Back in BandanaLAND

 Handsome huh????  Little Mr. E is sporting a new pair of camo shorts made by his mamma who loves him to death.  I have done VERY little in the sewing room since he arrived, so I guess it is fitting that one of my first POST baby projects is for him.  You may remember that last year was kinda the year of the bandana at my house.  I made shirts, skirts, dresses, and more skirts (too lazy to find all of the links.   I suck).  I made so many cute things that I guess I went bandana crazy and bought EVERY bandana I found.  Needless to say  I have a STOCKPILE of the darn things and need to use them for something.  THUS began the Bandana Baby Shorts.  Cute, easy, breezy, and total cost is 1.00.  Cannot beat that RIGHT????  SOOO...no need for a tutorial because they are so easy, but here is a quick rundown of what to do if you want a pair for your little guy or gal. Obviously you could use any fabric and get a simple pair of shorts!!!

1. Fold your bandana in half.  If your kid is bigger than six months, you will need two hankies stacked on top of each other instead (still will only cost ya 2.00).  BTW  I got all of mine at WALMART...just so ya know=)
2.  Fold a pair of shorts to use as a pattern.  Trace them onto the fabric (trace about 1/4 inch away from your pattern for a seam allowance).  Also, cut the tops about 2 inches longer than the pattern piece (see next pic).

3.  Flip your pattern over and trace again.  I traced mine along the bottom edge of the hankie so that I would not have to hem---I just used their little rolled hem.  Sorry for the random OTHER project picture.  I made a pair of shorts using an old T-shirt for Emersyn.  Notice how I traced WAY above the shorts???  That accounts for the elastic casing.  

4.  Now that you have 2 sides (4 pieces), it is time to sew.  I serged down the rounded side or crotch portion.  DO NOT go all the way down past the curve...that is the length---trust me on this...I may or may not have messed that up over and over and over=)  Do this to both pieces.  BTW... your pieces should be right sides together. If you are not serging, I would zig zag your seams to make them stronger...especially if you are using a hankie----they fray.

5.  You will have 2 pieces that look like this. If you are serging, now would be a good time to serge along the top edge of both pieces.....that way when you make your casing, you will have a clean edge inside.

 6.  Now put those 2 pieces right sides together....time to sew the crotch.  LINE UP THE TWO CROTCH SEAMS.  If you want to make your shorts look good, pin the pieces together and be very careful about lining things up on this point.  SOOO, once again....line up the crotch seams so they make a V shape.  (sorry for the blurry pic).  I sewed on the sewing machine, so I could use pins.  THEN checked to make sure the seams in the crotch line up..(.if not, try again).  THEN I serged. 

7.  Now sew up your side seams.  Make sure to line up the BOTTOMS of the shorts.  The tops can be a little off, but the bottoms must match up to look good. 

 8.  Fold down the top of your shorts to make the elastic casing.  I used 1/2 inch elastic.  I just eye ball the casing...3/4 inch if you want exact. I would use bigger elastic for bigger kids...just a personal choice.  Make your casing, string your elastic through, sew up your hole, and VOILA....shorts. 

 I decided I wanted to add a little BAM to mine, so I made pockets.  I just used a piece leftover from the bandana.  I cut two squares---keeping the hemmed edge for the tops of the pockets.  Then I serged around the other 3 edges.  I decided to leave the serged edge OUT, but you could fold it under and iron.  Then I sewed them onto the sides....just eye balling them over the side seam.

I will warn you....sewing on the pockets was a little tricky...getting the machine inside those little leg holes was not a piece of cake.   Just so you are warned.  BUT I kinda love them and it was Kinda worth it=)

Now if you only had a cute kiddo to put them on.  OHHHH you do....good for you..haha! ME TOOO!!!  Add a pair of 50 cent sandles from GoodWill and you are all set... ONE sweet little GI JOE BABY!!!

Just right for a kid on the go=)  Check out my GI Joe's battle wound.  NOW THAT IS A TOUGH GUY!!!!