Sewing tutorial: baby boy shorts (size 1: 12-18 months)

My eldest child is a girl and I love sewing clothes for her. Making baby clothes was fun - there are so many gorgeous dress, skirt and outfit patterns available for girls. But what I found challenging was finding the right fabrics.

Now that I also have a boy, I suddenly find the perfect fabrics everywhere. With cute fabrics, the simplest of shorts or pants look great. I made these in a size 1 (12-18 months) for my little guy for this spring/summer.

To make, you will need:

0.5 m fabric (I used a light cotton for one pair, and light quilting cotton for the others)

elastic for the waist (I used 2cm wide)

cotton thread

1. Print off the pattern and cut two along the fold.

2. If you'd like to add a pocket, cut a piece from contrasting fabric, fold right side together and sewing around, leaving a 2cm gap for turning out the right way. Turn out the right way and sew onto the middle of the leg pieces.

3. Place the leg pieces right sides together and sew from the top to the centre. Iron the seams flat and open out, so that seams are on top of each other.

4. Sew from the centre leg down to the bottom of each leg. Iron seams flat.

5. Fold over 1cm at the top, press. Then fold over another 2.5cm and press. Sew around, leaving a gap near the back to feed the elastic through.

6. Measure elastic to fit your baby's waist and cut a length 2cm shorter. Attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic and feed through the waist casing. Overlap slightly and sew over to connect it. Enclose the elastic in the casing by now sewing over the opening.

7. Fold the bottom of the legs over 1cm, press and then fold over another 1cm and press again. Sew around.

And done!