It’s now June, which means two things a) summer is almost here and b) we’re halfway through the year!

Today I’m going to focus on the first thing, summer. In the last couple of weeks, the weather has been all over the place one day it’s sunny the other wet, but otherwise, most of the days are warm which means my summer garments have come out of storage. While doing so I realized that I did not have any cute summer shorts and remembered that I had a pattern and so I made some!

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Right before quarantine unexpectedly started I had borrowed Jolies Tenues pour Jolies Bobines a French sewing book from the library but never actually read besides looking at the pictures until last month. 

As I mentioned above, I was cleaning/looking in my closet and found that I had no cute summer shorts then I remembered that there was a short pattern in the Jolie Tenues book and decided to make it.

the pattern 

The book has six patterns that are ideal for beginner sewists. The designs are simple, cute, and versatile and I fell in love with the Theo short pattern. The only issue? It’s in French. Thankfully the pattern was simple and the book had detailed images which helped immensely. 

 

The Theo shorts have a paper bag gathered waist with a simple belt and the hem ends just above the knee, which I loved. I did have a hard time with the waistband but loved the technique they used to give the little gathered details at the waist. The design is nothing overly fancy, I’ve seen this style of shorts at various stores before so it’s not out of date or too passé. 

the fabric

If you’ve been with me since the beginning of this blog then you might remember this linen fabric that I got at a thrift store, $4 for 3.8 meters back in 2018. This is a natural fabric that is very lightweight and breathable, ideal for a summer garment. 

Linen fabric does not wrinkle that much as has a structure which is great cause honestly who wants to iron a pair of shorts in 28℃ weather so it actually looks cute? Definitely not me.

the shorts

This was a one-day project and only rushed near the end when I couldn’t wait to finish them. Once I had sewed the last seam and pressed it, I tried them on and they looked perfect! They are the type of shorts that can be easily dressed up or down and ideal for picnicking, shopping or just lounging around in the backyard.

 

Because I loved these shorts so much I ended up making another pair in a blue cotton fabric that is bright and fun. Unlike the linen ones, the second pair was not as liked, mainly because I got too sure of myself, ignored the instructions thinking I knew what I was doing and ended up making mistakes.

I’ll definitely make the third pair in the future as they are perfect for summer, especially with a natural type of fabric such as linen because it’s so breathable and does not feel as heavy or sweaty. So far I’ve worn these shorts multiple times and I absolutely love them.

Would you ever make yourself a summer garment (a dress, shorts, top)? 

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve come to realize that I still love sewing, crafting and DIY, so maybe you will start seeing more of these types of posts in the future.  Well, Plaid + Sugar started as a DIY/sewing blog, so it would be going back to my roots. What do you think?