Paper Dahl

Everyone please forgive me that this ooooold pattern is still branded Selvage Designs / Baste + Gather! xoxo

Okaaaaaaay, folks! I’m not gonna lie; I have an ulterior motive with posting free sewing patterns: I want to grow my blog! I would l-u-r-v-e for you to help me by following my blog on Bloglovin’, pinning this post on Pinterest, sharing on Facebook, clicking through my social media icons above (and following) etc. So please, if you want to keep seeing free sewing patterns (and I have quite a few in the works!), PLEASE help me out! Mmmmmmkay?! xoxoxo
I am super excited to release a free sewing pattern today – Summer Shorties! These shorts were originally designed to go under little girls’ skirts and dresses for added modesty on the playground when climbing jungle gyms and doing cartwheels, but I’ve found them to be a super versatile garment for playtime, dancewear and more! One of my testers (yes, I fully tested this pattern even though it’s free!) even suggested that they would make great boxer briefs for little boys. Perfect! You could even make them a size or two bigger than suggested by the size chart (while still using the correct length of elastic) to create a more relaxed-fit pair of shorts. Shall we?

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

Made with plush-back or fold-over elastic at the waist, these are easy to whip up in just a few minutes (yes, you read that right) and only require four pieces of paper to print. They come in sizes 12 months through 8, and you can choose to print just a size or two if you want! Like I mentioned before, this pattern has been fully tested and was created with the same attention to detail as my paid patterns.

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

So, I know you’re drooling over these fabulous knit fabrics, right? I KNOW. They were all provided by Wanderlust Fabrics – probably the hippest online fabric store I’ve found…um…EVER. So be sure to hop over there to check out their amazing selection when you’re done here. Or, you know, do it NOW because you are going to need some fabric for your million pairs of SUMMER SHORTIES!

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

We had a ball with this photo shoot…as you can see. Harper just loves all the fun prints! They are super soft and comfy, too.

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

So are you ready to make some Summer Shorties for your little girl (or boy)? Let’s get started!

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

First things first…here’s what you need to make a pair (or seven):

  • 1/2 yard of stretchy knit fabric – 4-way stretch is preferred but not required. Just think about the fabrics leggings are made of. That’s what you want. Oh, and you can actually make two pair from a half yard of fabric…but you can’t usually get fabric cut with the selvage, so you need a half yard if you are buying some for these. Otherwise, you can probably get by with some small scraps from your stash.
  • 3/4″ plush-back elastic OR 1″ fold-over elastic. You’ll need the length of your child’s waist measurement.
  • Sewing machine, thread, scissors, pins, iron, yadda yadda yadda. You know, the usual stuff.

Summer Shorties - Selvage Designs for Baste + Gather

And the pattern…duh! Here you go:

Download Pattern

If you’ve ever sewn from a PDF pattern before, you shouldn’t have any problems. Just make sure you don’t scale your printout (set it to 100%), and check your scale square before you cut your fabric. There are four pattern pieces that go 1-2 across the top and 3-4 across the bottom. Cut along the outer border of the pages, and match up the little triangles to get everything just right. You can select only certain sizes to print by accessing the layers panel in Adobe Acrobat:

Screen Shot 2014-06-22 at 10.57.37 PM

Next…let’s pick a size! CHOOSE YOUR SIZE BASED ON SEAT/HIP MEASUREMENT. These sizes are much like what you would find in RTW clothing at popular children’s clothing stores like Old Navy or Carter’s. If your child has a particularly rotund bottom, I recommend sizing up as the shorts are cut with negative ease and can be drawn in at the waist with the elastic. You might also size up if your fabric isn’t particularly stretchy (or down if it is). Please also note that these shorts do NOT include a diaper allowance. So if you’re sewing these for a kiddo still in nappies, you might want to increase the rise slightly. Harper (shown in the photos) is 35″ tall/28 pounds and has a 21″ waist/21″ seat. She is wearing the size 2 with the fold-over elastic cut to 18″ (17.5″ after sewing in a loop).

Summer Shorties Size Chart

And now, let’s get sewing!

1. Press bottom hem up 5/8″ toward the wrong side. We won’t be sewing this just yet, but it will make it a lot easier to do so in a bit. You just want to make a crease there so we can see where to fold up the hem once the legs are loops instead of flat pieces. This step is not shown in the illustrations below. 

2. With right sides together and using a stretch stitch or serger, sew front and back crotch together with a 3/8″ (1cm) seam allowance. Press seams open or to the back if serged.

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER 3. With right sides together and using a stretch stitch or serger, sew the inseam together with a 3/8″ (1cm) seam allowance. You may sew a second line of stitching if desired to prevent blowouts! Press seams open or to the back if serged or sewn a second time.

4. Determine how long to cut your elastic by simply putting it around your child’s waist just below the belly button. Make sure it’s relatively snug (but not too tight) and overlapping by 1/2″. Cut the piece, and measure it so you can cut more for future Summer Shorties without having to keep bugging your kiddo! I also melted the ends of the elastic with a lighter to prevent them from raveling. Overlap the ends by 1/2″ (1.5cm) and sew them together as shown.

If using plush-back elastic, you might end up with a longer piece than if using fold-over elastic since it’s a little more dense and doesn’t stretch as much. 

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

4. With right sides together (plush side of elastic facing away from fabric and toward you) and using a wide zigzag stitch or serger, sew the elastic loop to the top of the shorts with a 1/4″ (.5cm) seam allowance. Match the spot where you joined the elastic ends with the back seam of the shorts. You may also fold the elastic and shorts into fourths to mark the centers/sides for perfect matching, but it’s pretty easy to get them matched up properly without doing so. You may also pin the elastic to the shorts if desired, but I am lazy and skip this step!

5. Flip the elastic up. So pretty and comfortable-looking, right?! Turn the bottom hems up by 5/8″ (1.5cm) and sew in place. Remember how we creased those hems in the first steps? Ahhh, makes this part so easy. I recommend using a double needle or coverstitch machine if available. Otherwise, you may use a stretch or zigzag stitch.

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

6. If desired, you may choose to topstitch your elastic to the top of the shorts so it doesn’t flip out annoyingly. (Some of my testers did this.) Totally up to you.

So super easy and awesome, right? Now go put those Summer Shorties on a kid near you and cartwheel all summer long!

Special thanks to all my testers: Tonya, Alison, Shelly, Tammie, Stephanie, Alicia, DeNae, Lisa Marie, Karly, Laura, Emily, Jami, Kimberly, Rebecca, Angela and Ashley! I love you guys! xoxo

And of course, thanks to Harper for being a good sport, always!

Summer Shorties | Free Sewing Pattern by Selvage Designs for BASTE + GATHER

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Elisa Clark
6 years ago

What a great pattern! Thanks Lauren!

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Elisa Clark

I’m glad you like it, Elisa!

Mel Henry
6 years ago

Thank you! That’s so useful!

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Mel Henry

You’re welcome, Mel!

Charity
Charity
6 years ago

My girls are always short on shorts (see what I did there?) Thank you for the pattern!

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Charity

You are quite welcome!

Marian
6 years ago

Great idea – can’t wait to try it for my granddaughters.

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Marian

Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

Janine Dean
5 years ago

Thank you this is a great pattern!

Raelene Charabie
5 years ago

Can these be made with a cotton fabric???

Katy R
6 years ago

These look fab! I may make some for my flower girl for the wedding, as she’s only 3, and we’ve got a bouncy castle, so I expect there would be lots of knicker-flashing otherwise!

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Katy R

Oh that’s a great use of them! Thank you!

Kristi
6 years ago

Such a great idea. Have been meaning to make about a dozen of these since the weather got warm, now I don’t have to figure it out for myself.

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Kristi

Perfect timing then! 🙂

Olu
6 years ago

Yayyy!!!! Perfect timing, I was about to make these for my 2 year old to go under her dresses, she’s not keen on underwear, she prefers nappies. Thanks you 🙂

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Olu

Wonderful! My pleasure!

Cheryl Blondin
6 years ago

Thank you for this! So glad I found your blog…I’ve been looking for this exact pattern for some pjs for my boys. I am going to whip some up this afternoon! Also maybe a Foxglove for me…:-)

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago
Reply to  Cheryl Blondin

Wonderful! I’m glad we connected. 🙂

Toni Barsi
6 years ago

These are awesome Lauren! I’m making a pair to match my daughter’s Soleil dress right now. Thanks for sharing!

Felt With Love Designs
6 years ago

Thank you so much! Pinning this! I found shorts like this last year but haven’t been able to find any this year and my daughter LOVES to wear dresses. Every. Day. She is so active, we don’t leave home without shorts under. I am making a million pairs to get us through the summer!!

Lauren Dahl
Lauren Dahl
6 years ago

I’m so glad to help! My daughter loves them, too!

Argie Lorenzo
5 years ago

Love how easy the pattern is to follow, just wondering can I ad a ruffle to the bottom of these shorts? If so how thick should I make the ruffle and how long so it has the ruffle effect (I imagine I just gather and sew) but now sure how long to make the strip? Thanks in advance

3 in 2 years
5 years ago
Reply to  Argie Lorenzo

instead of a ruffle at the bottom, put a sheer piece across the front and across the back, split on the sides so it’s like a skirt, but full range of motion. I’ve seen lil girl tennis skirts like this! love this pattern, btw, THANKS