Cheetah Lander Shorts!

Guys. If you watch my Instagram stories, you may have recently caught a little video of just how excited I am about these shorts! I’m over the moon with them! 

I bought this fabric at the beginning of June 2018 from Cottoneer Fabrics. It is a linen cotton blend that I immediately knew I wanted to turn into a pair of Lander Shorts. In 2018, I had the pleasure of being one of the leaders for the Sew My Style project, and I’d been looking forward to the Lander Pants ever since my application had been chosen. However, when the time arrived, my pregnant belly was really starting to show, and instead of heavily modifying the Landers to fit me, I decided to sew up the Forsythe Trousers, as they were more accommodating at the time. I bought some great solids black linen for those, but I couldn’t resist this linen, too. I washed it up right away and stashed it right up on the shelf, to wait for this summer.

I had originally planned to make these in May, so that I could use them through all of the warm summer months, but as per usual lately I’d packed my sewing schedule so tight that they got moved down the list. I may have also been a little nervous about making real live shorts with a fly and fitted waist, so I may have subliminally moved it down the list for that reason. I wish I hadn’t done that! There was NOTHING to be afraid of here – in fact, I’m still shocked about how quickly these came together! 

My measurements put me between a 6 and an 8 – my waist was closer to a 6, my hips closer to an 8. However, I knew I wanted them to fit close around my hips, and I’d heard the fit was forgiving and offered a generous side seam to accommodate adjustments, so I cut a straight size 6. I didn’t need any further adjustments! I left the full 1inch seam allowance on the sides after my baste fit proved to be good to go! The button fly seems to pull a slight bit, which might indicate that they’re a bit tight, but may also just be because I’m not a pro at button / buttonhole placement just yet! 

The one modification I did make to the pattern was to take an inch and a half off of the length. I like my shorts short! I marked the length I liked during my baste fit, but I waited until the very end once I’d attached my waistband and buttons to verify the length was still what I wanted. It was! So I chopped off the inch and a half, and will note this in my pattern to go ahead and do ahead of time when cutting out my next pair. 

My only disappointment is these buttons. I stopped by my local JoAnn to pick some up right before finishing these shorts up, and I picked up two sets – one was plain black, and one was black with gold rings. I loved the way the gold rings looked with the fabric, so I decided to go with these. However, after putting the buttons through the holes TWICE, about half of the gold bit had rubbed off of each button. I was so sad at first, but I realized that even if it all comes off, I’ll still end up with black buttons, which was my backup plan. (PS – as I write this I’ve now worn these shorts a couple of times, and the gold is completely gone. Such a bummer!)

Another thing that I learned with this project is that TOPSTITCHING THREAD IS A THING. I don’t know how I didn’t realize this. As you can probably tell, these shorts are topstitched with regular thread. It’s certainly not the end of the world, but man – I wish I had known! I immediately went to my local JoAnn and stocked up on topstitching thread after finishing these up. I won’t be caught without it again!!

The Lander Shorts are a GREAT pattern, as I’ve come to expect with True Bias. I’m crazy about these shorts, and still in shock that they weren’t nearly as hard as I’d amped them up to be. I also purchased some denim last year with the intention of making some full length Landers as jeans, and I feel like that is a completely doable goal at this point. However, as the weather is still stiflingly hot here, I’m going to stick to my actual cheetah print shorts for the rest of the summer!

Shorts: handmade by me
Pattern: True Bias – Lander Pants + Shorts
Fabric: Cottoneer Fabrics – Around Town Cheetahs in Natural Linen by Sarah Golden (unfortunately now sold out!)
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Schmetz Universal Machine Needles – Size 70/10
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat 

Though the pattern used in this post was generously provided to me as part of the Sew My Style 2018 Leadership team, all words and opinions expressed are my own, as always! Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!

• XX Elizabeth