Many mothers want their child to have not only practical but also comfortable clothes. Sometimes there is none on store shelves, so you have to sew it yourself. This article tells you how to sew a skirt-shorts yourself and what you need for this.
A bit of history
The first models of shorts-skirts appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and were called culottes, i.e. short skirt-pants. Girls mainly wore them when playing sports. Since it was not accepted to go out in public in pants in the 20th century, it was decided to make this type of clothing. Thus, large pants were similar to a classic skirt. It was comfortable to ride a bicycle or a horse in them, while etiquette was not violated.
Skirt-pants quickly won their love, later many styles were released, for example, gaucho pants. But this model came from cowboys, these are trousers that were strongly flared towards the bottom.
The 40s were the peak of popularity of short skirts, a great variety of models appeared: mini, medium, long. At that time, there was a large selection of products. Short styles of shorts were worn only on the beach, but already in the 50s, girls wore them every day. In the 70-90s, this type of clothing was safely forgotten in Russia, but already in the early 90s, shorts-skirts began to spread throughout the country again.
In every yard there were girls dressed in this product. Most mothers preferred such shorts precisely because of their convenience, the child could run all day, they did not restrict movement, but, on the other hand, the girl remained gentle and feminine. Since 2019, fashion stylists and designers have been giving new life to forgotten fashion. On the catwalks, you can increasingly see models in skirts-shorts, with various belts, rhinestones or leather inserts.
Construction of the pattern
Skirt shorts for girls pattern can be made from old pants. Transfer the drawing to paper or thick cardboard and cut along the contour. In just a few minutes, you will have a ready-made pattern. On the sketch, you need to make horizontal lines parallel to the waist, making an upper indent of 1 cm, thus obtaining the width of the yoke.
Now you need to draw vertical lines from the yoke, perpendicular to the hem. The distance between them is 5 cm. To make this value more accurate, you need to measure the width of the part and divide by the number of lines. Start drawing lines from the side seams. Cut the pattern along the marked lines (first cut the yoke, then the straight lines) without reaching the edge of 0.4 cm. More patterns of shorts for girls can be found on various handicraft sites.
In order for the product to be correct, you need to be able to take measurements and make a drawing, this is half the success in sewing. For those who find it difficult to do this, there is a special calculator on the Internet for making patterns. You need to enter the measurements and the desired product, and it will give you a ready-made drawing.
Cutting out the fabric
You need to decatize the material and fold it along the edge, in half with the outer parts inward. Distribute the sketch of the skirt-shorts on the fabric and spread the elements so that the width between each whole part is the same as the width of one part. Next, you need to trace the patterns along the lines.
Remove the template and make allowances: 2 cm along the middle, step seam and outer edge, about 2.5 cm along the side seams and lower edge.
Place the yoke elements on the material, trace and make allowances: 2 cm along the middle seam and the outer edge, 3 cm along the side seam and the top. Cut out the elements and the cutting is ready.
Sewing technology
Fold the lace with the back pieces along the side seams. Baste and iron the main element.
Sweep the side edges of the front parts, sew on top and topstitch along the lines. It is recommended to sew exclusively on a machine, and at the end process the seams and cuts on an overlock. This way the product will be denser and stronger, and there will be no risk that the threads can come out after the first wash. If the fabric is dense, then it is unlikely to be processed by hand. For this type of material, special needles and yarn are needed.
Important! If the material chosen for work is light and thin, then you need to pay attention to the cuts, very often the fabric can crumble and unravel. In this case, it needs to be processed on a machine.
Processing the yoke
Place the right sides of the yoke with the back side along the side cuts. Baste and iron the pieces.
Connecting the yoke to the shorts
Sweep the yoke to the garment elements: the back side of the yoke to the back half of the shorts, the front side of the yoke to the front part of the shorts. Make the side seam on the yoke in the center of the lace insert. Sew, overcast the edges and iron the yoke.
From the front side, make finishing lines along it at 0.3 cm from the seam. The seam needs to be ironed.
Sew the trousers along the centre seam with a regular stitch, joining the seams on the yoke. Then process the crotch seams in one go.
Processing the upper edge with an elastic band
Wrap the girl's waist with elastic tape, this will help you find out the required length. Mix the ends of the tape on the machine.
Insert the elastic into the waistband, aligning it with the cuts, and secure it with pins along the side and middle cuts. The seam on the elastic should be at the back along the central seam. The same slack should go along the skirt. This is necessary so that the finished look has an even assembly. To do this, you need to stretch the elastic to the size of the yoke circumference and secure it in this position. It is difficult to do this on your own, so you need to ask for help.
Next, you need to sew the top edge with the elastic band on the machine; the tape should stretch to the desired size.
After this, make a hem with an elastic band on the inside, on the outside, make a stitch to the width of the tape, while pulling the elastic band with the material.
Bottom processing
Sweep the lower edges by about 2 cm and sew on the machine. Then the seams need to be ironed well.
Final finishing
You need to make belt loops, two large and two thin ones. Sew them to the yoke: wide ones in the middle, thin ones on the sides.
The belt is made from the same material and inserted into the belt loops.
What can you decorate with?
When it comes to decorating, you need to use all your imagination and talent. For girls, you can make beautiful embroidery on shorts. Some people like to sew on a lace or satin ribbon edging.
Many mothers use rhinestones and beads as decoration. You can sew on sequins or make some kind of pattern out of them. You can also ask your child what he would like to see more as decoration on his clothes. Some prefer inserts made of genuine leather. But here the pattern will have to be changed, and the work will become more complicated. Because different threads will be needed, for fabric and for leather. But this is quite feasible if you have a sewing machine.
What to wear with
Shorts-skirts can be both in a sporty style and in a classic one. The second is recommended to wear to school or to special occasions. It will go well with light blouses, sweaters or tucked-in shirts. Simpler shorts-skirts are best worn with T-shirts or tops. This is mainly meant for the summer period.
For autumn-winter, it is better to sew a product from wool, this can be worn with sweaters or coats, to school or just in everyday life. In fact, this is a universal item of clothing. Almost any shoes will do, for example, ballet flats or winter boots, sneakers and trainers. But it is necessary to create a complete image, for example, for playing sports or going out to some holiday. You can complement it with a children's handbag or backpack, a thin scarf or hat. Here everything depends on the preferences of the child and parents.
If the product was sewn by hand without using a machine, then it is necessary to take very good care of it. It is advisable to wash only by hand and using liquid powder. Since ordinary ones contain aggressive chlorine and bleaches, which can cause the threads to start to fade and fluff. Because a hand stitch is not as strong as an overlock stitch.
It is not advisable to wring out shorts, especially if they are made of knitwear, as the fabric may become very deformed.
Please note! The optimal ironing temperature is about 100-110 degrees; for cotton and knitwear it is better not to use a steamer.
You can use calico, cotton or denim as the fabric for the skirt. For younger children from one to three years old, it is better to choose natural materials. Sometimes it happens that a child develops redness and itching from poor-quality fabric.
In conclusion, it should be noted that it is quite easy to sew a shorts-skirt yourself. For the basic pattern, you can take old shorts or trousers. Even a novice needlewoman can handle the process. But before work, it is recommended to watch several master classes.
