Women's Prefontaine Shorts - take 3

Women's Prefontaine Shorts by Made with Moxie

This is my third and most favorite version!!

Sewn up in ponte de Roma with store bought bias binding. I made/changed them to be workout shorts. 

Pattern alterations

I left off the front pockets by drawing a straight line up to the waistband and over.  I felt like with a stretchy material they would be baggy and saggy....  Something I REALLY didn't want. 

Shortened the hem by 1 1/2" for a total of 2 1/2 ish inches (thought the 1 1/2" inseam would be too short for public). 

Shortened the waist by 1" in the back and 1 1/2" in the front. The inch in the back may have been a tad too much, maybe only do 3/4" next time but shortening the front worked great!!  No more sagging in between the waistband and crotch. I did forget to move the pocket down so it kind of runs into the elastic waistband....  Oops!!

Other notes

Next time, I think I may change the back pocket and figure out a way to make it a flap with a closure. Running with my phone in the pocket is not quite as secure as I'd like. It's fine for waking and running around town but not running. 

I can't decide if I prefer the elastic casing waistband or exposed sport elastic waistband. They are equally.... Um, not difficult but a pain in my ass. Haha, I'm a wimpy sew-er!!  I have a hard tie threading elastic through a casing and an even worse time stretching and stretching and stretching the elastic for the exposed waistband. I thought my wrists were going to fall off doing this one. Are there wrist exercises for that??

Yep, I'm sucking in here!!  Not this skinny in real life haha

I'm still kinda bummed I couldn't find anything that matched my shoes for the binding. I went with this hot pink from Joann's and was pleasantly surprised when I put them on tonight and found a perfectly matching shirt in my closet!!  SCORE!

Note to self: take pics BEFORE you workout/go for a run, not after. It's not cute to be all sweaty. 

Women's Prefontaine Shorts testing/review

I had the privilege of testing for Jill at Made with Moxie. I love these shorts!!  I need to buy the matching kids pattern for Miss K :-)

Pattern Name: Womens's Prefontaine Shorts

Designer:  Made with Moxie by Jill Dorsey

Pattern Description:  Prefontaine Shorts for Women are inspired by the running shorts of the 1970s. They feature a retro contrast trim and a comfortable elastic waistband. Front pockets lay flat and smooth against the body.  Back pockets can be a patch or welt style and are designed for you to easily tuck your smart phone away. Two inseam lengths (5” and 1.25”) allow you to stitch up modest 5” inseam shorts or shortie shorts.  

Purchase pattern here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/192974743/prefontaine-shorts-for-women-pdf-sewing?ref=shop_home_feat_2

Pattern cost:  $10.00

Pattern Sizing: Women's 0-24

Size Made: Women's 4

Model's Measurements: height-5' 8", chest-, waist-33", hips-39" 

Does the finished product look like its supposed to? Yes!

Dealing with the pattern:  15 pages to print and put together.  Seems like a lot for shorts, but it's worth it to have such a large size range. 

Were the instructions easy to follow?  Yes!!  There are some untraditional construction methods but instructions make it a breeze. 

Level of difficulty:  for a women's pattern, very easy!  The hardest part is the bias trim and that is not actually difficult. 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  How can you not be head over heels for vanity sizing??  It's wonderful to sew a size significantly smaller than I am used to seeing in patterns. I'm not a huge fan of the front pockets and will make my next pair without (I hink its it's my fabric choice that makes me not like them. Since this I've seen several pair without contrasting trim and it looks SO much better). LOVE the back welt pocket, LOVE the binding trim. Fit is nice but the front rise is too high for me. I'll need to cut it down and grade it about an inch.  I'll also try the exposed sport waistband for that. 

Fabric Used:  flannel and store bought bias tape. 

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  For this version, none. 

Would you sew it again?  Yes. Will sew it up in ponte Roma, no front pockets with a shorter inseam for workout shorts. 

 Would you recommend it to others?  Yes!!  It's a great easy sew for yourself and the size range is really good.  I love all the other versions I've seen too!!  Such cute quilting cottons are being used. 

Just because, here is my first pair. I made a size 8 (actually 2 sizes bigger than recommended). Why??  Because I am NOT a size 4!  Haha. I regularly wear size 9-11 in ready to wear and I couldn't believe the sizing recommendations.  This is just another lesson in "trust the designer and follow the size chart".  Obviously, these are ginormous and the ones above fit great :-). I find it funny how much larger I look in the panda pair vs. the turquoise ones. Who knew that sewing the wrong size can make you look like different size?!?!?!