For Christmas I made my boyfriend a pair of shorts!

The stripe fabric I found is a type of Poplin with some stretch. I love the crisp look and feel of the fabric and the stretch is an added bonus.

What will be needed:

• Sewing machine (B 735)
• Shorts Pattern (see below)
• Fabric (refer to pattern for quantity)
• Thread to match
• Elastic (quantity dependent on waist measurement)
• Drawstring/Cotton Ribbon (quantity dependent on waist measurement)
• Button hole Foot #3A

Pattern

I used the free Darcy Boxer Shorts pattern. The original pattern has a functional fly and exposed elastic waistband. It is available in a male and female style.

The previous pairs of shorts I made in my His & Hers Lounge Shorts blog post each had a mock fly and encased elastic waistband. You can learn how I altered the pattern and sewed them up in that blog post.

For the casual style shorts I am making in this blog post, I am adding a drawstring, omitting the fly altogether and making an encased elastic waistband
I made these alterations to the original pattern:
-Increased the seam allowance from 1cm to 1.5cm so that I could do flat felled seams instead of overlocked seams.
-Omitted the Fly by using the Right Front piece twice and excluding the Left Front piece.
-Added double the width of the elastic (eg. 2.5cm x 2 = 5cm) to the top of the pattern pieces.

Assembly

I sewed the seams according to my blog post How to sew Flat felled Seams

1. Join the Front pieces together along the Crotch seam.

2. Join the Back pieces together along the Crotch seam.

3. Join the Front Piece to the Back piece at the Side Seams.
   Press the seams towards the Back.

4. Now join the Front Piece to the Back piece at the Inseam.
   Press the seam towards the Back.

5. Sew the Hem
   Fold the raw edge of the Hems up by 1cm and press towards the inside of the shorts.
   Fold up the Hem by 3cm and press.
   Secure the Hem with a row of stitches.

Encased Elastic & Drawstring Waistband

With regards to how much elastic is needed the Darcy Boxer Shorts Pattern designer says:
“Measure the opening, reduce by one third and then wrap that length around you before you cut. If you like a firmer or looser fit adjust as necessary. Remember these are boxers, you want them to be comfortable!”

For the length of the drawstring I would recommend 1.5 x the waist measurement. It can always be shortened.

Here’s a video tutorial for making buttonholes with the automatic Buttonhole Foot #3A 

6. Fold the raw edge of your fabric down by 1 cm to the wrong side and press.
   Fold and press again, the width of the elastic (2.5 cm).

7. Work out the placement of the button holes
   I placed mine about 1.5cm on either side of the seam and just below the fold line.
   Iron a bit of fusing on to the wrong side to reinforce the fabric.

8. Measure the width of the drawstring. This will be the size of your buttonhole

9. Sew a Buttonhole on either side of the Centre Front seam.
   I went with stitch #51 and made the size of the buttonhole the same as the width of the drawstring.
   Remember to select the respective Buttonhole foot from the menu. Just tap on the icon to open the presser foot menu.

10. In the pattern it says to join the ends of the elastic by butting the raw edges together and securely zigzag stitching over the join. I prefer to overlap and secure with a stitched square.
    

11. Encase the Elastic.
    Divide the Elastic and the top of the shorts in to 4 equal parts.
    Match up the marks and pin the Elastic to the wrong side of the Shorts.
    Cover the edge of the Elastic with the 1cm fold.
    Fold the top of the shorts over, encasing the Elastic then straight stitch along the lower edge, securing the elastic in place.

12. Tie the drawstring to a safety pin and feed it through a buttonhole, in the waistband and out through the other buttonhole.
    Trim the raw ends of the drawstring and knot them.

Tips

• The original pattern includes 1cm seam allowance & 3cm hem allowance.
• Your choice of fabric and print will affect the style of the shorts.
  A crisp fabric like Linen or Cotton in a plain colour or classic print would make a great casual pair of shorts. Something in a softer or drapier fabric would likely be better suited for loungewear.

I would love to see what you make, please feel free to share with me!
Also tag the pattern designer @_measuretwice or use the tag #darcyboxershorts
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-Hannah-Rose