While many of my tops from before Covid still fit me, the same cannot be said for trousers or shorts. I haven’t been able to fit into my jeans (which were hardly tight pre-Covid!) since last Fall, and I really only have three pairs of trousers that fit comfortably, all of which I’ve made in the past few months.
None of my previous shorts fit at all, though, so with summer approaching I found myself in desperate need of sewing some more. We had a brief warm spell in May or June (? time has no meaning anymore) so I got my old favourite Closet Core Pietra pattern printed again. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about this pattern by now, as I believe these are my 5th and 6th pairs of the shorts version alone! And this isn’t even counting the pairs of Pietra trousers I’ve made…
This time around I cut out a Closet Core size 18 (instead of my pre-Long Covid size 12 😭), and shortened the front crotch by about 2cm like my previous Pietras. The nice thing about sewing these so many times is that I really can whip them together without even thinking twice, and they come together so quickly! I didn’t quite batch sew these two pairs since the thread colours were different, but I did sew them one right after the other.
The first pair uses ramie from Textile Express in the “rust” colourway – I’ve made two pairs of previous Pietra shorts and one trousers in various shades of this fabric and it is my favourite EVER for bottoms. It’s a natural fibre like linen but wears 10x longer and looks nicer when wrinkled and worn IMHO.
The second pair was made using a dark indigo stretch denim remnant from Like Sew Amazing (RIP). This is another great bottom-weight fabric, and the indigo dye is DEEP. I pre-washed the fabric three times and the dye still came off onto my waistpack a little, so I must be careful sitting on any light-coloured sofas for a while…
I tried brightening up these photos but the details were still completely lost, so you’ll just have to take my word that the seams and pockets are exactly the same as on the rust pair!
So quick, easy & satisfying! I figured I’d wear these a lot – though that was before our summer because a total washout – cold and grey and rainy (yes, I’m well aware America has been in a heatwave, no need to tell me!). I still consider these a firm investment for the future, even if I’ve only had cause to wear them on a few days so far.
We took these photos taken on our recent trip to Dinard in Brittany (France), even though it really wasn’t warm enough for shorts most days. As you can see, my designer leather waistpack also got a lot of use! (You may also recognise my orchid bamboo tee and my birthday Saraste shirt in these photos…) When I was actually able to leave bed, it was nice to get some fresh sea air – not to mention the seafood and salted caramel!