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The Kirby Sewalong is a step-by-step video series designed to guide you through sewing the Kirby, from choosing your size to finishing the final details.
In this sewalong, we walk you through each stage of the process in short, focused lessons. You can move through the videos at your own pace, pause as needed, or skip ahead if you’re already comfortable with certain steps.
Kirby has a relaxed fit with a topstitched elastic waistband, so you can easily pull them on. Slash pockets, accented with decorative flaps secured by buttons or snaps, add a charming touch. A right-hand back waist patch pocket also features a button or snap for a cohesive look. The 2” hem cuff and 4” inseam strike the perfect balance between style and coverage.
To follow along, you’ll need the Kirby Pattern. Seamwork members can download it as part of their membership, and non-members can purchase it individually in the shop.
Getting Started
Fabric recommendations: Look for medium-weight woven fabrics such as cotton twill, linen, linen blends, denim, canvas, chambray, and rayon twill. For the pocket linings, look for lightweight wovens such as cotton lawn, cotton shirting, cotton poplin, acetate, rayon, and silk.
Fabric qualities to look for: If you choose a stiffer fabric, like denim or canvas, the shorts will have a fuller silhouette. If you choose a drapier fabric, such as rayon twill or linen, your fabrics will have a looser, more flowy silhouette.
Seamwork members, take advantage of your member deals this month! You can save up to 20% off your order here.
Prepare to Sew
This lesson covers all the basic things you need to know to get started with this sewalong. If you’re a beginner, this will be really helpful to watch!
If you feel like you already know how to get your pattern and fabric ready for sewing, go ahead and skip to the next lesson and you'll learn to do some helpful fitting adjustments.
You're going to learn how to:
- Select a pattern and reference its skill level
- Select a size
- Prepare patterns and fabric
- Cut and mark fabric
Fitting Adjustments
In this video, you’ll learn some helpful fitting adjustments for the Kirby shorts.
We created a free downloadable PDF called the Four Height Zones to help you gather the information you need to make adjustments to your pattern where you need it. We recommend printing it out and writing your height measurements on it to keep in your sewing journal.
Compare these measurements to the corresponding landmarks on your pattern pieces, and you'll know how much you need to shorten or lengthen that part of the pattern.
And here are some additional fitting resources if you need them:
- Learn some pants fitting basics you can apply to shorts.
- Seamwork members learn all about pants fitting, including crotch depth adjustments, full belly adjustments, thigh adjustments, rear adjustments, swayback adjustments, and balance in this video sewalong.
- Understanding ease will help you pick the right size or sizes. This tutorial will teach you all about design and wearing ease.
Sewing Instructions
The PDF instructions will be your main guide as you work through this pattern, but we've created this video to walk you through the trickiest steps in detail. If you need help on a step not shown in this video, check out the Community Group Sew, where other Seamworkers and staff are ready to help out!
If you're brand new to sewing, check out the Learn To Sew For Absolute Beginners course.
The trickiest steps for this pattern are:
- Tricky steps overview (00:36)
- Sew pocket flaps (02:02)
- Attach waistband (14:12)
