Sewing

Shorts on the Line: Mouk Shorts

June 19, 2013

Shorts on the Line 2013

I am joining the amazing line-up for the ‘Shorts on the Line’ summer sewalong today. As soon as I was invited to take part I knew what I wanted to make – shorts just like Mouk’s.

Around the World with Mouk has been Rowan’s favourite book for several months now. Mouk is a cute little bear who sets off on an adventure and travels the world. It isn’t really a story with a beginning and an end, more a diary of Mouk’s travels, but there is so much detail in the illustrations that we spot something new with almost every read. It has also been made into an animated TV series. So here are the shorts on a line…

Mouk Shorts 1

I jumped at the chance to review the Parsley Pants pattern from Made by Rae, as I knew it would be perfect to turn into Mouk’s shorts. As I expected the pattern is fantastic – so well thought out and simple to follow, with helpful illustrations and so many options – two different waistbands, two different pockets, pintucks and knee pads. It covers ages 2 to 10 so I expect to get a lot of use out of the pattern for many more years. I made one of the simplest combinations with full elasticated waist and box-pleat pockets. The shorts option isn’t included in the pattern but it’s really simple to do and Rae wrote a tutorial for it here. I would recommend when you do this that you flare the section of the pattern beneath the hemline outwards, or inwards depending on where you cut it off. You want the width of the bottom 1/4″ to equal the width higher up the shorts where it will end up when it is folded inside the shorts. This will prevent bunching when you do sew the hem.

Pants to Shorts

The diagram above gives a quick illustration of this and is more obvious at the back of the leg (on the right). The orange line is the finished hemline and the green line will first be folded over 1/4″ and then folded over into the shorts. It will then meet the blue line, where the hem will be sewn. Refer to Rae’s tutorial to see why the hemline isn’t just horizontal for shorts.

Mouk Outfit

Based on the measurement chart I made the 3T for Rowan and they fit perfectly. It is lovely to see him wearing a pair of shorts that fit properly as all of his other shorts are handed down from Casper and are too long on him. The pockets are a fun addition and a necessity for any traveller.

Mouk Shorts 2

Of course I couldn’t just stop at the shorts. I used the Banyan Tee pattern from Figgy’s and the ‘Cozy Winter Hood’ from the Oliver + S book ‘Little Things to Sew’ to complete the whole outfit. I wouldn’t have chosen to combine bottle green and orange before but I love the combination now. For the T-shirt I used the 18 month size and increased the length a bit by comparing the pattern piece to a T-shirt that fits him well. I really like this pattern and have used it before. The hood is another thing I’ve wanted to make for ages and was so fun to sew. My children have quite large heads (as does Mouk) so I made a medium. With a different lining this would probably be a bit too big for Rowan but with the bulk of the faux fur lining it is perfect. I am not sure faux fur was the best choice of fabric for the lining but it is so soft and will be lovely and cozy this winter.

Mouk Outfit 2

Fabrics;

Mouk visits a lot of exotic places on his travels and, courtesy of a trip to Legoland today, he got to visit a couple that aren’t in the book – Kennedy Space Center and London

Mouk Outfit Collage

Then an exciting return back to Paris where his journey began. Just look at that excited face.

Mouk in Paris

These shorts have been on my ‘to do’ list for quite a while now so thank you to Rachael and Carla for inviting me to take part and giving me the push to finally make them. I didn’t know until after I’d finished sewing this outfit but, coincidentally, Katy of No Big Dill is kicking off Chapter 4 of ‘Once Upon A Thread’ today. I love this series and can’t wait to see what the guests come up with this time.

Mouk Outfit 3

Make sure you check out all the other posts in the ‘Shorts on the Line’ series – there’s no shortage of awesome shorts!

6/10 – Petit a Petit and Family and Shwin & Shwin
6/11 – Delia Creates and Buzzmills
6/12 – Cirque du Bebe and Sanae Ishida
6/13 – Fake It While You Make It and elsie marley
6/14 – No Big Dill and Max California and Designs by Sessa
6/17 – girl inspired and Casa Crafty
6/18 – Frances Suzanne and Caila Made
6/19 – Made by Rae and Craftstorming
6/20 – Noodlehead and emmyloubeedoo
6/21 – Siestas & Sewing and Made with Moxie
6/24 – imagine gnats and small + friendly

Also, make some shorts yourself! Rachael and Carla have lined up some amazing prizes so get sewing and add them to the Flickr group to be in with a chance to win!

This post is part of shorts on the line sewalong hosted by imagine gnats and small + friendly, sponsored by Jo-Ann, Pretty Prudent/Pellon®, and Hawthorne Threads.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the Parsley Pants pattern by Made by Rae for free. All opinions are my own.

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9 Comments

  • Reply celina June 19, 2013 at 2:23 pm

    Oh my goodness! What an AWESOME post. That face, those shorts, and the story… I can’t believe how cute everything turned out and you even got to visit so many cool places! You just brightened up my day. Oh and I love that green by the way…

  • Reply Jane@Buzzmills June 19, 2013 at 3:01 pm

    Love love love it!! Fantastic job! 🙂

  • Reply erin June 19, 2013 at 3:26 pm

    this is all fantastic. i love the green shorts!

  • Reply Carla June 19, 2013 at 3:52 pm

    I love love love this whole outfit! And that book sounds adorable! You did such an amazing job, thank you for sewing along!

  • Reply Toni-Maree June 19, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    I love this outfit so much, awesome work Laura. I was looking at some green drill today and thinking it was too bright but it is perfect for shorts.
    Haha Legoland is an awesome spot to get some pictures. I might have to look this book up I think 🙂

  • Reply Rae June 20, 2013 at 3:49 pm

    LOVE this!! That bear hat is freaking adorable. Love the green version of the shorts too — I have a special place in my heart for green bottoms (that’s actually why they’re called “Parsley Pants”).

    Super great job!!

  • Reply Cindy June 21, 2013 at 12:50 am

    Adorable! I love that shade of green.:)

  • Reply Suz June 25, 2013 at 2:02 pm

    What a cute photoshoot. I didn’t realise Mouk was a book character – we have it here in Australia on the children’s channel. I love the last photo – so gorgeous!!

  • Reply Sue {munchkin munchies} July 31, 2013 at 3:32 pm

    The book and character look so cute,s but not as cute as Rowan is his new outfit:) Adorable! You are so talented and always go the second mile (the cap)! I sure admire your sewing skills, Laura!

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