Agua Fresca Shorts

Sweet potato fries with chipotle aioli. Topo Chico, the Pellegrino of Texas. And then finish it all off with a watermelon agua fresca. Not a really balanced lunch, but there were cucumbers in there somewhere. Seriously, these are things I crave in mid-summer and they are so so Austin. As are food trucks, which I know are a foodie phenomenon all over the globe now, but we have them year round because we eat outdoors year round, and they are a staple in every neighborhood. It makes sense that low overhead dining would take off in a city with skyrocketing real estate.

My friend Steph and I decided to brave the afternoon for some corn dogs and other good-bad food. I’m pretty sure I was blending, or maybe not, in my watermelony brights. I was thinking about watermelons all week long, a flavor–and color–I crave at the height of summer. Today went into the 100s again but I still thought it’d be fun to some kind of summery shoot of me in my Argentinian blanket shorts.

Woo, I made them again! These are Grainline’s Maritime shorts pattern. Actually, I made two pairs and took photos of the second, but the others are a totally different vibe and fabric so it might be a different post. For now I’ll revel in food truck land right in the middle of the hot hot afternoon.

As you might remember, I made these exact same shorts in too small of a size, but I didn’t let that deter me. I was testing my luck because I refused to make a muslin. Too little time. Having to print out and re-tape the pattern all over again was going to be my only penance on this one! But then of course I added time by making two. What’s the logic in that? When I want to prove to myself that a pattern can’t beat me, I make two. Take that, you pattern, you!

For my new pairs, I went up a size, then added just a bit of width to the thighs by re-drawing the inseams and outseams. These are somewhat slim-fitting shorts and I don’t have little thighs. I like the new shape a lot better, it’s more relaxed. However, after a wearing or two on both my pairs the fabric really relaxed and the shorts started to fall down! Oh the things you learn about fitting!

I need a personal valet to periodically dry me off in this heat. I just live with the wrinkles.

I mentioned before that this fabric ravels like a monster, so it was necessary to serge every edge before starting. After that, I really loved working with it. It’s a very loose weave (which also contributed to the fabric relaxing with wear) and even though it’s acrylic, they’re super soft and feel quite cool. This is a very easy to make shorts pattern. (There are lots of good supplemental tutorials on Jen’s blog.) I’ve sewn lots of shorts so I went in my own direction with construction order and fly zip method. I like the simple shape and style, a short short, and I’m super happy to have added a few shorts to the wardrobe. I’m not a major shorts girl, but I just live in them in the house all summer. I’m also really craving a high-waisted pair, too, in a crazy printed denim. I just might hack this pattern into all sorts of things. It’s a really good base from which to work.

I don’t have a lot of details to show, but if you look at my previous attempt at these, they’re finished identically. I used Radiance silk cotton to line the waistband and pockets. (Do you know about the wonder that is Radiance fabric? I have probably made 5 yards of bias tape of this stuff, skirts, blouses, and linings.)

As you can see, Austin gets all beach loose and cash by high summer. Tight little shorts and flip flops are a college girl uniform around my hood.

Details:
Pattern: Maritime Shorts
Main fabric: Aguayo blanket fabric, Sweet Llama Supplies
Lining: Radiance silk cotton poplin, fabric.com (long ago stashed!)
Blouse: my favorite find last summer!
Photos of me: Stephanie Press