Moxi Shorts - Fine Tuning the Fit

Hello!

My name is Natalie. I'm a mom of two boys. I get to stay at home with them after having taught 8th grade math and special education for 8 years. I grew up playing soccer, and am now a distance runner and weight lifter.

My family and I enjoy camping, hiking, watching movies and swimming. I began sewing about two years ago in 2016 because I wanted to make a dinosaur tail for my oldest son. I used to have to drive over to my mom's house with all my supplies to use her machine!

I quickly became interested in sewing clothing, and made my first skirt by tracing a skirt I had. I sewed the waistband on the "right" side which was the wrong thing to do, but I didn't even care because I was so proud of myself, and too afraid to seam rip it all!

After about six months of sewing at my mom's house, she bought me my first sewing machine. I year later, I bought my first serger and there's been no looking back! I'm hooked.

I make all my own clothes now, most of the clothes for my boys, and a few choice items for my husband. My sewing bestie introduced me to GreenStyle Creations by making some endurance bras for me. I was really drawn to the fitness patterns, and when I saw the Moxi shorts I fell for them- hard.

I love the style; it’s so me! I eagerly downloaded the pattern and made my first pair. Epic fit fail. I was so bummed! These shorts are a style I’ve been wearing since middle school, how could they not fit me? I decided to persevere through fit adjustments and let me assure you, it paid off!

First off, a little explanation about my body type. I’m a powerhouse. Built to carry large loads, defend the weak and get sh*t done. My frame is broad. My thighs were built upon hours and days of playing soccer and running up and down the field. They are big. My stomach area carries a little extra weight and that sticks out further than my pelvic bone courtesy of childbirth and not being active enough during my college years. I think this shape is why I needed to adjust the crotch curve.

 You can see in my first picture how all the creases in the fabric highlight, accentuate and bring all the attention right there. Not exactly the look I'm going for, not when the Moxi shorts have that super cool binding accent on the backside! Actually, not ever.

The first fit adjustment I needed was to fix the crotch curve because the fabric was pulled to close to my crotch causing the dreaded “cameltoe” look. To do that, I simply cut a more L shaped curve on the front pattern piece crotch curve (pictured). This will allow for the fabric to hang further from my body. Don't be afraid to cut like this. You can always cut further, but just go for it!

After I did only this adjustment, I made a pair but then had V- shaped creases coming from my crotch going up and outward on my body. See below. There is less of a problem area, yet still room for improvement.

I needed a little more space in the legs so I re-drew the inseam line creating a little more space at the crotch (pictured). I just added about a quarter inch of space here and it really did the trick. Another option would have been to extend the top bottom lines out a half inch or inch if needed. For what I needed, this seemed to be enough. I started to draw the line out about three inches down from the top, so almost to the bottom of the pattern piece.

Once I did the second fit adjustment, the fabric was laying nicely across my hips and crotch area. Problem solved and I’m now free to love this pattern as much as I did when I first saw it! I hope this tutorial has helped you and happy sewing to all!

Thank you so much Natalie! Your new shorts look great, and ready for mass production in your closet!

If you don't have the pattern yet, you can find it HERE. The Compression shorts add on is available HERE.