juba shorts tutorial: shorts to capris

This post is written by Carla Keahey.

The Juba shorts pattern is a fantastic foundation for a comfy set of pajama capris with very little added effort! This tutorial will show you how to make a pair either with a vented contrast strip or with a simple hem.

Ever since sewing a pair of flannel shorts, I kind of want to make EVERYTHING out of flannel and just pet my legs all day. Since the perpetual spousal battle over the thermostat often leaves me chilly, making some flannel capri pj’s in summer totally makes sense. Voile would also make a great pajama capri.

To lengthen your Jubas, you will need an extra half yard or so of fabric. You can either measure on yourself how long you want your capris to be to or lay out a pair of your favorite capris while cutting the fabric. The capris below should actually be positioned a little higher on the pattern, but it’s not a big deal. You just have to be in the ballpark and not too short. Keep in mind that a simple hem will take off an inch or two while adding the contrast band will add 1.5”. It’s always easy to chop off the extra! When in doubt, go longer!

Lay your pattern out for cutting, and mark your additional length. Taper the leg from the pattern bottom to the capri bottom, but don’t taper it so much that you can’t bend your leg. You can easily take it in. I took mine in a bit more than this after they were sewn together.

Repeat with the other pattern piece making sure you add roughly the same amount of length. (If you don’t add exactly the same amount, no biggie! Just chop it later to match – after you have sewn the front and back together. Like so…

Continue with the pattern as written to put your capris together. Try on your pants to determine your desired length and if you need to take in the legs at all. (Just sew a new line and chop off the old seam – please don’t get out the seamripper for this one.)

You can either hem as usual or create the vented contrast band now!

To create the band, first lay your pants flat, and measure the width of the bottom of the leg. Multiply by two and add 1” (two seam allowances). You can also measure the width of your pant leg while it is lying flat, add one inch, and cut your strip on the fold. Mine comes out to 11.5 inches in width, so 12.5 inches on the fold or 25 inches total.

Cut two strips 4” by the length you just figured out. This will create a 1.5” band. Cut this wider or narrower if you’d like a different size. Fold the band in half longways with right sides together and press.

Sew each end with a half inch seam allowance.

Turn right side out, push the corners out with a chopstick or other pokey (non-sharp!) utensil and press.

Starting at the outside seam of the leg (make sure it’s the outside, not the inside/crotch side!), pin to the right side of the bottom of each pants leg.

Nest the ends up against each other. If you have a small overlap, just layer them together and sew to complete the circle. This will create the vent on the outside of each leg.

Sew the band to the pants, finish your seams as desired, and press the band downward. You could add some topstitching here if you’d like.

Now you’re ready to grab some tea and lounge! Good night!

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