The Skye’s the Limit: Have You Made the Peppermint Skye Shorts?

Tired of having to choose between the breezy drama of swishy flowing skirts and the sensible practicality of shorts? Suffer no more! Collaborating with brilliant British patternmaker Mandi Bharij from Make With Mandi, we have created the  Peppermint Skye Shorts – the answer to all your problems… or at least, all the pants-related problems!   

These swing shorts skilfully combine fun and function, with flow aplenty around the legs and hips – and pockets, of course! The curved front yoke paired with an elasticated back waistband is all class at the front, comfy at the back, making them the ultimate throw-on-and-go piece for all your warm weather adventures. 

This fantastic pattern was created in partnership with our good friends at Spoonflower. The world’s largest marketplace of independent designs from global artists, Spoonflower is leading the way in custom, sustainable textile printing. Their on-demand process significantly reduces materials, energy and water, and uses non-toxic inks and ​​fabrics that are ethically sourced​.

To create our version, we used the Organic Cotton Sateen from Spoonflower, printed with a botanical palm leaf pattern by Italian illustrator Francesca Besso.

If you haven’t made your own version yet, what are you waiting for? The sky’s the limit with the possibilities of the Skye Shorts. We asked five fabulous sewing influencers to whip up a pair in a Spoonflower fabric of their choice. From @FiveSpicePower‘s rockin’ broc, @Geri_In_Stitches‘s peppy poppies, @SableCraft‘s checkerboard chic, @Holly_Dennett‘s William Morris moment and @SewUThinkUCan‘s crafty culottes. We heart them all!

Find out what they all had to say about the pattern and get inspired to make your own!

DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN NOW!

FIVE SPICE POWER

Fabric Choice – Organic Cotton Sateen in Broc On

“I would like to stress, before anyone accuses me of deliberately setting myself up to be the butt (haha, butt) of a million ‘bushy crotch’ jokes, that I really didn’t think twice about choosing this hella cute broccoli themed fabric when the Spoonflower team reached out to me late last year. No, I thought about it HUNDREDS OF TIMES, and not once did I notice the potential for bush-related hilarity. See, the Spoonflower team was incredibly generous in the range of patterns I could choose from. Choose one of the hundreds of beautiful patterns, they said to me, a woman who once spent three hours in a Hannah’s trying on two pairs of shoes. Ultimately I settled on either this or a repeating motif of cats skateboarding. Sensible, adult choices for the working professional who means business.⁠
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“Despite the ongoing apocalypse this arrived shortly before Christmas and I set about turning it into a pair of #PeppermintSkyeShorts (by Make With Mandi for Peppermint). I haven’t actually sewn anything since making MSP his Christmas shirt (he wore it like a Good Lad despite it being two sizes two large and giving him the general appearance of a small boy who has been told to wear his brother’s shirt to save money) so this was a pleasantly quick re-entry into sewing. It checks all the boxes: cute, airy, elastic waist, pockets, didn’t cry sewing it. I made only one departure from the instructions and that’s only because I’m a wilful tart and refuse to be taught how to sew on a waistband. Altogether it makes a lovely addition to my summer wardrobe and I will definitely be leaving many butt prints in this on park benches and hot car seats in the sweaty months to come.”⁠

GERI IN STITCHES

Fabric Choice – Organic Cotton Sateen in Wild Poppy Meadow

“Most honoured to be asked by Peppermint and Spoonflower to sew up a pair of #PeppermintSkyeShorts in a Spoonflower print of my choice. I picked this Wild Poppy Meadow print in the organic cotton poplin and it’s such an easy and beautiful fabric to sew with. The large flower print has all the colours that I love.⁠
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“This sewing pattern looks deceptively like a mini flare skirt but it is actually a pair of shorts, so I can prance around however I like while keeping my modesty intact. It has an elastic back so it’s pretty and practical. Pattern made in collaboration with Make With Mandi.”⁠

SABLECRAFT

Fabric Choice – Organic Cotton Sateen in Dotted Checks

“My vibes for 2022 are: chaotic french clown. When I’m not in my carhartts at the barn of course. I whipped up these #PeppermintSkyeShorts on… the coldest day in Rochester so far. The real feel is -5 today. I’m leaning in to weird checkerboard patterns this year so I was so lucky to work with this organic cotton sateen from Spoonflower.”⁠

HOLLY DENNETT

Fabric Choice – Poly Crepe de Chine in William Morris

“My new make, the Peppermint Skye Shorts. I decided to use this amazing Spoonflower viscose fabric as I knew it would have an amazing drape that would work well for this pattern. The fabric is perfect for styling for winter and will also be great in the summer. ⁠I shortened the length of the shorts so they sat at a more flattering length on my legs.⁠
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“These shorts were the quickest make I have made in a long time! Was fun only spending a few hours on a project and then have some brand new shorts. Recently my makes have been big ones that have taken a lot of sewing days.”

SEWUTHINKUCAN

Fabric Choice – Lightweight Cotton Twill in Big Scale Dancing Lines

“We do not work for the fabric or the pattern, they work for us. A tale of a true ‘make it work’ project. ⁠ I was asked by the lovely people at Peppermint Magazine to try their free pattern designed by Make With Mandi using a fabric of my choice from Spoonflower.⁠
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“The #PeppermintSkyeShorts pattern is more like a flared skort that is designed to be sewn with very lightweight fabrics. Enter the magnificent Big Scale Dancing Lines fabric in cotton twill I chose from Spoonflower. It was anything but light and flowy and there was no way it could work with a pattern with that much flare.⁠ I went into hacking mode and decided to reduce the flare quite a bit and lengthen the shorts into culottes. Though I’m not a fan of the pattern’s curved waistband, I’m quite happy about the result and the fit overall and absolutely love it paired with another fave of mine which also happens to be the free #PeppermintPaddingtonTop.⁠
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“The fabric is fantastic. This set which can easily be dressed up and down is going to be worn a lot.⁠ We as sewists have the freedom to dictate what we want to the pattern and fabric and not the other way around.”⁠

Pop over to spoonflower.com for more inspiration, then download the free pattern and make sure you tag #PeppermintPatterns (and #PeppermintSkyeShorts) in your creations!