I couldn’t let June pass us by without doing at least one post featuring the June Shorts and Pants pattern! This design really is my go-to for high waist elastic pants and shorts. I wear a lot of our Arden Pants too, but I enjoy a wide leg and June is just perfect for summer. Today I want to show you how I added this cute little hem ruffle to the bottom of the June shorts! In fact, you can use this tutorial to add a hem ruffle to the bottom of pretty much any shorts pattern.
The ideal shorts pattern for this hack is one that has a straight hem on a wider leg. A hem with shaping or detail can still work, but you may want to straighten out the hem and eliminate any curves or details to make it easier. June is perfect for this hack because it is nice and simple!
I used Everyday Linen from Blackbird Fabrics for this project. I love the weight of this linen for pants and shorts. And this ‘fig’ colour is so stunning! I've paired these shorts with my Lockhart tank hack, one of my favourite tops!
How much fabric?
You might need extra fabric for your ruffle hem if you are buying a precise amount of fabric and you are not planning to shorten your shorts by much. Get about ¼ yard/meter extra to be safe.
How to add a ruffle hem to your shorts
First, you want to prepare the shorts pattern. You need to decide how long you want the shorts to be. I added my ruffle to the finished length of my June Shorts pattern, resulting in a longer length than the finished garment measurements. I did this intentionally because I wanted a longer inseam on these. You can cut the shorts anywhere you want to get the look you want! Keep in mind that the ruffle will add some length, too. Once you decide your length, be sure to add back in ⅜” (1 cm) for seam allowance.
You get to choose the length for the ruffle part, too! I made my ruffle 1 ½” (3.8 cm) when finished. So I made my ruffle 2 ¾” (7 cm) wide. I did this to include ⅜” (1 cm) seam allowance at the top and enough at the bottom to turn it under twice and topstitch. I think anywhere from 1” - 2” (2.5 - 5 cm) is a nice finished length for the hem ruffle.
Next, measure the hem of your shorts. You can measure a nearly finished pair or measure the hem of the pattern, minus the seam allowance. We are looking for the front and the back added together here (the full hem circumference of one leg).
Take that number and times it by 1.5 or 2. It depends how full you want your ruffle to be. I did approximately 1.5 times my hem circumference. This is the length of your ruffle. Now you are ready to cut your ruffle hem pieces! We need two long rectangles. I cut mine on the grain, selvage to selvage. Cutting on the cross grain is ok, too!
Pre-press your ruffle pieces by folding the long edge under ⅜” (1 cm) two times and pressing. Unfold the hem and sew the ruffle piece together at the short ends with right sides facing. Refold the hem and edgestitch it in place.
We want to distribute our gathers pretty evenly, so I like to quarter my hem ruffle and notch it (placing a notch at the quarter points). I also quarter the hem of my shorts.
Sew two lines of basting stitches on the long raw edge of the hem ruffle. Sew the first line ¼” (0.6 cm) in from the edge and the second line ½” (1.3 cm) in. Leave long thread tails on all the basting stitching lines. These are going to be our gathering stitches.
Pull on the bobbin thread of the basting stitches to gather the fabric. Push the gathers along to make room for more and distribute them across the whole hem ruffle piece. Make sure to add some from both sides. Keep gathering until the hem ruffle matches the circumference of the shorts hem.
Pin the hem ruffle to the shorts hem with right sides facing. I like to flatten out the gathers in between the legs to help the shorts from bunching up too much. Match the notches and take some time to distribute the gathers nicely. Sew the ruffle to the shorts hem using a ⅜” (1 cm) seam allowance. You should be sewing in between your basting stitches here.
Once attached and you are happy with your gathers, you can serge to finish this edge or finish it with whatever method you prefer. I like to serge and then press this seam up onto my shorts before topstitching it down. This helps the ruffle to stay pointing downward.
And that’s all there is to it! You can use this method to add a hem ruffle to any shorts. You can even add it to the hem of pants, too! I’ve seen some really cute pants out there with ruffle hems. For pants, the hem ruffle looks great even longer, 3-5” (7.5 - 12.7 cm) long. The June Pants would also be perfect for this hack.
I love how these turned out! This colour is just so pretty and summery, and the hem ruffle adds a nice detail that makes these stand out! I have seen a lot of really short shorts with this hem ruffle in stores, but I like this longer length version. It feels more substantial and less like PJ shorts to me. But I really want to try a short pair, too!
