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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

DIY Tailored Baby Shorts


I love handmade children’s clothing!

I have a Pinterest board displaying some of my favorites. 
(Including lots of girls’ items, despite not having a little girl to sew for!)


baby shorts, size 6-12 months and 12-18 months (4

I especially love details on kids’ clothes. Stitching, tags, pockets, even though the kid wearing the clothes doesn’t care. My sweet littlest guy needed some shorts. I had all kinds of ideas to make them extra-special, but I decided to focus on stitching with these shorts. I am sort of a “hurrier” when it comes to sewing, so I often don’t take time to make my stitches look perfect. {And these are far from perfect.} But they are totally wearable.
handmade shorts for baby, size 12 months (1)


It's tough to get a picture of the little guy! He’s so quick!
handmade shorts for baby, size 12 months (7)


june 18 (2)

And he's so cute! I just can't stop taking pictures of him! But onto the shorts...

DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (29)

First, you'll need a pattern. For a pattern, I used a pair of shorts my little guy already had. I traced them. I made the front and back pieces the same. (If you were making  a pair of pants or shorts for a bigger person, you’d have to make the front and back crotch shapes different. But for babies, it doesn’t make a big difference.) 
I cut each piece on the fold so that I didn't have to sew a side seam.

DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (1)
Pin the top curve together at both sides. Stitch it together but be sure to stop before you get to the crotch area. The seams you are making are the front and back middle seams. 
By the way, I used 1/2” seam allowance throughout this project.
DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (2)

Press the seams open.
DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (3)

Next, sew the leg seams together. Make sure to match up the front and back seams. Also, be sure to flatten the front and back seams as you sew. Pivot in the middle of this seam.DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (4)DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (5)

Since I don’t have a serger, I zig-zagged all raw edges. You’ll want to do this step now. If you have a serger, use that instead.
baby shorts (1)

Just showing off more zig-zagging.
baby shorts (2)

Next, I folded down the waistband about 1/2” all the way around. I pressed it into place. Then I folded it down 1” all the way around and pressed again. DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (6)
Again, make sure those front and back seams are flat when you sew over them. Sew a double row of top stitching to secure the casing. I left a 1” opening so I could run the elastic later. DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (7)

I did a little extra decorative stitching around the front and back seams. This held the zig-zagged seams down but also looks cute.
  DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (8)

This is what the inside looks like. (This pair didn’t get the raw edges zig-zagged!)DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (9)

I neglected to take pictures of the hemming process, but just fold under once, press, and then fold under again, pressing again, and then stitch the hem into place. Repeat for the other leg.

I wanted to add a tag. It will help distinguish the front and back of the shorts. I used some of this woven ribbon stuff that came wrapped around something I ordered.DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (10)

I just chopped a little piece off and looped it like a tag. I stitched it into place after I ran the elastic through the casing.
DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (11)DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (12)


Here’s a view of how the ‘tag’ looks.
  DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (18)DIY Baby Shorts size 6-12 months (20)
I guess those cloth diapers make everything fit a little more snugly…he needed a little extra space in the rise.
  handmade shorts for baby, size 12 months (8)

I made the blue pair a little larger (added some extra rise to the waist area and casing).
baby shorts, size 6-12 months and 12-18 months (6)

I like them! Baby things are just so much fun to make. I used twill fabric for these shorts. I actually go a bunch of twill scraps for free. I was excited to find a use for some of them! 

Now my sweet little guy has some new shorts. For free!

6 comments:

  1. Look great! Diaper bums are so hard to cover =)

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  2. Thank you for sharing! So many young people will purchase clothing that are far too expensive and outgrown so quickly. So much fun when you can recycle other fabrics into great, quick, cute clothes!

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  4. I'm an avid cross-stitch enthusiast, and I can't wait to try my hand at this pattern. The attention to detail and the use of different shades of thread are impressive. I can already envision this piece proudly displayed in my home.
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