Burda 8087 - Silk Tweed Shorts

Burda 8087

Despite  distractions, I did finally finish my Burda shorts....well almost. After a day's wear, I've decided I need to take them in. This is a bit of a bummer as it is the second time I've finished them. The first time there was quite a bit of bagging on either side of the zipper. Sadly, I attached the facing and lining all by hand...both times.  I think I'll have to rent another movie and set myself up for another round of handstitching tonight. I think I'll probably take these in at the sideseams, but try and remove fabric from the back only. If I take any from the front, I'll loose my side pockets completely. From a construction point of view, my easiest option would be to take them in at the CB, however I'm not sure if that will upset the fit too much. Would it be OK to take it in 3 or 4 cm at the CB?  Any thoughts?

This is my second version of this pattern. (Version one here). This pair is made up in the most amazingly fabulous blue silk tweed purchased from EmmaOneSock. The shade of blue is truly spectacular. A few posts ago, I showed the same fabric made up in a vogue clutch. Despite imperfections, it's hard not to love both the shorts and the clutch based on the fabric alone. 

As tweed has a fairly loose weave, I decided to fully line the shorts. I used silk habotai, making them extra luxe to wear. I was concerned that the fabric would stretch during the day and I would end up looking like I was wearing a glamorous burlap bag. After a day's wear, there still is some stretch. I can only assume there could have been more had I not lined them. The downfall in lining then with habotai, combined with the fact they are too big, meant they spent the day slipping down 'marky mark' style. Fortunately, I was wearing a long shirt. 

After the frumpy results with my version 1 (I did fix these by the way), I lowered the rise by 3.5 cm. I shortened my first version by about 10cm from memory. These ones are much shorter again.

I still feel like there is too much fabric on either side of the zipper. Previously, I reduced this by taking in the inseam on the front piece only and taking in the CF. I'm currently working on a pair of denim trousers from this same pattern so I think I'll take them in a little more.

The crotch also looks a little long in the first photo. I think this may be because they are hanging low as they're too loose.

Back flaps. These are for show only.

In the earlier shots I was going for a slightly more chic look by styling the shorts with my silk racerback tank sewn last month. I also wore wedges just to add a touch of 'fancy'. (This is the tropics remember. We don't do 'fancy' all that fancy).  Above they are worn with cheesecloth and leather plaited thongs for a more casual look.

Overall, I'm quite happy with these shorts. They're not perfect, but pretty good for round 2.