How to crochet shorts for children and adults, master classes

Shorts are an integral part of the wardrobe of children, teenagers, and young people. Ready-made versions of the products make their owners look the same and do not stand out from the crowd. If you crochet shorts, you will get a beautiful, original thing. In such clothes, it is easy to attract attention. In addition, the efforts that the knitter puts into the process charge the product with positive energy.

Selecting yarn and tools

A crocheted item with the wrong choice of threads or pattern can quickly lose its appearance: stretch lengthwise or crosswise, become long, wide, awkward. To prevent this from happening, you need to consider the following:

1. It is advisable to knit children's shorts from natural cotton threads, and also use high-quality viscose or acrylic.
2. Better wearability is achieved by adding synthetic components to the raw material. It is good if their specific weight does not exceed 20%.
3. There is no need to chase bright colors. Some dyes used in threads can cause the development of skin dermatitis.
4. The yarn must be hygroscopic, have good thermal conductivity, and be low-allergenic.
5. Summer shorts for girls are knitted from flax or bamboo. These materials are hygienic and do not have an irritating effect.

You can knit the item with a crochet hook or with knitting needles. In the first case, it is easier to make a light, openwork item that will allow the body to breathe.

The patterns used for knitting shorts can be dense and loose, look transparent or completely imitate fabric. In any case, the result should be solid canvases, which are then sewn along the established lines. According to such rules, threads and tools are selected for knitting both women's and men's shorts.

You can determine the correct correspondence between the hook size and the thickness of the threads by reading the recommendations on the package or knitting a test fragment. There are also generally accepted canons. For knitting lace openwork items, you can take Lace 2ply yarn, twisting it into two threads, and work with knitting needles (crochet hook) 2.5 mm thick. Super Fine 3ply threads and a tool with a diameter of 2.75 to 3.25 mm are also suitable. A larger pattern will be knitted from Fine 4ply yarn using a 3.5–4 mm hook.

Measurements and pattern

A convenient option for children and teenagers are products with an elastic band (at the waist or hips). In order for ready-made knitted shorts not to need to be adjusted to the figure, it is necessary to correctly take measurements, as well as construct a pattern. For this purpose, it is necessary to determine the hip circumference, the length of the product. The first measurement is taken by measuring the most protruding parts of the hip area with a centimeter tape. The length is measured along the supposed side seam, from the starting point of the shorts to their lower edge.

If you don’t have time to make a pattern yourself, and the existing version doesn’t fit in size, you can adapt it to your measurements:

1. Draw the main lines of the hip on the diagram - horizontal and vertical.
2. Cut the pattern along each of these lines one by one, without shifting the pieces relative to each other.
3. Measure the half-girth of the hips and the height of the product in the picture. Calculate the difference between these and your measurements.
4. Move the lines apart by an amount equal to this difference.
5. Trace the resulting outline and cut out a new pattern.

If you need to make a smaller size, on the contrary, the parts are shifted along the cut lines by the calculated difference. It is important to remember that the pattern is half of the product. Therefore, its size should be increased or decreased by the difference, reduced by half. For example, if you need to change the size of the pattern from 44 to 46, to do this, it is moved apart by one cm along the vertical line.

Stages of knitting fashionable models

Crochet shorts for a 3-4 year old girl are very easy to make. The step-by-step algorithm is as follows:

1. Knit a chain of air loops equal in length to the waist circumference, plus 3 cm for easy putting on.
2. Close the ring and start knitting according to the pattern.
3. Knit 10-11 rows, depending on the child’s height.
4. At the point where the fabric transitions to the legs, make 2–3 rows of the same pattern using threads of a different color.
5. Dividing the work into two parts, knit the legs separately to the desired length.
6. Sew both halves together at the sides.
7. Tie the edges and insert elastic at the waist.

Next, we knit the shorts using the “double crochet” pattern. Each of the two necessary parts must be made separately:

1. Form a chain of 124 air loops.
2. Knit rows 1 through 12 according to the pattern in forward and reverse directions.
3. Increase stitches in rows 13–15.
4. Having connected both parts in the same way, sew along the seams and along the insert.
5. Tie a border along the top edge and, if desired, along the bottom.
6. When finishing crocheting the shorts, thread a belt made from air loops along the top edge to adjust the size at the waist.

With ruffles for baby

Knitting shorts with knitting needles is quite simple if you use a pattern. It is not complicated and is suitable even for beginners:

1. Cast on 140 stitches in a circle and knit 1.5 cm in stocking stitch.
2. Next row: knit 2 stitches together, yarn over, repeat to end of row. This is a decorative bend.
3. Continue working in stockinette stitch.
4. Divide the fabric into two parts and knit each leg separately.
5. From the inside, gradually close 4 loops.
6. Next, use double-pointed needles. Knit in a circle with stocking stitch. When you get the required length, for the hem, knit the fragment *2 loops together knitwise + yarn over to the end of the row.
7. Next row: chain stitch, knit yarn over. Do 8 rows like this. You will get a frill.
8. Close all loops.
9. Knit the second leg in the same way.

Bend the top edge along the openwork row. Teeth will form that need to be sewn. Then insert the elastic.

Openwork for a teenager

To crochet openwork shorts for a teenager, you should use the following algorithm and description:

1. Cast on 224 chain stitches and close them into a ring.
2. Knit 2 rows of single crochet stitches.
3. From the next row, knit according to the pattern.
4. To divide the fabric into front and back halves, use a contrasting thread to make marks on the sides.
5. Knit in a circle with a herringbone pattern: 6 double crochets and 2 double crochets.
6. The back part provides for a gradual expansion of the fabric for a smooth fit. In every 4th row, you need to additionally knit 1 column on each side. In the 12th row, add 1 column with a yarn over to the main pattern (knit not 6, but 7 loops).
7. When the main part of the shorts for girls is crocheted, divide the fabric into 3 parts: 1 and 3 - for the legs, 2 - for the gusset. For the second part, make 15 columns on the front part and 18 - for the back. Knit the entire gusset with single crochets in both directions. When you get 10 cm, sew it (or knit) to the back fabric.
8. Knit each leg separately to the required length according to the pattern.
9. Knit a belt from air loops and insert it into the holes of the pattern on the waist.

Women's skirt-shorts

Women's shorts can be knitted in the form of a combined model:

1. Cast on a chain of stitches equal to the waist size (or the place where the top edge of the garment is intended to be).
2. Continue knitting with single crochet stitches until the desired length of the belt is reached. Join it or leave it for fastening.
3. Knit 5 rows with a mesh pattern, and from the 6th row make increases according to the diagram.
4. Knit in a circle with a mesh pattern until the gusset reaches the desired size.
5. Knit both halves of the shorts separately and finish with a soft flounce. The skirt is ready, all that remains is to decorate it.

How to decorate

Knitted shorts can be interestingly decorated with bows, satin ribbons, colored buttons, laying out a simple pattern or sewing on figures of favorite cartoon characters. Decor made of beads, sequins, will look cute. They can be pre-strung on a thread and completely secured to the shorts. The second option is to fix each bead separately to the surface of the item.

An original decoration of such a product is knitting threads of a different color into the pattern. Contrasting shades are used for this (red with blue, pink with light blue, brown with orange). Ruffles can be made with white threads, figuratively tying the edges. Products made with a crochet hook from motifs will turn out beautiful and original. It is better to select threads for the design in advance, before knitting the shorts.

If you knit men's shorts, you can decorate them with leather inserts, separately made pockets, and emblems of your favorite sports clubs.

Things knitted with your own hands always become the most favorite. And not only because they fit perfectly on the figure. The warmth of the master's hands fills them with love and care.

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