So, I made the Shale Shorts as pajamas/pyjamas, and they came out really nice! And they were easy to make. Thanks, @jonathan_haas. This was a test with super-cheap yellow gingham flannel fabric ($2.99/yd) because while I’ve made Bruce & Umbra undies, I’ve never made actual pants/shorts with a waistband (which will soon become obvious). They fit nicely, so I think I’ve got my measurements closer to reality. I’ll continue to tweak my measurements.
I almost got them right . Somehow I got the waistband inside out and so you see the seams between the front & back waistband. I didn’t want to bother ripping the seams & doing it over, because I treat my first attempt at any pattern as a “wearable muslin” – wearable only in the privacy of home so no one can see my mistakes. Well, except all of you sewists.
Because this was an inexpensive test, I also used leftover elastic which was only 1" wide. The shorts don’t fall down because they’re incredibly lightweight, but for sturdier pants out in public, I’d use 1 1/2 - 2" elastic, as the pattern recommends. I’d maybe use a shorter length of elastic, too, as they hug me only very gently. I think I’d also sew the length of the elastic into the waistband, instead of just the two ends. It gathers in kind of a weird way – it’s like I’m wearing a scrunchie around my waist .
I don’t have a serger/overlocker, so I just finished the interior seam allowance raw edges with an overcast stitch as an afterthought. Next time I’d do it as I go along. I’d probably press seams earlier in the process, too. I also made the leg hems too short (on purpose, because the inseam seemed so short, but it turns out the inseam is fine, so I could’ve made the hem as the pattern says to). The leg openings are a little wide; not sure if that’s fixable. These are just minor issues. I might try the pockets next time.
Anyway, if you haven’t made them, go ahead and give them a try. I think you’ll like the pattern. I can see making Shale Shorts with a lightweight or sturdy cotton (almost like Rugby shorts) or linen (I’m not afraid of wrinkles), or if you’re into technical/polyester fabric, as running shorts.
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Nice. The waistband wasn’t sewn correctly, the seam allowances shouldn’t be on the outside like that. Maybe the instructions need to be more clear there. You can also disable the elastic-only-on-back option to have the elastic around your whole body.
For the seam allowance, you’re basically putting a V shape inside another V shape with good sides together. Then when you take the inner V shape out, the seam allowances are between the fabric layers and not visible anymore.
I think the weird elastic bunching is mostly due to the mismatch of the elastic width and the casing. I also second the suggestion not to get too much into the flat-in-front party-in-back option, not for something this lightweight and casual. I’d just replace that elastic entirely if I were you, and you’d like the finished product better. But beware of the urge to sew through the whole thing - that inevitably lengthens the elastic and loses some of the elasticity, hard to gauge for a one-shot project, and it makes future maintenance into a real chore
When I make these again, with a heavier fabric, I’ll definitely take Jonathan’s & your advice about the elastic width, & not sewing the full length. I’m trying to avoid disposable clothing, and if I can replace elastic when it wears out (usually the fabric itself lasts much longer), so much the better.
As for the party-in-back comment, the funny thing is I went down an internet wormhole yesterday and learned a lot about how pants are constructed in general. I bought a bunch of Thread Theory patterns before I joined here, so I’m parlaying my experience in making Shale shorts into making jeans/chinos type pants.
I have Thread Theory’s Jutland pants pattern and I was looking at it yesterday. I was comparing Jutland to a pair of jeans and noticed there was no yoke in the Jutland pattern. I’ve made 3 button-up shirts, so I have a little experience with yokes. Then I noticed the darts in the Jutland pattern, and I’m reading David Page Coffin’s shirtmaking book, so know a little about darts (for breasts, which I don’t possess).
So I did an internet search for “pants yokes vs darts” and read a bunch of Reddit and PatternReview.com posts about the topic (which answered my question about how yokes work if the seams are straight—and of course it turns out the seams aren’t straight, and yokes are just rotated darts, in a sense, but stronger). And then I read that there are 3 basic ways of handling one’s rump roundness in pants: yokes, darts, or elastic.
So now it all makes sense! And the choice of elastic, yoke, or dart is basically one of formality & strength. I learned a lot; it was a fun mental exercise.
Oh, that makes sense now. I remember reading the instructions and it talking about “good/right sides out” and I thought, wait, which good sides because now that you’ve sewn the waistband together, it’s a new piece and thus has its own “good sides” haha.
Also, I somehow had the seam (from sewing down the seam allowance) on what would be the exterior/good side of the front, and somehow convinced myself that if I flipped it over it would work. Obviously, that wasn’t the case .
. Somehow I got the waistband inside out and so you see the seams between the front & back waistband. I didn’t want to bother ripping the seams & doing it over, because I treat my first attempt at any pattern as a “wearable muslin” – wearable only in the privacy of home 
so no one can see my mistakes. Well, except all of you sewists.
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