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| Isla Bartolome, Galapagos Islands |
I came across these shorts from the little independant pattern maker Pattern Runway a while ago (I’m a certified Etsy-a-holic). Gorgeous, huh? And a fellow Aussie to boot! I made them up specifically to wear whilst we were visiting the Galapagos Islands.
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| Getting amorous with a Frigate Bird that hitched a ride on our boat |
Usually I’m quite precious with clothing I’ve made – in my mind it’s always more delicate than RTW stuff! But I’m sure that’s mostly just a mindset because these shorts have been hiked in, afternoon-siesta-ed in, sweated in (oh, the insane humidity!), exposed to copious amounts of UV and zinc sunscreen, drenched in a torrential rain downpour and basically worn for 3 or 4 days straight. And they’re still alive! (the welt pockets suffered a bit after being rained on though).
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| Single welt-pocket mere moments after completion |
I used a pale blue japanese cotton with a printed white polka dot pattern, called ‘Sky Yuki Small’ from Tessuti. I wanted a bit of contrast too though – so used some of the leftover stretch yellow from my Caramel Slice Marfy to make some piping for the man-style pocket edges. I love the two fabrics together!
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| Single welt pocket slightly saggy post torrential downpour, and contrast pocket piping! |
I’m still in shock that these shorts fit so well straight out of the packet in the areas that pants haven’t fit me well in the past. No bunching or smiling at the front crotch, it hugs your backside, the pockets make it so sitting in them is comfy and not-restrictive too! The fit is quite snug across your waist and hips, with a nice amount of leg room for ease of movement.
The pattern has the front legs with an inverted ‘V’ shape and the length of the back legs are slightly longer in length. I particularly love the man-style pockets; it also has a side zipper, a waistband that sits at the waist and single welt pockets at the back. I wasn’t overly happy with the instructions for how to complete the single welts – so after a bit of research and trial-and-error, I did it my own way (you can see this here) which involved using one less piece than Pattern Runway would have you use.
I made two small changes – I reduced the amount of fabric at the back leg by taking out a dart to get a slightly closer fit around my thighs, and pinched out a bit of a gape underneath the front waistband by reducing the height of the front rise slightly.
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| a Sally Lightfoot Crab |
The Galapagos Islands have been an incredible place to visit – the wildlife is plentiful and the animals aren’t afraid to get a closer look at you! I had a white-tipped reef shark swim about 1.5m away from me whilst snorkeling – it swam away completely disinterested before I had the chance to comprehend the situation! For those of you who aren’t familiar with their importance – these islands are the reason d’être for Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
Over many, many years – species of plant and animal have immigrated to the galapagos, most probably carried by the tides, or seeds which have been eaten by birds and pooped out on these islands. But because it is geographically isolated, over time the species of flora and fauna have evolved differently (to suit their living environment) to their cousins on the mainland.
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| A sea lion nursing her pup |
It’s also a pretty amazing place from a geologist’s perspective – there’s heaps of volcanic activity! We walked over cooled lava/magma flows that were just 200 years old!
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| Mr poppykettle being cheeky with a bit of Volcanic Rock (it doesn’t actually weigh much at all) |
One last word on the shorts – what I really loved about this PDF pattern, is that the printed out pages have grid lines on them – which makes it a hell of a lot easier to match, rather than single match points. I’ve found that in the past the more pages you have to stick together, the more likely that after a few pages, they don’t match perfectly. The grid pretty much took care of that :) Thanks Pattern Runway!
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| Colette’s Iris shorts, via colettepatterns.com |
poppykettle 
Wow! Your shorts fit you PERFECTLY! I'm so impressed! Did they stretch out and get baggy over the course of the vacation, or stay fitting well? The Galapagos looks amazing!
Great shorts – love the detail you've put into them. Those Galapagos islands are beautiful – lucky you is all I can say – enjoy the rest of your trip!!!
I love how these have turned out. Great looking shorts and thanks for the sewing tips on this pattern.
I'm in LOVE. It is so good to know these shorts are a winner. Just love the fabric and that piping and those pockets and looks like a great fit too. Sensational!
I cannot believe you have been to the Galapagos! How awesome. But isn't dangerous to be so close to a sea lion?
Whow. These shorts are a wonderful style and you've done a great construction job on them too. They are a lovelier style than the Iris shorts IMHO. Thank you for the holiday snaps too.
They look great. The fabric is so cute and they fit so well!
The Galapagos! A trip there is on my bucket list. Your shorts look great. I love the little polka dots.
Great shorts! I reckon you should try them as pants as well, they have a lovely shape. Hope you're enjoying your holiday :)
LOVE the yellow piping! You've inspired me to buy this pattern (and the Colette Iris shorts) ASAP.
I love the shape of the shorts but the polka dots… amazing!!! So cute!
The shorts look amazing! Fit is great, as is the fabric choice. Not to mention that they look super comfortable on location… Looks like you are having a great trip, even if it does mean a lack of sewing.
Cute shorts! The details are fab; I love the piping and the welt pockets. Looks like an amazing trip to the gallapagos!
These are so cute! Love the piping :) And I'm also keen on Iris.
I've been wanting to make these for a while and you've totally convinced me. LOVE the yellow piping. Really, truly darling shorts!
Your shorts are darling! And they fit you so well! I've been a little meh about this pattern because I was afraid that scallops would look too cutesy, but these really look nice and not too "little girl" at all! And what a fab trip!!! I'm working out some fit issues with the Iris shorts right now, but maybe I'll make the Pattern Runway shorts when I'm done! Thanks for the inspiration!
These shorts are just adorable! I love the tiny polka dot print. I've heard a lot of great things about the pattern runway line so I'm anxious to try something!
Sweet! Those shorts are fantastic! I love the contrast piping.
Those shirts are sweet and you went on a dream vacation. Lucky girl!
Those shirts are sweet and you went on a dream vacation. Lucky girl!
Those shirts are sweet and you went on a dream vacation. Lucky girl!
Those shirts are sweet and you went on a dream vacation. Lucky girl!
Those shirts are sweet and you went on a dream vacation. Lucky girl!
Those shirts are sweet and you went on a dream vacation. Lucky girl!
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Love the shorts! I'm contemplating the Iris shorts. I don't own any shorts. I am so jealous of your holiday. What a fantastic adventure. I love the comments about rocks. South America is super high on my list!
What a great post! love the shorts and pics. Thanks!!
Oh those are so cute on you!! :D The welt pockets are just lovely!! And yeah the new Colette patterns are awesome… i admit, i ordered them all *blush* heheI adore the pics of the birdie as well… he is soooooo freaking cute! Me and my hunnie always make animal friends when we go adventuring too, so it is kind of awesome to see someone else doing the same LOL.
I love your fabric choices for these shorts! I have already made two pairs and now you have me itching to make a third with piped pockets!
Fantastic! These are great and I like reading about the slight changes. I'll be making these shorts sometime soon so I might steal your idea and add interfacing to the bottom.And you're making me so jealous of your vacation! It looks like such a fun time!
Cute shorts. I wish I'd thought to put contrasting piping on my pocket edges before I sewed them up. Such a nice detail.
Ya learn someihtng new everyday. It’s true I guess!
these shorts are adorable !
I don't know what I'm more in love with – the shorts or the fact that you went to the Galapagos Islands!
Gorgeous. I wouldn't have considered that pattern, but will now!
Love the shorts, really must have a go at making some from woven fabric. I thought the first picture looked familiar, then they all looked familiar so I actually read the text ……… any wonder, we were there a year or so ago (I was usually wearing clothes I'd made too).
Love the shorts. They're the best version of this pattern I've seen! Nice job.
The shorts are fabulous! I'll have to put that pattern on my wishlist. And I'm so jealous you got to see a frigatebird!