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Shale Shorts: Design Options

Conditional Options​

Side split offset​

Determines the height at which the split starts

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 50%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 75%

This option determines the vertical position of the side split and makes the slit longer or shorter.

Pocket​

If you want front pockets

  • Type: Boolean
  • Default: true

This option sets if you want to enable patch pockets at the front or not.

Side split​

Create a slit on the side

  • Type: Boolean
  • Default: false

This option allows you to add a slit on the sides between the front and back pars, giving you more room for movement and potentially making the design a bit more interesting.

This option is only available if the Split parts option is enabled.

Construction​

Elastic only on back​

Keep the front free of elastic, only use elastic on the back

  • Type: Boolean
  • Default: true

This option defines if you want the elastic to go around your full body, or only on the back.

Advantages of the elastic on the back:

  • Neater, less wrinkly front
  • Front waistband can be curved to fit your body better
  • Might be more comfortable to wear due to less compression on your belly
  • Dividing the waistband into multiple parts can result in more efficient fabric usage

Advantages of a full elastic band:

  • Distributes the compression around your body better
  • Might work better if you’re adding a drawstring

Split parts​

Split the front and back parts into separate pattern pieces

  • Type: Boolean
  • Default: true

This option allows you to either have a separate front and back leg part or to have only one part for the whole leg.

Advantages of keeping the parts together:

  • You avoid the side seam, which is useful if you experience sensory issues with seams.
  • You don’t need to sew the side seam
  • There is one part less to cut

Advantages of splitting the parts:

  • Multiple smaller parts give you more flexibility to arrange the parts on your fabric, likely reducing waste.
  • The side seam allows you to add a side split and pockets.

Fit​

Cross seam ease​

Amount of ease added to the cross seam for comfort

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 2.5%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 10%

This option determines the additional ease used when fitting the designs cross-seam to your cross-seam measurement.

Basically, it gives you a bit of room in the crotch region to make sure the seam is not too tight.

note

The Crotch Lower option does something similar, but this option increases the cross-seam curve by giving you more horizontal space, while the Crotch Lower option increases the cross-seam by lowering the crotch, giving you vertical space.

Crotch lower​

Lower the crotch depth for a more relaxed fit

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 2.5%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 10%

This option adds more room in the shorts by lowering the crotch position.

Ease​

Amount of ease added to the waist and hips

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 5%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 20%

This option determines the amount of ease added onto your seat measurement.

The ease gives you space for movement and can also be a style choice.

Fit legs​

Adjust the fit of the legs from loose to tight

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 50%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 100%

This option determines the approach the software uses for fitting the cross-seam.

At 0%, the cross-seam is increased by purely moving the inseam sideways and increasing the horizontal width of the fabric parts. This can result in wide legs.

At 0% the bottom of the legs is kept straight and perpendicular to the fabric grain, which can be an advantage if you’re using patterned fabric.

At 100%, the cross-seam is increased only by rotating the inseam around the outseam. This will try to keep your legs fitted but will lower the inseam relative to the outseam, creating a somewhat curved hem.

Option values between 0% and 100% will interpolate between both methods.

Waist reduction​

Reduction of the ease around the waist

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 80%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 100%

Shale is designed without a closure, which means that the waistband has to be wide enough to go over your seat so you can wear it.

Around your seat, the seat ease is added on top of that seat measurement to give you some space and room for movement.

This option controls how much of that ease is also applied to the waistband.

At 0%, the waistband will have the same fabric width as the width of the fabric at the seat, so that the pants you sew will have a rectangular shape (if you ignore the elastic). This can look better with some patterned fabrics (for example, with vertical stripes).

At 100%, the waistband will have the same circumference as the seat measurement, without any additional ease applied, so that you will just be able to put the pants on. This makes the top a bit slimmer and more fitted.

Style​

Inseam​

Length of the inseam from crotch to hem

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 33%
  • Minimum: 10%
  • Maximum: 75%

This option determines the length of the inseam measurement.

Basically, this option defines how long you want the legs of the shorts, measured from the fork down.

Leg balance​

Balance between front and back leg width

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 40%
  • Minimum: 25%
  • Maximum: 50%

This option determines the relative size of the front and back parts and moves the side seam more to the front or more to the back.

Waist height​

Height of the waistband relative to natural waist

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 45%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 100%

This option determines the height where the top of the waistband is placed.

At 100%, the top of the waistband is placed at the natural waistline.

At 0%, the top of the waistband is placed at the upper hip line.

note

The waistband seam can’t be put below the seat line, so for wide waistbands, there might be a limit on how low you can go.

This is because we need shaping below the seat line, which is not possible with the mostly rectangular waistband.

Waistband front angle​

How curved the waistband is at the front

  • Type: Degrees
  • Default: 25°
  • Minimum: 1°
  • Maximum: 60°

This option determines how angled you want the waistband to be at the front.

A high angle makes the top of the finished waistband slimmer than at the bottom. This makes the shorts fit better with curvier and slimmer bodies and is useful when your hips are much wider than your waist.

A low angle fits better with more rectangular, straight bodies, where the hips and waist measurement aren’t too different.

The software calculates a suggested angle using your measurements and adds a flag message that allows setting that calculated value.

However, that calculation is pretty basic and assumes that your body is cone-shaped with constant slope between waist and hips, which is not how most bodies work.

So feel free to ignore the suggestion and choose a value that works for you.

Waistband height​

Height of the waistband, also width of the elastic used in the waistband

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 5%
  • Minimum: 2%
  • Maximum: 10%

Determines the width of the elastic band inserted into the waistband.

This option snaps to common elastic values.

In case you want to use an uncommon width of elastics, please adjust the height of the waistband pieces manually to the desired width.

Advanced​

Waistband extra width​

Make the waistband tunnel a bit wider than the elastic for easier sewing

  • Type: Percentage
  • Default: 20%
  • Minimum: 0%
  • Maximum: 100%

How much extra width the waistband fabric piece should have relative to the elastic.

This adds room for the fabric to go around the elastic inside the tunnel and gives you some room to close the waistband without accidentally having the elastic peek out.