5 Quick And Easy Summer Shorts Patterns

Since many of us are in the middle of summer, I thought it would be a good time to write about making summer shorts. These 5 quick and easy summer shorts patterns are (mostly) beginner friendly. I am a person that believes that if you don’t challenge yourself a little bit, you won’t really perfect your skill and move beyond the simplest choice. I also believe that just because you’re more advanced, that doesn’t mean you can’t make a super simple pattern using your fabric scraps. So, let’s get into it.

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The Patterns

McCall’s 8221

This is one of my most favorite summer shorts patterns. They are cute and comfortable.

I have made both views A and B. B is my personal favorite. They are at a comfortable length for me.

This pattern features inseam pockets and come in three lengths. There’s also an elastic waist. I made these in about an hour.

New Look 6055

This is a pattern where I have only made the pants but not the shorts. Since the pants were an easy project, I know the shorts have to be even easier.

As you can see above, there are two shorts versions. One, View E, seems to be a little bit shorter than the other, View D. Both of these have slant pockets, elastic and drawstring. As I stated, I haven’t made the shorts, I’ve only made the pants (View A). But those were easy to put together as well.

Itch-to-Stitch Sequoia Cargo Pants and Shorts

These are absolutely another favorite of my 5 quick and easy summer shorts patterns. The Sequoia is a pattern that is a bit more involved than a simple elastic waist. But don’t let that scare you!

Cargo shorts are terrific! This is a pattern that is definitely in my summer rotation when it comes to making shorts.

There are snaps, elastic and ribbed knit in the waistband as well as a front fly. She has a very good tutorial on how to assemble the waistband.

Itch-to-Stitch Sequoia Cargo shorts back

I have made this pattern twice. You can check out the Itch-To-Stitch shop here.

Colette Iris

Sadly, this pattern is out of print. But I still love it.

As you can see, this is rated as a “Beginner” pattern. If you know how to insert an invisible zipper, you can make these shorts!

The only alteration I made to mine was to make them a bit longer. Here is a picture of the first pair I made (many years ago)…

These shorts were part of a suit I made with matching blazer. Seamwork (formerly Colette) has a new pattern with the same name, but these seem to be a little different. And here is the blog post from the last time I made these shorts.

Kwik Sew 3854

Here is one I completely forgot about. I actually found this one when I was pulling out patterns for the YouTube video I made on this topic.

Now, if you look at this and think these are too short, don’t be discouraged. I almost always end up adding a few inches to the length of my shorts. I’ve not had a problem doing this and the results have been great. This particular pattern is one that I haven’t made yet. But I do like the two different styles. I have seen this made by other sewists, and it’s a very cute look.

Conclusion

So that’s my 5 quick and easy summer shorts patterns. What patterns are on your list? There’s still plenty of summer left here. Or there’s plenty of time to get ready for summer if you are in the southern hemisphere.

McCall’s 8221 New Look 6055 Kwik Sew 3854

Making A Tunic With New Look 6105

When I received this viscose challis from Minerva, I know right away the type of project I wanted to make. That’s how I decided that making a tunic with New Look 6105 would be the perfect patten/fabric combo. The pattern calls for some type of flowy fabric that can move.

The Pattern

This particular pattern is from 2012, and I honestly don’t know if it is still available. There are four variations with the pattern (sleeves, length, hem). I made View A. It features a high/low hem short sleeves that roll up and a one-button front placket.

The Fabric

This ia a non-stretch, 100% Viscose fabric in “Amber” that was gifted to me by Minerva Fabrics. It is super soft and flowy. I also love fabric that washes and dries well (without shrinkage). And because it is a natural fabric, it is breathable so it’s great for summer.

Viscose challis is a versatile fabric that can be used for many different garments. Here is another Minerva make I completed last year.

Making a tunic with New Look 6105

The only change I made to the pattern was to add a snap about 2″ above the button. Otherwise, the shirt was just WAY to open for my tastes.

If I was to make this again, I would shorten the length. In the photo on the pattern envelope, the tunic doesn’t look as long as mine turned out. Now, this isn’t a problem for this one, but in the future, I would make that change.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a pretty easy pattern to make. Here is the post I wrote that’s over on their site. This was something fun to make that is easy to wear with jeans or even some linen pants.

Because of the length on this one, I would be careful to style this with slimmer pants or jeans.

The Audrey Denim Jacket

When this pattern cam out a few years ago, I KNEW it was something I wanted to make. But at the time, I really didn’t have the confidence to tackle my nemesis – welt pockets. But the Audrey denim jacket is not nearly as difficult as I had imagined. I believe that if you can sew a straight line and have a little bit of patience, you too can sew this jacket! Best of all, the white stretch denim I had in my fabric stash was perfect for this project.

Prep Before Starting

The pattern is a PDF. I know many of you don’t like those, but there is an option for copy shop printing if you prefer. There are layers for the pattern so you only need to print the size (or sizes) that you want. While it’s about 43 pages, I did this and assembled it in about 25 minutes. Honestly, that was another reason I took years before I made this 😂.

Knowing that there would be a lot of topstitching, I prepared two full bobbins. That was not enough for me. I ended up using about two and a half bobbins. That’s my first suggestion. Prepare at least two bobbins with your thread of choice before starting. It really does make things so much easier. I don’t use special thread for the jacket or when I make jeans. Regular thread and a triple stitch are fantastic for giving you that traditional jeans look. I prefer that the topstitching thread blend in to the fabric color, so no contrasting thread was used for this.

Garment Construction

Seamwork has provided a video sew along for the whole process. I did watch the video on making the welt pockets. The written instructions are very good, although the order of construction varies slightly from the video. Video order may be a bit better just in case you make a mistake in attaching the welts.

Overall, this is a great project if you are short on time to sew. You can sew sections together (as the instructions show) and then put them together. Next thing you know, the Audrey denim jacket is done!

I did use a walking foot on my machine to topstitch the front bands, cuffs and waistband. That way there was no rippling of the top layer of fabric.

Conclusion

I chose this pattern over some similar ones I have because after looking at the finished garment measurements, this one seemed like the best fit. Personally, I have noticed that with some unisex patterns, I don’t get as good of a fit as I would like. For some things that’s fine, but for this, I was very particular about what I wanted.

This is the second Seamwork pattern I’ve made to good results. I’m a member so I have unlimited access to their patterns, etc. I actually find all of that quite useful.

Here’s a link for the Audrey Denim Jacket pattern: click here!

My video on the Audrey denim jacket is here…

The Audrey denim jacket pattern review