Bubble Shorts for Shorts on the Line

I have been planning to make a pair of shorts for Shorts on the Line all month and have just not come up with exactly what I wanted until this past weekend.  Not that is not due to lack of inspiration, the flickr group is full of great shorts and that is how I first decided I wanted to do a bubble type short.  However, my daughter isn't big on shorts, she lives for dresses and skirts and I think that is why I hesitated for so long on sewing anything up.  I hate sewing things she won't wear! :)

 First I was going to make these adorable Oliver + S puppet show shorts, but they only go to size 5.  Bummer, not big enough of Peyton!  Then I discovered Peek A Boo Patterns made by Amy of Naptime Crafters.  And she has bubble shorts that were similar and I really liked how her's had a more finished front with the button and faux fly.  This is the fabric that came to my mind for them but of course I don't have any of it anymore and I think the print might have been to large anyway.  So I "shopped" through my stash and found the dots fabric I purchased from a trip to Hobby Lobby.  

What I liked about using this pattern was learning how to construct a faux fly and button front.  I'd never done that before and liked the look A LOT!  The pockets on the side are cute as well and I also liked how you finish the shorts with the band at the bottom.  Now for the problem!

This pattern I found to have good instructions but I really struggled with sizing and this pattern!!  With a waist measurement I decided to go with a size 6 but then use 3/8" seam allowance rather than the 1/2" the pattern directed to give me a bit more room in the shorts.  That was still not enough as I discovered when sewing them, and I had to make some modifications to get them to fit around her waist and legs.  Looking back I think I should have sewn the size 8.  Which is crazy, because she doesn't wear an 8 in anything, store bought or handmade! There was much struggling and seam ripping to get these to fit, and they still have some small issues.  Luckily I started with a yard of fabric and the pattern only needs a half so I think I'll re-make these with the other half and see if I can get all the "bugs" worked out.

They're still cute from behind, and the side too! :)

Sometimes you learn more from the problematic sewing projects than those that go smoothly and I am attempting to channel those feelings! I am happy with these shorts and I will give the pattern another try.  I am glad to have participated in my first sew along and have loved all the tutorials all month long.  Thanks for visiting! :)