Inspired by Chevrons guest: Mi Rincón de Mariposas

Today we have our very first guest here on Rock the Stitch!

Here is Dawn:

Hi, I'm Dawn, from Mi Rincón de Mariposas. I'm a mom of two who loves to sew and craft with my kids. I specially love recycling, easy to sew things, making my own patterns and sharing it all in my blog.
I'm so happy to post here today, getting Inspired by Chevrons. Thanks so much Rock the Stitch.

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Mi Rincón de Mariposas is full of inspiration and fun tutorials; like this great fox shirt (I HAVE to make one of these <3), and this super cute crochet cap! The website is in Spanish, but don't fret if you don't read Spanish; There is a Google translate button in the top left corner. If you have translation questions Dawn is happy to help you too.
Check out these cute chevron shorts Dawn made! Today she shares her tutorial on how to make them and she even translated it in to English for us. Thank you Dawn!

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Short Leggings: pattern and tutorial

Materials:
• elastic knit fabric
• scissors or circular cutter and cutting mat
• pins
• overlock (or sewing machine with an elastic stitch, such as zigzag) and thread that coordinates with fabric

Pattern:
You can download the pattern (for personal, non-commercial use) size 5-6 years here.
Print a copy of the pattern and check that the square measures 2x2cm.    (that's 0.79 inches)
Join the 2 sheets of paper and cut around the pattern.
If you want to make another size you can use leggings (no need to be shorts) of the size you want and follow this tutorial from Red Ababol. You can make them shorter or longer, as you prefer.

Cut fabric:
Cut 2 pieces of fabric, using the pattern. Notice that the fabric stretches across the width. Remember to add the seam allowance. Flip the pattern piece over before cutting the 2nd part, so we don't have 2 right legs.

Sewing pants:
Place both fabric pieces on each other, right sides together, and secure with pins.
Stitch the two seams marked with arrow (Notice that the bottom piece in this photo is not sewn yet. This is the next seam).

Lay the shorts out as in the following photo, secure the part marked with arrows (inner leg area) with pins, matching seams in the center of the previous step, and stitch.

Cuffs:
• Cut 2 strips of 31cm x 7cm (12.2 x 2.75 inches) (notice that the fabric must stretch in the direction that measures 31cm - 12.2 inches). - If you use your pattern in another size, the idea is that it has to be 1 or 2cm (0.5 inches) narrower than the bottom of the pant-
• Bend each strip in half, right sides together, and stitch (in the photo, on the bottom left).
• Bend down the middle, wrong sides together (in the photo, on the right), the open part down. Secure the cuff to the corresponding leg with pins, sewing pants aligned with the (inside of the leg) and stitch.
• Repeat with the other leg cuff.

Waist:
It only remains to add the waist, as in this tutorial

Have you sewn one? I'd love you to post a picture here.

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I had to make a pair myself, of course! I made these shorts out of swimsuit material for my daughter. They were super easy to make. I was able to do it in only about 30 minutes from start to finish. My daughter wears a size 5 and these are a great fit for her! For the waistband I cut my fabric to 20"x6" and followed the directions in the tutorial. 

These shorts are perfect for her gymnastics class AND swimming!

 Thank so much for sharing with us today Dawn!