Peter's "Surprise" Linen Shorts!

Readers, is there anything better than being able to squeeze a second project out of the same two yards of fabric?  You don't have to answer right away; think about it.

Remember this shirt I made for Michael?



Well, I had enough fabric left over to make shorts for me.







These were intended as something of a throwaway project, but the more I got into it, the more invested I became.  I added mens trouser hook and eye closures (rather than an elastic waistband or drawstring) and even added hem facings to give the hem a bit more heft.





For these shorts I used Simplicity 5044 from 1972, the same pattern I adapted to make my corduroy Op style shorts last week.  This time I stuck to the pattern more closely.



I really enjoy working with linen, though it has its challenges.  Mine is what you'd call handkerchief linen, and it's a little shifty and frays easily.  I tried to handle it as little as possible so, for example, I opted for faux flat-felled seams rather than real ones.





For pocketing, I used that same floral shirting I've been using all month -- and I still have a lot of it left.



For the waistband, I used both fusible weft-weight interfacing and hair canvas. (NOTE: The line of stitching is just a basting stitch to hold the hair canvas in place.  There is no hair canvas in the seam allowance.)  This time, I added the waistband on the outside first, flipped it over the top, and stitched in the ditch (and around the top).  I made these shorts entirely on my Featherweight.





As you can see, I left these on the long side, which is more in keeping with the more formal look of linen.  The side pockets are more akin to mens dress pants too.





Not sure how I feel about the flower placement on my backside, but too late now!  You can see more pics of my linen shorts project here. 

BTW, I laundered my toile de jouy pants yesterday, and -- I kid you not -- they shrank three inches in length.  Thank goodness I had the length to spare (and they hardly shrank anywhere else).

In closing, friends, have you ever been able to squeeze a second project out of an earlier project's scraps?   Have you ever experienced major shrinkage on a project before you ever wore it? (Even if you pre-shrank.)

Have a great day everybody!