Kirra Shorts Sew-along : Cutting and Pockets
Cutting
Fold your fabric in half lengthways with the selvages together (the tightly woven edges of your fabric). Use the lay plans in the instructions as a guide and position and pin every pattern piece in place before you start cutting. You don't need to follow the lay plans To. The. Letter. Especially if your fabric looks the same up and it does down. However, you do need to make sure your grainlines are parallel to the selvages. Use a ruler to make sure the grainline of each piece is the same distance from the selvage the whole way along.
Once you are satisfied with your positioning, it's time to cut.
Don't forget to clip the notches. As this pattern uses a 1cm (3/8") seam allowance, be sure not to make them too deep, or better yet, use a trusted removable marker. If your fabric looks the same on the right and wrong sides, you can mark the wrong side of each piece with chalk.
Once everything is cut and notched, Head to the iron with your two waistband pieces. Fold them in half with long edges meeting (Wrong sides together) and press the fold in place. Remember that steam is your friend!
One other thing you can do now is cut your elastic to length. Grab your piece of elastic and wrap it around the your natural waist. Don't pull it too tight and make note of this length. Otherwise if you know the measurement already you can measure it out directly onto the elastic.
Since we're going to topstitch the elastic once it's inserted, we want it a little shorter then your natural waist measurement, so take 5cm (2") off the length you have come up with and cut it there. When you topstitch the elastic it will stretch out a little and we want to combat that now, so we don't have a loose waistband later.
Sewing Pockets
For the rest of today's work, you'll need to grab your four pocket pieces. With either your sewing machine set to a finishing stitch or your overlocker, finish the longest edge of both pocket facing pieces.
Using a long stitch, sew around the outer curved edge of the pocket pieces just inside the seam allowance.
Pull the bobbin threads to create a slight gather and head to your iron. Press the seam allowance along this edge towards the wrong side. The gathered stitches will help but if you're still struggling to get a nice curve, make a template with cereal box cardboard and press the pocket over that.
With the right sides together, sew the facings to the pockets and clip into the curve's seam allowance, about eight should do it.
Understitch this seam with the seam allowance towards the facings, and press the edge in place with rights sides out. Lastly, sew a topstitch around the pocket opening at 3mm (1/8").
That's session two complete! Of course, if there are any questions please let me know in the comments below and we'll tackle sewing the front and back next time.