More MAGAM Merry May projects - Red linen Cargo Shorts

It's a 3 day weekend this weekend but I still sewed something! Between forest hiking and visiting National Historic Monuments with the kids, I hid away from them for just enough time to make some new shorts.

I used my tried and true Butterick 5044 that had been tweaked for my body. I made View A in size Small. The red linen blend fabric has been in my stash for years. It's a brilliant true red which I love. The only change I made was to position the side pockets higher than suggested by the sewing pattern.  I used an existing black shoe lace in my stash for the waist tie.

Surely one can always use a pair of linen shorts for the hot and sticky summer! The temperature right now is still in the mid-teens Celsius so I'm not wearing these shorts yet. But I can't wait till I will be able to wear them!

MAGAM May Floral Shorts done - Butterick 5044

I got on the floral trend and made myself a pair of Floral shorts! I dug into my fabric stash and found 1 metre of this orange floral cotton. I thought it would make a pair of cute shorts with my tried-and-true Butterick 5044.

I washed and tumble dried the fabric and found that it was a bit thin. To avoid showing my panty lines, I decided to underline the entire pair of shorts with a cream cotton blend broadcloth. I also added back pockets to the shorts (not included in the pattern). However, I made an error and the pockets are too low. Oh well! One can't really tell unless I put my hand in my pocket. The floral pattern disguises the pockets quite nicely.

Front

Back

The shorts are a little snug due to the underlining. I do plan to lose a few pounds before July. But I think I'll actually tweak the pattern a bit and add 2cm to the width of each pant leg next time.

I can't wait to wear this for the Me Made may 2015 challenge!

July MAGAM project ocmpleted - with changes

I finished my July MAGAM pants! However, I didn't use the black microfibre as I had planned. I had a good look at the material and thought that perhaps the microfibre could be a bit too thick for the type of breezy summer pants that I had intended. So I just used this green Linen blend material that I have had in my stash for ages to make a pair of wide cargo type pants. I have used this material recently for this same pattern, but in a shorts version.

I used size Small (as I found the size Medium too loose when I made the shorts version) and incorporated both the front pockets and the right mid-thigh pocket. I like lots of pockets for my clothing! I cut the length of the pants between view B and E because I wanted it to be trouser length. I inserted elastics for the waistband. It's a bit wider than any of my existing self-made pants but I figured that it`s nice and breezy for the summer. As long as I wear a more fitted top on top, the wide legs shouldn`t make me look too stumpy. Here is how it looks with the top tucked in (I never tuck in my tops):

And here is how I would wear it:

Notice the pockets almost overlapping on the right leg:

I think it looks okay. It is a basic wardrobe element, after all.  I think I will be wearing these pants often this summer! I also did a review for this pattern on PatternReview.com.

Pattern Review: Butterick 5044 and MAGAM May Project Completed!

I have completed my Made A Garment A Month May project! Yay! I made 2 pairs of quick and easy linen blend shorts for the summer with Butterick 5044. I made the black one with a drawstring waist and the green one with an elastic waist. Initially I made the black one size Medium because I usually wear a size 12 bottom with the big 5 sewing patterns. However, I found them too loose so I re-cut and resewed them into size Small. They are a little snug around the waist but the rest looked much better. I also sewed the green pair in size Small as well.

I never tuck my tops into my shorts/pants/skirts but I just want to show you how they look in its entirety:

And here is how I would actually wear them:

They look so much better with the shirts untucked, right? I figured that linen shorts in black and green should pretty much go with all the summer tops in my wardrobe. I'm now debating if I should make a pair in another solid colour or even a print fabric. I have lots of summery prints in my fabric stash!

This pattern is so easy and quick to sew (no side seams just the inseams) and the pockets are so useful. I'm pretty happy with the pattern and the resulting garments. I can't wait to wear them and I hope I'll get to wear them a lot this summer.

MAGAM May project idea

The weather is finally above 0 Celsius creeping into the teens too! Is it too early to think about summer clothing like shorts? I have had this pattern Butterick 5044 in my pattern stash for a while now (printed in 2007). The pattern is rated 'Very easy' due to the fact that the shorts/pants don't have side seams (only inseams), which should make them pretty quick to make.  I would like to make some comfy linen blend shorts for this summer. I have different colour linen blend fabrics in my stash already - black, dark green, light green and red. I think I will start with the black and dark green linen blend fabrics.

 (Source)

So are you sewing summer clothing like shorts and tank tops/dresses already?