Daniel Knit Shorts by 5 out of 4 Pattern Company

I use this pattern for my knit shorts because the waistline is fairly straight, unlike some pants patterns that have the waistline much lower in the front than in the back.

I have adapted a pocket method I learned from Stretch n Sew patterns. I made a template for the pocket opening shape by cutting out the side of a dollar-store placemat:

I placed a facing piece, right sides together, onto the pocket opening location of the side of the front pieces, traced the opening shape, stitched the opening shape, trimmed, turned to the inside, and topstitched:

Then I placed the right side of the pocket piece against the wrong side of the front piece at the pocket opening, pinned well, and used a medium zigzag stitch to hold it down:

Only partly shown are the next few steps of my construction method.

I stitched the back pieces to the front pieces at the side seams.

I hemmed each assembly.

I placed the two assemblies right sides together and sewed the crotch curves at each side.

I placed the back pieces on the bottom, which means folding it a different way, laid the front inseam over the back inseam, and stitched that from hem to hem.

I stitched the elastic into a circle, marked the quarters, and marked halfway between those points. I also marked the top edge of the shorts in the same way. I matched those up with the elastic on the wrong side of the shorts, and pinned them together:

I attached the elastic to the shorts with a large zigzag stitch:

I basted on a folded ribbon or tape of a contrasting color to mark the center back:

I turned the elastic to the inside, pinned well, and stitched it down along the lower edge of the elastic with a medium zigzag stitch:

I didn't stop there, though. Because I liked how they fit me, I also made a pajama pants with a double-brushed poly (aka DBP). I made the legs the length and width (at the hem) the way I liked in another pair of PJ pants, and did not add pockets:

Here's a close-up of the cute print. The DBP is very soft:

The pockets, hems, and elastic were constructed with my sewing machine. All other seams were constructed with my serger for a quick and easy project.

Make your own Elastic Arch Support

Have you heard of this?

This has several names, including arch bandage or arch elastic. Some brands have a gel pad or other insert to be placed under the arch of the foot, so they have names like arch support, arch support bandage, elastic relief cushioned arch support or therapeutic arch support

Oh, how creative these names can be!  To be honest, there is one creative name ... "strut" plus the letter "Z" at the end.

My husband was told to wear an elastic arch support on his aching foot.  Apparently, he bought a two-pack a while back that cost about 15 dollars.  Since his work is mostly standing and walking, he left one at work, leaving one at home, to be worn most of the time.

After a while, the elastic started to fail and he was going to have to search for a new one.

Sewing wife to the rescue!

I bought a package of 2" wide knit elastic. You can be assured that I used a coupon, so it didn't cost much. It looks a lot like this:

I measured around the arch of his foot, and it was between 10 1/4 and 10 1/2 inches. Just by guess and by golly, I said, "Eh, let's try ten inches."

I cut one end of the elastic straight across, measured ten inches from end, and drew a straight line across. I then pinned it together so the end metthe line:

I set my machine to a wide and long zigzag stitch.  Thinking that if it didn't fit, I could remove the stitching, so I didn't even backstitch either end of the seam. To be sure, it was "fun" stitching in the hole:

Hah!  It fit so well, that I re-stitched it:

He liked it so much that he requested I make one bigger, in case he wanted to wear one over his socks while sleeping. So, I did, which is why I also wrote the sizes on them:

I think I made three at 10" length, and two at 10 1/4" length.

I bought more elastic for when these wear out, although some have already gone through the laundry and have been hung to dry.

Let me know if you find this useful.

Handy Tool - Elastic Glide

From Sewn Shorts

I was asked about the tool shown in my shorts tutorial. It is called an Elastic Glide. I've had it for a while, so I don't know where I got it, but I found that it's for sale at Clotilde.com The set has 3 or 4 sizes, and it's really convenient.

Finished sewing the ugly things

I went to Joann's, got the elastic, and finished the things. I will post a review soon. They are made from the Kwik Sew 2467 pattern, using a cheap lycra knit I got on ebay a while ago.