Pattern Review: McCall's 6328

McCall's 6328

It's funny to me that during my high school years and most of college, I was too self-conscious to wear shorts or really be seen in a swimming suit. I'm not sure if it was the ballerina in me being too critical of my body image but I continually shied away from this particular garment that would expose so much of my thighs. I didn't find them comfortable. I would constantly be pulling at them and heaven forbid the spillage I felt when i sat down and my leg muscles spread to cover the seat. Do you know the feeling? I always felt like my leg muscles weren't as firm as others because I'd sneak a peek and no one had leg seat spillage like I did. And I find it ironic that now when my body and legs have been changed by age and baby weight gain, now I want to wear shorts. And if they aren't quite short enough, then I don't want to wear them. I am almost 30 and I'm trying to squeeze out every bit of youth before it is really inappropriate to do any of it. Am I there already? When do short shorts become too much much for a ladies' age? These are questions I think but deny myself an honest answer. And so I find myself searching out the right kind of shorts in stores and rarely do I find the right kind of pair.

When I spotted this pattern for SHORTS I knew it was right up my alley. The top two versions were exactly the bit of dressy, fun and flare I had been looking for and I was so anxious to sew them up. I paid a whopping $2.95 for this pattern online and it only sat idle in my sewing room for three days before I dove in. It felt like there was a lot of cutting involved and I started to get overwhelmed by the amount of pieces. It said EASY on the front, but what kind of authority had given it that title. Was it my kind of easy? I was starting to doubt myself but I knew I could do it as long as I gave the energy and time required to do so.

This was my new sewing attitude. I used to sew quickly and carelessly because I didn't have the patience to read the pattern properly. Truthfully I didn't have the patience to sew up the garment at all. I had lofty ideas for what I wanted but I wanted to snap my fingers and be wearing it. After years of creating sorry clothing articles that sat sadly in my closet, I had a change of heart. I would take the time to sew the garment properly. I would rip out rows of stitches if something didn't line up properly or look right. I would read the directions 17 times if that is what it took to understand a step. I would actually clip the corners and trim the seams. And what do you know? With this new mantra, my sewing improved. Patterns became less daunting, my stitches neater and by some small miracle I was lining up seams and at times even patterns!

So ultimately, I knew I could do this pattern. What I was suprised to discover was how well I could really do this pattern. I am pretty proud of the result. My seams lined up very well, some of the stripes converge perfect into diamonds (a happy accident) and the round corners of the fake pockets lie pretty flat for the most part. The pattern was truly EASY. Perhaps 20 minutes of cutting time and then I was able to sew them up all within a Saturday morning. I was wearing the shorts by that afternoon. The fit is great with the exception that no one should bend over in them. The width of the legs, which gives it the charming sailor shorts look, mixes badly with the lack of booty space and they ride up when one bends over. This is not ideal for someone with a toddler who casually changes her mind every 30 seconds on whether or not she wants to be held or let free. The saddlebag look is not terribly flattering and at times during stolen side glances in the mirror I think it looks really odd but I mostly love the quirkiness. Overall, they are winners in my eyes. I have a feeling I will love these perhaps a little too much this summer. I'm already scanning my fabric stash to see what I have that may work for the ruffle version. Overall rating: A-.