Red shorts this time

I followed up my blue shorts with some red ones. I have had this 1 metre piece of red stretch cotton sateen in the fabric stash for sometime. The fabric store cut it wrong and so I thought I ended up with a piece only suitable for the kids. A little while ago I dug this out and thought I might be able to manage a pair of shorts for me. I am selfish like that (besides, I made a pair of red shorts for J last year and they still fit).

 

 I have used a stretch sateen for shorts before and it is not really that great for pants designed for non-stretch wovens. One of two things can happen. The pants get the baggy, saggy elephant look. Or they constantly slide down and you are forever hitching them up. So I cut this on the cross grain for stability.

 

I did not have enough yardage for pockets, so I pinned the pocket piece to the front, matching the pocket seam lines.

 I really, really wanted a pair of red shorts to match my new red sandels. I have been hooked on buying Dansko shoes ever since reading about them on one of my favourite blogs (the slapdash sewist).

The pattern is exactly the same as the blue pair. I have retraced it into a shorts pattern, and adjusted the hem so that the hemline is the same circumference as the fold up portion of the hem. Makes a huge difference when it is not tapered in.

Thanks for the feedback from my last post. I also posted at my regular forum site (Crafty Mamas) and there does not seem to be a general consensus. There was suggestion for a darker belt, so I may make that in the near future. I have already moved on to my next dress for J, so have to remember to look for some next time I am at the fabric store.



Pale pink lace dress - feedback required

This dress is a case of when the fabric and pattern marriage doesn't work out as hoped.  I saw some lace dresses at the shops and practically raced to the fabric store to see what kind of laces they had. As it turned out, they had exactly what I was looking for - a pale pink cotton lace. Well, it is a cotton nylon blend. I thought that a very simple shift would be the way to go to let the fabric shine. 

Maybe it is the longer length. Maybe it is the colour. The basic pattern doesn't help. The resulting dress is pretty but very plain.

 

I felt I had two options. Dyeing the dress or adding a belt. I have finally gotten around to making one from satin. It helps a little, but I am not sure if it is the answer. I think it is the colour of the dress. I am used to my daughter wearing bright, strong colours. I wanted a pale pink because I thought it would work well with her new white shoes.

 The belt is not fastened to the dress at the moment. I need feedback - should I keep the colour as is and wear with or without a belt, maybe of a different colour? Or should I dye it?

BTW, the pattern is Ottobre #12 from 4/2004, with the neckline from #23 16/09 and the sleeves shortened. The lace is  underlined with a pale pink cotton broadcloth and I used an invisible zipper at the back.