Summer Lander Shorts

The Lander Pants are a much loved trouser and short pattern that many, many sewers have made over the years. I liked the smart casual look of them and had been imagining a light denim pair of shorts for the Summer for quite some time! The shorts are a great way to test the fit without committing to too much fabric so if they didn’t work out, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I used an 8oz light blue washed non stretch denim for these from Sew Me Sunshine and got these out of 1 metre, by cutting on the flat.

I fell between two sizes so I graded from a 2 at the waist, to a 0 at the hip, (my measurements are 27″ waist, 34″ hip) following the same curve for the front side pocket pattern piece too. I left the main pattern pieces at the size 2 around the crotch area as this was just easier. The instructions start by construction of the pockets, and I decided I wanted a contrast top stitching look so they had a more ‘jeans’ like feel, but I just used a standard weight thread in a tan colourway. I then basted the main pieces of the shorts together and tried them on to test the fit – which was pretty good I have to say! There is a 1 inch seam allowance included at the side seams so that you have a bit more room to let them out or in which is really good. I then sewed all the seams for real and constructed the button fly (my first one!) which actually wasn’t too bad.

The instructions are very good and the drawings are super clear at showing you what to do, so I had minimal problems with construction. Once the fly was done I tried them on again and realised though that my button fly wasn’t quite meeting at the bottom! I worked out what I’d done wrong though and shouldn’t have rolled the seam of the left fly piece to the inside of the shorts as much as I did. I think I thought I was doing a facing where you want the seam edge to be completely hidden but this then meant that the fly just didn’t quite meet by a few mm – aargh!

I managed to rectify it anyway with a little unpicking and maneuvering , I also let the side seams out by 1-2 cm each side which reduced the amount of pulling across my hips which was accentuating the gap. It’s then a case of sewing the waistband, belt loops and buttons on! I decided to use four jeans buttons but you can use any buttons you like. I’m so, so pleased with these overall. They are by no means perfect, but I have a lovely pair of shorts that I’m really proud of and hope to wear for many more Summers to come! A great pattern for an adventurous beginner or intermediate sewer, I’ve got a full length corduroy pair planned now for the Winter!

Holly x