Summer Sewing - Colette Iris Shorts

I've had a personal ban on wearing shorts for a couple of years now.  My legs are not one of my personal assets and I prefer to keep them covered with capri pants or knee length skirts.  However due to global weirding, summers on Pa are becoming 100 degree affairs with only short bursts of lower temps.  Add to that an almost 2 year old that I have to run after, shorts suddenly seemed like a necessity.

If you have to make shorts why not make cute ones? Enter Colette patterns Iris short.  Yeah I bought it when it was released, even though I don't like shorts.  They were just tooooo cute.  So here they are in Kelly green on a size 16 girl.

It actually was 100 when taking these photos.

Was able to take all my pants fitting changes from Colette Clover pants and transfer then directly to these shorts. 

My final alterations were....
- Scaling back the crotch length to an additional 1/4" on both front and back.
- Adding 3" to the center back, while keeping the side seam the original size. Changing the darts to be 3.5" long and an 1" wide. Also angled the CB seam line in to shave off some ease. The flat pattern looks disgusting but the pants fit me great.
- Lowering the crotch curve on the back about 3/4".
- Straightening the front crotch seam for a full stomach.
- Adding 1/4" on the top of the side seams as my waist is a bit too wide for the size 14 measurements. (Size 16 is way too big on me so I use the size 14 and scale up the waist a tad)
-  Added 2" of length to the legs.
- Reducing the flair of the legs by taking in at the side seam 1/2" and 1/4" at the inseam.

I really love the inseam pockets, which have an optional detail of a button closure. Cute retro flavor and a place to keep your keys.


Thanks to some left over scraps from a recently completed blouse, my Iris shorts got some sweet coordinating pockets.


I'd highly recommend this pattern.  The shorts are simple to make, very comfortable to wear and a little different than what you'd find in a store.  Another winner from Colette Patterns!