As Monochromatic As I Get

I was really planning on sitting out this month’s challenge. I rarely wear white, and I wear black even less (honestly, almost never). But, as it turns out, a few weeks ago I was sent some black fabric as part of a swap-and-challenge I’m participating in, so here we have it–something monosewn after all. To be honest, these shorts aren’t completely monochromatic–there’s the grey contrast to begin with, and the polka dots look white in pictures, but are really more of a creamy beige. Compared to what I usually wear, though, this is a whole lot of black and white. I used the same pattern as for my first Monthly Stitch post, Simplicity 3435. This time, I altered it even more, adding pockets (front and back), lowering the waistband even further and giving it belt loops, drafting fold-up cuffs and little tabs to hold them in place, and sewing an actual fly front closure (rather than the original invisible side zip).

I had a fairly easy-to-match pattern repeat, but I also spent a lot of time precisely matching up the dots on my fabric pieces. I’m really happy with how that came out, especially on the back pockets.

With these shorts, I think I’ve almost got my shorts fit how I want it. That is to say, there are a few changes I still want to make, but those are small enough that I think once I make those on the paper pattern, the next pair I sew up will be spot-on. I don’t really need any shorts right now, so that might be a while out–especially now that I have these, which are definitely wearable, and, I suspect, will be getting a lot of use this summer–starting tomorrow at the Oregon Coast.

As always, there are more pictures (and lots more words) at my blog.