Mr. Social's Black Shorts

We're more than half way through summer now, and I am far away from my goal of making Mr. Social 4 or 5 pairs of shorts. Oh well. That's what happens when you live without a/c for most of the summer, sewing time is seriously limited.

I actually finished these shorts quite some time ago. Somewhere around mid to late June if I recall correctly. It was just hard to get any pictures of them due to Mr. Social and I having opposing work schedules. For most of the summer we actually haven't had much time together, so when we got to spend the day together on Simcoe day (more commonly known as Civic Holiday) I got him to wear these shorts just so I could get some decent pictures of them :)

These are a variation of Burda 7626. A simple pair of elastic/drawstring waist shirts, I added front pockets and omitted the drawstring bottoms. Seriously simple shorts.

I had actually made a pair of these for him last summer that included the drawstring bottoms. Sadly, they met an unfortunate end that rendered them unwearable, so bits and pieces of them went into this new pair (mainly the elastic drawstring at the waist). Since these are such an easy project, I'll end up making another pair for him that include the drawstring bottoms for more casual wear. Which will mean another trip to High Park to try to catch a glimpse of the baby Wallaby (we didn't see the little guy on this outing) and to get more pics to show off my handiwork.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mr. Social's Plaid Shorts

It seems that summer has pretty well begun here in Toronto. This past weekend was the Victoria Day long weekend, and it was HOT! So, I'm very happy that I was able to finish Mr. Social's plaid shorts just in time for it.

We headed off to the Toronto Island to enjoy the beautiful sunshine with some friends. I was a little worried that these shorts would be too hot for the warm weather, as the fabric is some kind of polyester blend (or maybe 100% poly, I can't recall exactly), but Mr. Social said he was perfectly comfortable.

It's been a while since I've worked with a plaid fabric, so I was worried that the plaid wouldn't match up nicely, but I think I did a pretty good job of it. It even matched up nicely on his bum, which he has no problems showing off...

Because he didn't want any pockets on the back of the shorts, and knowing he never has enough pockets to stash his phone and wallet in, I added two jeans style (frontier) pockets, as well as a welt pocket where a cargo pocket would normally go. I cut the welt on the diagonal to add some interest to the pocket (and because it would have been a HUGE pain in the ass to match the plaid on that!!). I also added a velcro closure to the inside of the welt pocket to make sure things don't fall out when he sits down. I'm pretty impressed with how this pocket turned out, as I've never actually made one of these before.

I have no idea why, but once I saw these shorts on Mr. Social, they made me think of this song and music video

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Plaid Matching Pr0n

That's a good looking seam!

It's not 100% perfect, but it's pretty darn close! Go me!

Expanding Mr. Social's Fashion Horizons

One of the things I love about sewing for Mr. Social is that I get to have some say in how he dresses (it's like playing dress-up!). As a result, I get to push him out of his comfort zone a little bit. Now, I would never make him something I don't think he'd wear, despite constantly teasing him that I will make this shirt for him and he has to wear it because I made it:

I'd make it in gold as it'd be more flattering to his skin tone

So, when we were discussing his summer wardrobe and his need for new shorts, I asked him what his thoughts were on plaid. At first, he said no way. He figures plaid shorts are for old men or golf courses (or old men on golf courses). Of course, I think plaid shorts are an excellent idea, so I went ahead and picked up some fabric for him in the hopes he'd be agreeable...

Wouldn't you know it, he likes the fabric! So it looks like he'll be getting some plaid shorts in the near future. I just need to dust off my plaid matching skills and hope the shorts work out as planned.

Wish me luck!

Sewing for Mr. Social - An Introduction

Meet Mr. Social.

He's a grumpy old man, witty, a "dirty-tree-hugging-hippie" (his words, not mine), a lover of all things beer, "dashing and devilishly handsome" (also his words), and an all around nice guy. He's also pretty set in his ways when it comes to how he dresses.

Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way Mr. Social dresses. He dresses for comfort, as well as ease of wear and care. And he wears green. A lot. I'd hazard a guess that about 80% of his clothing is green.

When I met Mr. Social, he had these crazy shorts that seemed to be his favourite (he wore them quite a bit in the nice weather months), that I had a lot of objections to. They were awkwardly short (they hit about 2" above his knee, so that when he sat down they turned into short-shorts), and GASP, had front pleats. Basically, they were old man shorts. (I may call him an old man all the time, but he's far from it)

One day, tired of frequently having to face this crime against fashion, I volunteered to make Mr. Social a new pair of shorts, on the condition that if he liked them, he'd get rid of those hideous shorts of his. Much to my delight he agreed! And guess what? I succeeded in making him his new favourite pair of shorts, and we banished the old ones to the rag bin (I would not allow him to inflict them on anyone else by sending them to Goodwill... that would have been a fashion crime of Chernobyl proportions).

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Those shorts have become "in the house only" shorts due to a cooking incident one night that involved the spilling of oil and permanent staining. Sad face.

Now that warm weather is upon us, it's time to whip up a few pairs of replacement shorts for him. I've already started work on the first pair, and will post about them as soon as they're finished and photographed.