Grady Sew Along – Welcome!
It’s that time again! Who’s ready for another sew along? I know I am and I’m so excited to be your host, yet again! We are going to be sewing up the Grady Pants & Shorts from Sew A Little Seam. My kids are on the slimmer side, so this pattern is perfect for for them. The pattern comes in sizes 3m-16y and has options for diaper ease (size 3m-3) and no diaper ease (size 18m-16). This pattern has a dress pant/chino style with slant front pockets, back darts, and back welt pockets or a jean style with curved front pockets, back yoke and back patch pockets. However, you are more than welcome to mix and match any of the versions for multiple combinations. There’s no right or wrong! There are also options for pants and shorts, as well as multiple waistband finishes.
The sew along will be taking place all right here, on my blog and on the Sew A Little Seam Facebook Group. If you aren’t a member yet, be sure to join!
Each day of a sew along, there will be a post up here with all you need to know for that day’s tasks, as well as some videos to help you along the way! There are quick links to go back to each post under the outline on each day of the sew along. (Note: Posts won’t go live until the morning of that specific day but they are already linked for convenience.)
I’ll be using the hashtag #gradysal throughout the sew along and I encourage you to use it as well.
If you ever run into any problems and need some extra help, be sure to comment here or on the SALS Facebook Group.
Let’s get to it!
SEW ALONG DATES
September 21st-26th
SEW ALONG OUTLINE
Intro to the Sew Along
PRIZES/GIVEAWAY
We are doing daily prizes again! There will be a giveaway each day of the sew along for participants and each daily winner will receive a Sew A Little Seam pattern. (Thank you Kelly!) Once the sew along has concluded, one lucky participant will win a $50 shop credit to Raspberry Creek Fabrics and a pattern from Sew A Little Seam.
Continue reading for eligibility/rules.
HOW TO ENTER
You must be an active sew along participant to be eligible for any prizes. This means commenting with your progress, questions, interacting, etc. on each of the daily sew along posts in the Sew A Little Seam FB group.
Each day of the sew along, I will post in the Sew A Little Seam Facebook group with a link to the day’s blog post (which will go live at midnight MST to accommodate folks in other time zones) and I will pin it as an announcement so it’s easier to find that day. If you show up late or forget to comment on a day, don’t worry! You are more than welcome to back post.
These daily posts will be your entry in the daily giveaway. I will announce the daily winner on the following day, so be sure to comment with your progress and/or any questions you might have for that day’s task early so you don’t forget. If you miss the daily giveaways, be sure to still comment on previous posts so you can be eligible for the grand prize at the end.
There will also be a separate post at the very end of the sew along for your completed pair of Grady’s, which will be your official entry for the grand prize ($50 shop credit for RCF and a pattern from SALS). This must me a new sew during the sew along to be eligible for any prizes and winners will be chosen at random.
Final entries will close at the end of day on Saturday, September 26th, MST (Arizona time).
PATTERN
If you don’t have the Grady pattern yet, you can find it HERE! (Click a size chart to enlarge). Use code GRADY20 at checkout for 20% off the pattern for the sew along.
FABRIC
You can use any woven fabric for this pattern. The fabric requirements are based off of 44” wide fabric, so if your fabric comes in 56-58”, you might not need as much. However, the length of your fabric is important for the length of your pants/shorts!
I used Chambray and Linen fabric from Raspberry Creek Fabrics for the Grady’s I sewed for this sew along. Chambray is so nice! I highly recommend it.
NOTIONS
Medium weight interfacing (I like pellon sf101)
Jean button (zip jean version)
Wawak – 27L Plain Jean Tack Buttons
Wawak – 27L Oak Leaf Jean Tack Buttons
Jean rivets (optional)
5/8” sew on button or 5/8” hook and eye closures – sew on or prong style (zip chino/dress pant version)
Jean or nylon coil closed zipper (Length: 3” size 3m-2; 4” size 3-8; 5” size 10-16)
Wawak – YKK #4.5 Brass Zippers. They have multiple lengths, 28 different colors, and are less than $.50 a piece.
Wawak – YKK #5 Antique Brass Zippers. A little thicker than the ones above and there aren’t shorter lengths available (5” is the shortest), so it will need to be shortened for the smaller sizes. There are still 28 different colors and are $.88 each.
Wawak – YKK #3 Nylon Coil Zipper. (Personally, not my favorite option) A multiple of colors, but a handful of them are out. The shortest length is 5”, so smaller sizes will need to be shortened, but they are pretty cheap at $.22 each.
Elastic for waistbands with elastic option (Width: 1” for size 3mo-3; 1.25” for size 4-16)
Buttonhole Elastic (Optional. For the Adjustable Buttonhole Waistband Hack)
- Amazon – This is what I used but there are other options as well. I’ve only seen black or white
Denim/Jean sewing needles (for heavy weight denim/twill fabrics)
I like to use size 90/14 for heavier weight fabric.
Amazon – Schmets Assortment
Topstitching thread (optional)
Note: Topstitching thread is a bit thicker than your typical sewing machine thread, however, you can still use regular thread to topstitch.
If you have any questions before we get started, be sure to post them below or ask away in the FB group!
Happy sewing!
Cheers!
3 Comments
Julie White
Looking forward to completing my first pants for my grandson. It’s a little hard to find retail pants that fit him, so here goes….
Trissa Marie
How exciting!! If you have any questions along the way, just ask! <3
sara
Thank you for this SAL!
I think this is the most compplicated pattern yet for me, so watching and reading your comments is re-assuring.
I’m fretting over cutting out my pieces becuase I’ve tried trading a size 6 to 11. I’m glad I found your hack, so I’m actually doing a 7 waist with the button elastic! And I’m doing mostly 8 through the bum and thighs, with only a length to an 11. The pattern only has one small mention of this, with notes to ‘remember to do the other pieces’ – EEP! which pieces? how? I feel like a separate tutorial on this would be so helpful. The top stitching guide for the fly is going to be efffected too, but i’m just praying here.
Lastly – I’d like to make a lined set of trousers. Denim on the outside and knit on the inside. I’ve seen store-bought ones, but I’m not sure how to hack this pattern? Is there a guide or extended add-on i could buy to help me make lined trousers?
Thanks