Welcome to the first day of the Clipper Shorts Sew Along!

Today we’re going to talk about cutting fabrics for the different options, and constructing the pieced shorts if you’re using that option.  I’ve made three different pairs of Clipper Shorts for the sew along, ranging from the simplest with no fly and no pockets, to the most complex with the half fly, all the pockets, and pieced shorts.

Cutting for Different Options

Shorts A: no fly, no pockets

This is the most basic and simplest to sew.  Cut:

• Front Piece A cut the fly extension off, and don’t cut along the curve for the front pocket
• Back Piece B and don’t worry about the marking for the welt pocket placement
• Back Waistband Piece H on the fold
• Front Waistband Piece I on the fold
• Front Waistband Interfacing Piece J

Easy peasy!  I did take care to match my plaids across the front and back pieces by cutting one piece at a time and flipping it over to use as a template to get the lines precise.

Shorts B: faux fly, front pockets with piping, and ties

Nothing tricky here, but there’s a few more pieces to cut:

• Front Piece A cut along the fly extension, and follow the curve for the front pocket
• Back Piece B and don’t worry about the marking for the welt pocket placement
• Front Pocket Lining Piece C – this is hidden inside the shorts
• Front Pocket Bag Piece D – the piece shows as the upper outer sides of the shorts if you want this to be from contrasting fabric
• Back Waistband Piece H on the fold
• Front Waistband Piece I on the fold
• Front Waistband Interfacing Piece J

I found some premade pink piping in my stash that coordinated well, and also some grosgrain ribbon to use for a tie.

Shorts C: half fly, front and welt pockets, pieced, and ties

This is all the bells and whistles.  Cut:

• Inner Front Piece A1 cut along the fly extension, and follow the curve for the front pocket
• Outer Front Piece A2
• Inner Back Piece B1
• Outer Back Piece B2
• Front Pocket Lining Piece C
• Front Pocket Bag Piece D
• Welt Piece E – I cut two for two welt pockets
• Welt Pocket Bag Piece F – again two bags for two pockets
• Fly Guard Piece G on fold
• Back Waistband Piece H on the fold
• Left Waistband Piece I1
• Right Waistband Piece I2
• Left Waistband Interfacing Piece J1
• Right Waistband Interfacing Piece J2

I forgot to pull out the twill tape I have for the ties, but I’m also adding those along with a button for the half fly.

There’s one additional step for the half fly option – separate the two front pieces and cut the fly extension off the wearer’s right front piece using the markings on the pattern piece.  I trimmed the fly extension off my pattern piece before flipping it over and trimming the fabric.

Constructing Pieced Shorts

Step 1:

Finish the straight center edges of all Front and Back shorts pieces.  You can use a serger, zig-zag, or overlock stitch.  Another finishing option is to make a clean finish and topstitch: skip finishing the center seams and after sewing the pieces together press the seam allowances open, then press the raw edges underneath to the stitching line.  Then sew folded edges in place with topstitching, which encloses the raw edges.

If you’re inserting trim into the center seam, baste it in place now.

With right sides together, sew shorts front pieces A1 and A2 together, and shorts back pieces B1 and B2 together.

Step 2:

Press seam allowances open.  I’m showing the front pieces, but also press open the seams for the back pieces.

Step 3:

Topstitch along each side of the seam.  I use my edgestitch or stitch in the ditch foot to keep my stitching evenly spaced away from the seam and a longer stitch length – 2.8 on my machine.

Tomorrow we’ll be constructing the fly and front pockets.  Share your in progress Clipper Shorts on Instagram with hashtag #clippershortspattern and tag me @jennuinedesign.