Saturday, July 11, 2009

McCall's 5391




Pattern Description: Shorts in three lengths and belt. Shorts have mock fly, slanted pockets, carrier and hem variations. Shorts D have a beltPattern

Sizing:4 to 20, I made a 10.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?I made view B and they looks very similar to the pattern envelope.Were the instructions easy to follow?The instructions were good, I did follow Sandra Betzina's fly zipper instructions from Power Sewing.What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?I like the look of the shorts with the length choices, also the tab on the cuff was a nice feature.

Fabric Used:Linen

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:I had to let out the CB seam and I still am not pleased with the look of the back. It felt tight in the seat, possibly not enough room in the crotch depth.



Suggestions are welcome to fix this.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?I did sew these again in a khaki twill. I changed the crotch to match my favorite pants pattern, Ottobre. I thought that would be the perfect solution, no, didn't work that well. Changed the crotch back to the McCall's pattern, fit okay, can work with that. Checked the fit, added the waistband and guess what - 1" from snapping. I don't know what I did, but I wasn't going to fix it. The first pair fit okay but not great enough to rework the second pair. Part of the fit and style might be my mid-40's body. Others have really liked the fit of the shorts, so I think if you like the look of the pattern envelope, do try this pattern. Shorts take such a small amount of fabric, you aren't out too much money if they don't work out.

Conclusion: I like my linen pair quite a bit. I was heading out to work and grabbed the camera for hubby to take my picture. He asked, why? I made my shorts and want some pictures for my blog and to put up a review. He was impressed, couldn't believe I had made them. That is a good thing, so I will take the success with the linen pair, forget about the oops with the khaki pair and I traced a BWOF short pattern to try one more pair of shorts. We will see.



The tab at the cuff. Hubby isn't the best with the camera, I had all sorts of interesting shots to weed through!









7 comments:

  1. I don't have any patterns for shorts and I've been looking at this pattern very closely. They're really cute on you.

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  2. Cute shorts! It looks to me like the CB seam needs to be taken in, which would eliminate the folds. Then if extra width is needed, add it to the side seams.

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  3. Very cute shorts. I made these before when I first started sewing but can't remember if I had any fit issues. I have them cut out to make again this week so I'm going to pay closer attention to them this time.

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  4. The shorts look great on you! I'm working on a pair of shorts too (hopefully I'll be able to finish them before going on vacation). I'm using the July BWOF pattern

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  5. Your back drag lines point to 2 areas: You need to add more to center back waistline edge and back inside leg at the top. By releasing these 2 areas, the fabric will relax and then you can cut the back crotch seam lower. If you can get your hands on the Pants for Any Body book, you will see the alterations needed so the back hangs more on grain without drag lines pointing to the problem areas. By adding to the back inside seam you lengthen the crotch
    enough to allow that portion to come more to the back and if you add some fabric to the top of the center back seam you release those drag lines too. Imagine making these in gingham or something plaid as a muslin and you would see that your grain lines are not straight and you could follow the curved lines to the offending areas.

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  6. Cute shorts and like the tab detail. I have purchased 3 short patterns and haven't tried one yet, need to bump that up on my sewing list.

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  7. I was so close to buying this pattern just the other day, great review I will add it to my list for the next sale

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