel quite pepped up! Think I might start drinking it more regularly — maybe give it try, see if it helps? 🙂
Wonderful shorts! Your pattern matching skills are impressive. I kind of want Ikat shorts now…
For caffeine withdrawal, perhaps Omega 3 (DHA) could help? I’ve researched it for depression and it seems to help with possible inflammation in the brain that makes your brain work harder to get messages across. In my experience, it’s really REALLY helped me not feel like I’m in a fog all day, so it seems possible it could help you with the listlessness and general mood. I noticed an improvement in only a couple days.
But water, always water. The solution to all health issues is water. Good for you for taking control of your body!
You should make you some Ikat shorts! They’re really fun and surprisingly go with a lot more tops/colors than I originally thought they would 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion on the Omega 3! I am going to have to look into that when I go to Whole Foods tomorrow (at least, I’m hoping WF sells it haha).
I just bought some similar fabric from Blackbird Fabrics to make shorts! The Maritimes were on the shortlist of patterns to use, and now I think they’re at the top!
Yay for Ikat Maritime shorts!! 😀
LOVE the shorts, and yeesh, there’s only one thing worse than giving up coffee (major addict here too) and thats giving up sugar! I’ll be doing both post holiday in a few weeks to try to get a handle on things again. When you get to eating a full packet of chocolate biscuits in one sitting you know it’s time to climb back on the wagon again. 🙂
OH MAN I hear you on the sugar! I’ve been phasing that out too (I’m not a super diehard sugar eater, but it’s been creeping into my life way more than I’d like it to lately) and basically, this week has been hell. I just keep telling myself that my body will stop craving it after a few days – but it’s getting through those few days that’s so freaking hard!
I hear ya, the first 5 days or so are a nightmare… definitely gets easier! I have to purge every 6 months of so when the bad habits creep back in as I have NO willpower whatsoever.
Good for you on the quitting caffeine. I did it a couple of years ago, and once you get over the first few days, you feel AMAZING. My bad addiction was Coca Cola and I have saved probably several hundred dollars since I quit. More fabric money!!
I’m waiting for that amazing feeling! That’s what’s keeping me going. I figure if I can quit smoking cold-turkey (and that felt SO GOOD once the withdrawals subsided), then I can do anything 🙂
Love that print!
Maybe you should try green tea for your caffeine fix instead?
Love that print!
And maybe you can try green tea or black tea for your caffeine fix.
I’ve been drinking a cup of green tea (sometimes decaffeinated green) every day, but I really want to get completely off the caffeine eventually. But yeah, green tea really good!
1st time posting…I have been checking out your sewing for a while. love the shorts….gonna have to check out that pattern. As far as the coffee withdrawl…I don’t drink coffee…but we(myself and my kids) regularly drink ginger tea. Just boil some water and put some chunks of freshly peeled fresh ginger root in and simmer with a lid on for about 20 min or until it is the desired strength. Make a bunch and then store the rest in a mason jar with a lid and reheat when you want more. We add either honey or maple syrup for sweetner and sometimes a squeeze of lemon juice. My daughter will skip the lemon juice and stir in a sprinkle of cinnamon. My kids also like this as iced tea…me noit so much.
Yup we are a crunchy family.
Oooh, I’ve had ginger tea in a bag but never considered making it fresh. I bet it’s even better than the bagged stuff (which is fucking delicious). Thanks for the tips 🙂 Love crunchy tips haha 🙂
Suffering to give up coffee? Naaaah
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/health-check-four-reasons-have-another-cup-coffee
I’m sure I’ll be back to it in decaf form at some point 🙂 I just feel like my dependency has gotten a little out of hand out of late, so I want to zero out and start over 🙂
Rockin’ Fab!
Thank you!
I love the shorts – very nice job.
As for the coffee…it does get easier. I gave up my morning coffee several years ago and what I found that I missed most (once the headaches subsided) was holding that hot cup and sipping the beverage. One nice substitute has been brewed cocoa. It’s not like drinking hot chocolate…it’s quite different. I buy it on Amazon. I think the brand is Crio Bru. It’s a bit pricey but we like it. I also drink decaf tea quite a bit more and enjoy that.
Good luck.
Yeah, I think it’s the hot cup/sipping that I miss the most. I’m not a fan of hot chocolate, but cocoa could be a nice substitute if it’s less sweet/chocolatety. Might have to check that out, thank you for the suggestion!
You have my sympathy about the coffee! I was always more of a tea person, but I used to like a cup or two in the afternoon as a treat or break, and I recently stopped being able to handle that much acidity. Now I can only have a cup every other day or so. The ritual of it is what I miss the most.
The ritual is the best part! I miss it so much haha
re: coffee. my only recommendation is, why suffer? i didn’t even give up coffee while i was pregnant (because there’s really not much reason to, but somehow people have convinced themselves that coffee is fetus poison). i started getting bad headaches at around 20 weeks & asked my ob-gyn & she asked, “did you stop drinking coffee when you got pregnant?” & i said, “…no?” & she said, “good. don’t.” over christmas, my partner’s brother told us he was giving up coffee (he’s the one who got me started on coffee ten years ago!)–like you, just to see if he could do it. we were like, “…,” & when i made coffee the next morning, he sheepishly helped himself.
anyway, cute shorts! i’ve been contemplating that pattern for a while. is it generally pretty low-rise?
Oh, this is just something I do every now and again 🙂 Usually with sugar – but I think I’m too dependent on caffeine this time. Also, if you haven’t noticed, I like to torture myself hahaha. I also just realized that this makes it look like I’m preggers, which I’m totally not. Or, if I am, I don’t know anything about it hahahahahaa.
And yes, the pattern is a bit more low-rise than the other shorts patterns I’ve tried. It’s not SUPER low like the stuff you can buy in stores (or, rather, what I wore in high school), but the waistband does hit a bit below the navel.
yeah, after i commented, i realized that it kind of looked like i was starting a pregnancy rumor. sorry! totally not my intention. haha.
Hahaha no worries 🙂 I already came across that this past weekend when I was telling my siblings about my caffeine detox and my sister raised her eyebrow at me and I realized how it sounded. Definitely not the case haha 🙂
Drink decaf! It’s what i do. I love the taste and texture of coffee, but if i drank all the coffee i wanted, i would be a desaster. Decaf for me for some of it! you can get pretty decent stuff over here, so i hope it’s the same for you and helps. Not drinking coffee is really hard – you’re doing well! and the shorts are great. Must make some, but will stau clear of ikat (even though it’s soo pretty!!) x
I am drinking a cup of decaf a day right now, but decaf still has trace amounts of caffeine in it (not as much as a regular cup of coffee, but still, it’s not 100% caffeine free) and I want to eliminate that from my diet 🙂 I don’t think it tastes too bad, though! I don’t get why people say decaf is gross. Maybe I just have unrefined taste buds hahaha.
I gave up coffee for a few weeks in solidarity with my boyfriend who couldn’t smoke. I switched to herbal teas and to regular teas and I managed. But I was happy to jump back on the coffee bandwagon as soon as I could!
Oh man, I quit coffee back when I quit smoking too! I also quit drinking during that time (was trying to eliminate all my triggers so I’d stay off the cigs). It was ROUGH and I was sooo sick the first few days. Totally worth it in the end – I haven’t smoked a cigarette since, and it’s been years – but, lord. Would not go through that again willingly haha.
These patterned bottoms are hard to make but so worth it! Good luck with the caffeine withdrawal.
Thank you!
Ha, I just tried to quit coffee and gave up after three days I think. I did decaf for a bit because I missed the warm hug in the morning (true story, that is exactly how I described coffee to my husband), but I just felt like garbage and decided it wasn’t worth it. Whatevs, there are worse vices. Good luck!
I almost gave up the other day, but I’m hard-headed and determined to make this work! I can dooo it!
Love the shorts, agreed about the fly instructions. I gave up too & used this video http://youtu.be/8N-94kEZtP0 It’s from Claire Louise Hardie in the UK. I think she wrote the latest GBSB book.
As for coffee – everything in moderation! A little is OK, lots is not. I like peppermint teas and lemon & ginger teas.
Oh, that’s a great video! Thanks for the link 😀
Great minds… I’m trying to get through a week without coffee this week, “just to see if I can…” I love coffee so much – is it shameful to admit that sometimes it’s my only motivation?!
Anyhoo, top tip for you: my new ritual/treat is a carton of coconut water in the morning. It’s giving me loads of energy, and feels so much better than relying on caffeine for a boost. Plus, it’s “cleaner”, no more coffee breath and no weird anxiety. You don’t get the mug/hug reassurance, but it still feels like a treat. It’s working so far, and I’ve only needed to take a couple of painkillers…! Good luck 🙂
Not shameful at all! Coffee (and sometimes breakfast, if I went crazy at the grocery store the day before and bought exciting foods haha) is my biggest motivation for getting out of bed too sometimes 🙂
And ahhhhh, awesome tip! I will have to stop by the store tomorrow and see if I can get some coconut water. I’ve heard magical things about that stuff and I guess now is as good a time as ever to try it 🙂
For some reason or another, I haven’t seen these shorts made up before… are they light in summer? I saw your pattern matching on instagram, what a dream!
I’d agree with the tea drinkers who have mentioned some warm hug alternatives… at first it might just feel weird, but lemon & ginger or green tea would be a great alternative… or I tried a white tea (like a green tea but not bitter) this week and it was delicious! We have to find alternatives here in Shanghai (there’s so much tea!) because sometimes the coffee is not the best!
Yeah, they are great for summer! Nice and light and casual, but they still have all the nice things that a good pair of shorts needs (like pockets and a fly front). I love them!
Nice job with MOIO fabric (mind of its own). I rarely drink caffeine – soft drinks, coffee or caffeinated teas – which are all teas except herbal, I think. I quit when I started throwing cups @ people and the acidity was too much. Celestial Seasons brand has dozens of varieties (Boulder company). You’ll feel more alert in a different way soon! Try an orange or a madjool(?) date or apple as a mid afternoon pick me up. Good luck, you have an excellent goal.
These are so cute, especially with your button up! Good to hear you found those fly instructions a bit confusing too, I just made a Moss Mini and that part didn’t go particularly smoothly… 🙂 I’ve got a pair of thurlows cut out so maybe I’ll have more success with that fly!
Maybe I’m just an idiot, but I feel like ikat is one of those prints that print matching isn’t necessary for 😛 In other words, I didn’t notice your print matching wasn’t perfect, and I think the shorts look good 😛
As for giving up coffee… I did that once, last year, for a month. I was on this cleansing-diet thingy, and the point was to eliminate anything that might be detrimental to one’s metabolism. Long story short, it didn’t do me a lick of good, except to ensure that the first coffee after the month, was EXTRA delicious and wonderful LOL. That said, I only drink 1-2 a day so my habit is minimal, but if you’re trying to break a serious addiction, I commend you 🙂 I tried yerba mate while i was on the no-coffee thing, and it was the closest approximation to a substitute I could find: not so much in taste, but in level of satisfaction (if that makes sense :P)
Wonderful work as always Lauren, love your shorts!
Don’t you think Heather Lou’s Ginger jeans still have the best fly assembly explanation you have EVER read???
Have you tried rooibos tea – so any excuse to recommend it for caffeine free alternatives! having said that I still have 2 espressos a day, for the love of coffee and no other reason. Keep up the blogging and sewing inspiration!
Love love love! Great job!
Yeba matte! Still has caffeine but less than coffee and had other health benifits! Also skullcap (scutellaria lateriflora) tincture/tea is really great for breaking addictions!
*yerba matte
First let me say this is the first time I’ve ever left a comment, EVER, on a blog post. But, damn, you are both talented and funny! Way to go, I subscribed to your blog post so that I can read all the latest.
Secondly, I was just in a store the other day and stumbled across a pair of ikat shorts that I loved so much I took my phone out and took a picture, thinking I would love to make a pair for myself when I’m confident enough (still a newbie sewer). They were more of a rayon type material with a drawstring, but the ikat print matched these exactly!! I’ll have to check Mood to see if they still have any left, or something similar. Luckily I only work 5 blocks from there – a danger in and of its own for someone who only has a handful of garments under her belt and lots of ambition.
Well done, these look fabulous!
Such a nice shorts.
Thank you
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