Closet Core Pietra shorts

I said there would be more half elasticated things in my future when I finished the Phillippa Pinafore, and I wasn’t lying! I’ve also been mulling over making some trousers that aren’t Bobs for a while, so I decided to merge the two with these Closet Core Pietra Pants. I went for shorts cos I made this in that fortnight when it was really hot. RTW shorts don’t fit me because of my big bum, plus I have a weird thing about showing my legs (isn’t that strange? I would happily wear a skirt of the same length), so I haven’t worn shorts in years. But there’s a hashtag #HaveLegsWillWearShorts which gave me a push. It’s so nice to have something for hot weather you can wear cycling.

This turned into a bit of a fitting saga, initially after finishing them I thought they fit well, but when I took photos I realised that there was a lot of extra fabric at the front. It seems quite a common problem with this pattern, once I noticed it on myself, I can also see it on lots of other versions in the hashtag. I did some googling and discovered that the problem was that the rise is too long for me. I obviously couldn’t do the adjustment for that as suggested, given that everything was all sewn up, but I unpicked the front seam and added some darts. 6cms I took out, which seems A LOT! Luckily the fabric doesn’t show up anything, so I don’t think you can see the darts, and I think the adjustment really works when you compare the two sets of pictures.

The other thing about these pictures is that I actually like the back view! I always take pictures that way, but usually have to force myself to post them, but for some reason the gathered fabric really works in these.

Right, details as usual.

Pattern: Closet Core Patterns Pietra Pants, View C

Fabric: Some super cheap, but lovely looking linen from Pound Fabrics, it was just £2.50/metre! It doesn’t press very well, which is the drawback, but it feels nice. You needed to buy 3 metres so I have enough for a top

Size: 16, based on my hips. I sort of thing I could have done a 14 with a slightly bigger full seat adjustment instead, as the front is maybe a tiny bit too wide. But it’s not enough fo

Adjustments: 1 inch full seat adjustment, and 6cms taken out of the rise

Will make again: Yes! I’ve already mad a second pair, and have fabric for a trouser version. Sadly the weather has turned now, so less need for shorts.