Okay, so, “leather micro short,” huh? Yeah, I decided to give this a whirl a few weeks back. Don’t judge! It was… an experience.
First off, getting the leather was a pain. I wanted something that looked good but wasn’t gonna break the bank. Ended up going with some lambskin I found online. Seemed decent enough in the pictures.
Next up, the pattern. I am NOT a pattern maker. I tried drafting something myself, watched a couple of YouTube videos, and realized I was in way over my head. So, I cheated. Found a basic shorts pattern online, printed it out, and then started hacking away at it to get that micro look. Honestly, that part took longer than I expected. Lots of pinning, cutting, and muttering to myself.
Then came the fun part: cutting the leather. Turns out, cutting leather with regular scissors is a terrible idea. Invested in a rotary cutter and a cutting mat. Made a HUGE difference. Still had to be super careful, though. Leather stretches and warps like crazy if you’re not paying attention.
Sewing? Oh man, don’t even get me started. My regular sewing machine HATED the leather. Skipped stitches, got jammed, the whole shebang. After about an hour of frustration, I remembered my grandma’s old heavy-duty Singer. Thing’s a beast, but it handled the leather like a champ. Changed the needle to a leather needle, and things finally started moving.
The actual sewing was tricky. Leather doesn’t forgive mistakes. Once you poke a hole in it, it’s there forever. So, I went slow, backstitched like my life depended on it, and tried not to screw up too badly. I definitely pricked my fingers a few times. Safety first, kids!
I added some simple silver hardware – a couple of rivets for reinforcement and a snap closure. Kept it minimal. Didn’t want to overdo it.
Here’s a quick rundown:
- Got some lambskin leather online.
- Modified a shorts pattern I found online.
- Cut the leather with a rotary cutter.
- Sewed it together with my grandma’s old Singer and a leather needle.
- Added some rivets and a snap.
The finished product? Well, let’s just say it’s not perfect. There are definitely some wonky seams and a couple of spots where the stitching is a little off. But hey, it’s handmade, right? It’s also way shorter than I originally planned, I was going for micro, and nailed it!
Would I do it again? Probably not anytime soon. Leather is a pain to work with. But it was a fun project, and I learned a lot. Plus, now I have a pair of leather micro shorts. What more could a person ask for?
