Cocktail Shorts (Vogue 9008)

You: Ooh, what's that?

Front, cocktail shorts (Vogue 9008)

Back, cocktail shorts (Vogue 9008)

Me: They're cocktail shorts!! Wanna see them on?

You: Sure, knock yourself out, take them for a spin, do a little dance...

Vogue 9008 cocktail shorts - perfect for dancing

You: Woah there Nelly, enough with the dancing - I was KIDDING! Let's get those lights back on pronto. OK, have you calmed down? Deep breaths, think of something sad...

Right, now let's have a proper look at the side and front views. Sensibly though. And I think we'll leave the back view for now - I know what you're like when you're in a silly mood!

Me: It's OK, I'm not going to do any more dancing!  Side then front, yes?

Side view, Vogue 9008 shorts

Front view, Vogue 9008 shorts

You: You know, they do actually look like cocktail shorts - not that I even knew there was such a thing, but I guess shiny silver would be about right. What's the fabric?

Me: Who knows, who cares! These are just for fun; they're the practice shorts! It's not like I actually GO to cocktail parties these days, is it.  I was actually going to make cushion covers with the fabric* but I just couldn't be...

*: Fabric source: Home Dec department in Lincraft. 

You: So they're just a muslin?  I was wondering if you'd really wear silver shiny shorts out - you had me going there for a bit!!!  Let me have another look at them... turn around slowly would you, I want to check something...

Side and back, Vogue 9008 shorts

Front, Vogue 9008 shorts

You: So have you made the real shorts yet? If not - don't take this the wrong way, and the cocktail shorts ARE great - well, they're just a smidge on the snug side, aren't they!  You'll make them a bit bigger in the final version, won't you?

Me: Yeah, I know... I haven't even shown you the waistband yet, have I:

Too tight, Vogue 9008 shorts

Me: So I do know they're too tight, but I kind of got carried away and cut out the next ones before I'd checked the fit of these properly...

 

You: Sigh... then maybe you just need to cut down on the chips or something...

You: Look, why don't you just tell me about the sewing pattern or something?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're invited to cocktails at 7 o'clock. Dress: shorts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once upon a time there was a pair of shorts.

No, make that a couple of pairs of shorts; these shorts. But they were the ONLY ONES left on the Sass & Bide sale rack that day... 

Up close they looked beautifully made.  No internal debates - I tried on the largest size - oh, please, gorgeousness! But alas, it was not to be. Although they fastened, the shorts were just too small. And yet somehow they still looked flattering on... 

Inspiration!   

I headed back to the ranch as quickly as the corporate workday and commuter train would take me, and soon enough found myself flicking through patterns - which would it be, which could it be?

Bingo! Vogue 9008, view B would be my starting point:

And then I promptly fell off piste.

Here are the (easy!) modifications I made to the straight size 14, view B version of V9008:

• removed the fly from centre front
• added an invisible zip in centre back
• removed the waistband from front pieces
• added waistband length to front leg pieces
• continued angle / wrapover of back leg pieces all the way up to waist

Although the shorts photo above shows there's a pleat front on my inspiration shorts, my memory didn't even register the pleats, and swapped the front waist band to a back yoke. View E would have been a better match, but once view B has been modified to fit (ha! that's going to have to be for shorts number 4) I assume its crotch curve and other basic measurements will be consistent to view E.

And for the sewing? I probably could have found some stripes in my stash, but I wanted to test my modifications first. So I dug out this unloved home dec fabric, and end even though I was thinking these would just be test shorts I found I couldn't help myself - I pattern-matched on CF and CB, and I tried to place the florals and swirls at an attractive height and location. My pattern placement isn't spot on - I think the back florals should really be at the same height as the front ones, and the "moustaches" on the front waistline look silly - but these shorts look much better than I expected, and I can imagine wearing them out for drinks if I had that kind of a lifestyle :).

Fit wise, as you can tell from the photos above, there are some big problems. I probably need to start by going up a size, and then by drawing a longer waistband piece. I should use a fabric that has a bit more give than this shiny stuff, And I also need to compare this pattern to some pants that fit and work out where the crotch curves are different... 

Straight after finishing these I cut out another pair from a small piece (0.55 metres!) of blue and white striped cotton ticking, and then another pair from an old favourite skirt that hasn't fitted me in a very long time. I didn't alter the size for the striped pair as I wanted to see how much difference the fabric would make, but with the brown pair I used narrower seam allowances and also lengthened the back darts. Both pairs are nearly done but I've now misplaced the facings. When I finish these I'll share them with you, and THEN for shorts #4 I'll try to get a bit closer to that inspiration pair at the top of this post - and yes, there will be a 4th pair!


See you soon!

- Gabrielle xx