Greenstyle’s newest pattern release – the Venice Beach Shorts pattern – has been captivating my attention lately. I have sewn more than 7 pairs at this point and have some sewing tips and inspiration for you in today’s post!
The Pattern
The Venice Beach Shorts pattern has the option of a 2.5, 3.5, or 4.5 inch inseam. I chose the 2.5 inch inseam for my pairs and the 3.5 inch inseam for the pair I made my daughter.
For the waistband, you can choose an integrated elastic waist. This is the type of finish where you sew elastic to the inside of your shorts, fold down, and topstitch.
The other waistband option is a contoured waistband that does not require elastic. It is similar to the waistband on the moxi shorts. If you make the contoured waistband, you have the option for pockets!
If you are making the style that has the integrated elastic band, you can choose between low rise and midrise. I chose midrise on all the integrated elastic shorts I made.
I used 1.25 inch elastic for my shorts instead of the 1 inch in the pattern because that is what I had on hand. If I would have used the recommended 1 inch, the rise would have been slightly higher. I feel like this rise is perfect on me.
On the contour waistband option (with or without pockets), there is only one rise. This rise felt higher on me than the mid rise on the integrated elastic versions I made. The top of this waistband is above my belly button.
Fabric Choice
A BIG part of figuring out how to get the right fit on the Venice Beach shorts is choosing the size to make based on your fabric choice. There seriously are so many fabrics that work well for this pattern. It will quickly become your shorts pattern workhorse!
French terry is probably my favorite fabric to make this pattern in for lounging or daily comfort wear. It is stable and thick enough for bottoms that it doesn’t show a panty line. If you use french terry or a similarly stable knit, make your measured size! This green pair is in French terry.
If you are using cotton lycra or any knit fabric that is really stretchy, you need to size down. If you are between sizes, then just make the lower size. I used my measured size for cotton lycra, and they are a bit too roomy on me. I will not be working out in these shorts, and they will become sleep/lounge shorts.
I used cotton lycra for the pair I made for my daughter, and went with the lower size (she was in between sizes). The fit on her is perfect!
This pattern is perfection for tweens! I made her a size B.
The next fabric I loved for these shorts is STRETCH WOVEN! If you use stretch woven, you will need to size up! I was at the bottom of my size and made my measured size. All of my shorts are size D. You can see that the stretch woven fit more closely than the others.
The stretch woven are the pair I will be wearing for working out. It was 100 degrees outside the day I took these photos, and I was running around, and they felt the best for movement.
Sewing Opinions
The Venice Beach Shorts Pattern is NOT an easy sew. I think I tell you everything I make is easy, but this one does take some understanding of how binding is attached and how different fabric works when binding. A lot of times when you apply binding to a t shirt or a tank top, it has negative ease in that area where you are applying the binding so the binding is shorter than the opening and you need to stretch the binding to fit. Then, when it lays on the body, it stretches and lays nicely (in theory).
Throw all of that out the window. This pattern is not intended to have negative ease around your legs. It is not a leggings pattern.
When you are applying your binding, DO NOT stretch your binding around those curves. DO NOT stretch your binding on the flat areas! To summarize: do not stretch your binding. If you stretch it, it will bunch the fabric, and when you wear your shorts, your legs will not unstretch it for you like it would on a fitted tank top. You want the binding to lay flat, and it is not going to do that if you stretch it. I think I have made my point here. Sorry for the overkill. I tried to stretch my binding on a pair, and you will not see photos of that pair. Lesson learned.
So, what do I do if my binding comes out wavy???? You PRESS it with a lot of steam. Put your iron to its highest setting allowed for that fabric type, spray your binding with water, and put the iron on top of the binding until your binding shrinks back to its normal size.
Do you see the big difference from before and after pressing??
Another thing to think about when binding is to reduce the pressure on your presser foot. If the presser foot presses too hard, it can stretch out your binding and make it wavy. Also, do not stretch your main fabric either. It may not fully stretch back when steamed. If your machine has a walking foot, make sure to use it! It will help it to feed both layers evenly.
Binding Fabric
If you are using knit fabric for the main, I would recommend using a light weight knit fabric for the binding. I used a light weight cotton lycra on my binding on my knit pairs of shorts. You don’t want a really flimsy fabric for binding and you don’t want a really thick fabric there either.
If you are making the shorts with stretch woven, you will want to do your binding in stretch woven and do it a little different than in the instructions (which are written for a knit fabric).
For stretch woven binding, cut it on the bias at the binding the length indicated, but increase the width to 1.75 inches. You will then want to do the binding the way the Moxi shorts binding is done. You sew it right sides together, fold it around to the back, fold the raw edge under and stitch down. Here is a great visual tutorial of this.
The rest of the shorts construction was pretty straight forward. The binding is the only challenging part of making these shorts, and with some practice, you will feel like an expert. If you are new to binding a pattern that does not have negative ease, I encourage you to practice on a few of your scraps before diving into your garment.
Resources
- The Greenstyle Venice Beach Shorts pattern is on sale through Saturday night (August 22nd) at midnight CST.
- My blue shorts were made in Azul Stretch Woven from The Fabric Fairy. The green shorts were a french terry from Wherehouse Dallas (which just opened back up!!!). The cotton lycra pair I made for myself and for my daughter were with fabric from Made Whimsy Fabric.
- My top that I am wearing in my photos is the Muscle Up tank in Cupro.
- The sports bra I am wearing underneath is the Power Sports bra.
Let’s Stay Connected
Was this post helpful? I would love to hear your thoughts and questions. I also would love to stay connected with you.
You can find me on Instagram. If you want to take a look into the things that inspire me, you can follow me on Pinterest. You may also follow my blog with Bloglovin.
*Disclosures
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.
2 Comments
Connie · February 2, 2021 at 6:48 pm
Thanks for the binding info Sharon. I’m starting out on my first pair and was wondering about this. I tried to “crack the bias” on the stretch woven but it just snapped back to it’s original size. I only made it 1-1/4” wide so it will be pretty narrow for this pair, but the next pair will be made with the 1-3/4” binding. Thanks again…your blog had exactly what I was looking for. Maybe Angie could post this on her page under Instructions?
Sharon Aguilar · February 3, 2021 at 6:10 pm
Thank you! I am glad you found it helpful!