It isn't often I sew something that impresses me. But the sew for today's

is one of those where I pat myself on the back and say "good work."

So what am I talking about? Today's sew is the Jalie Boardshorts #2678. I want to thank Jalie and The Fabric Fairy for sponsoring today's post of course, but as always all opinions remain my own.

The Jalie Boardshorts come in sizes approximately 2T through a man's size 47" waist. That is 27 sizes all together! That makes it a great deal, even at full price, $11.99 Canadian. But there is a problem with having 27 sizes in 1 pattern. That is that sometimes, you end up with overlapping lines, like this. Does it make your eyes cross? Yeah, me too. Because of all the curved lines in this pattern, you want to take your time in assembling and cutting out your size. This was the one time I REALLY wish there were layers in the Jalie Patterns. In the grand scheme of things though, I'll still make this pattern, over and over and over again.

Jalie Boardshorts pattern has a lot of pattern pieces. 11 pieces that need to be cut out of fabric (10 of them double, or even quadruple). The waist band is entirely interfaced, which means even more cutting. This is a full time, labor of love here. No flying through this pattern. The instructions, like all Jalie instructions, are split into written and pictures. So if you're new to sewing, take your time and read through each step very carefully so you don't make any mistakes as this is a pattern that requires a lot of steps and it has to be done in the right order.

The one thing I absolutely love about this pattern is the attention to detail. There is top stitching EVERYWHERE. They are like a fine pair of jeans. I was really missing my coverstitch machine on this project and cheated and opted to do a single row of top stitching. It looks nice, but I think the double would be better. Don't cheat, do the double. ;)

The pattern includes a velcro fly and an eyelet with drawstring to hold the pants together. I was really impressed with my eyelets, but couldn't get a good photo. :/

As for fit, my husband insisted that since he wasn't going swimming, he needed to wear his boxers underneath. <sigh> These aren't meant to be worn with boxers, so of course the fit looks wonky. I promise, without his boxers on the fit is perfect.

The pattern includes a tiny little "key" pocket which is super smart. It is hidden inside the waistband and is a great way to store a small item. HOWEVER, the only time we use a pocket like that is for a hotel room key and they wouldn't fit so well in that pocket. If I had them to make all over again, I would add a velcroed outside patch pocket that would be able to hold a hotel room key.

And lest I forget, I want to talk about the fabric here for a minute. When I considered doing this project, I knew immediately that the only way I could do it was if I had nice boardshort fabric. I'm so thankful that The Fabric Fairy sponsored this post. Their boardshort microfiber is smooth on the inside and gently brushed on the outside. It is a little slippery to work with, but that's the nature of the fabric. I was so happy to find a good selection of multiple colors to choose from. What I wanted was a really loud pair of shorts, but of course, these weren't for me, so I had to skip over the fun prints. But definitely check out the fun prints. And before you go thinking, I'm not sewing board shorts for a man, just consider that this fabric would be just as good a as a pair of shorts for a woman. ;)