The Chi Town Chinos were one of the more involved makes I’ve worked on in a while. I can’t remember the last time I used a sew along for anything! I do have to say that I am pretty impressed with this pattern.

I don’t love wearing shorts. My thighs rub, so having the perfect length of shorts is really important for me. Way too short and my thighs chafe. A little too short and they ride up into my crotch with walking. I haven’t had shorts I’ve liked since before my daughter was born (so this is my fourth summer on no great shorts) but wore a lot of skinny bermudas two summers ago. While they still fit, I find I never choose them because they’re tight and my legs are still really, really hot in them.

The last pair of shorts I loved was a white pair of chinos from Old Navy, but I wore them a few sizes too big and let them hang lower on my waist and hips than intended. They didn’t look awesome, but were super comfortable, so my goal here was to recreate them.

I made a muslin out of some scrap chambray with cacti, which I had hoped to be able to wear, but there were just too many things wrong to make them work. Here’s what I ended up adjusting on the pattern:

-Sized up one size

-took two inches out of the rise (If you do this, don’t forget to adjust the pocket pieces accordingly for the slash pockets. Don’t just true the pattern, but adjust so that the pocket opening is still the same angle and length. Otherwise you will never get your hand in there)

-Added two inches to the length that I ultimately didn’t need, but kept in the hem in case I choose to change the length later.

-flattened the front crotch curved by 1/2 inch for a “flat pubis” adjustment. I’ve learned that this adjustment (for me) has less to do with my pubic bone being flat and more to do with how much further my thighs stick out from my crotch.

-On my next pair I will either take some width out of the legs or transfer all of my changes to the bermuda pattern which will already have a more tapered leg.

-took out the extra room given with the centre back extension.

As a pattern, I am quite impressed with the Chi Town Chinos. I think the centre back extension is quite genius and the waist band facing is a much easier way to finish the top than an actual waistband. While I did take my time on this pattern, it didn’t take as long as I expected and the finishes are quite nice. I’m really happy with how these shorts turned out in terms of fit and finishing. While I probably won’t make any more of these this summer, I do think I will make more in the future!