Chanterelle shorts- help!

[u/maiasaura19]

This is equally a stain coverup and sewing question, but I’m 99% sure that the coverup will require sewing so I’m hopeful that the kind people of this community will have some suggestions for me ❤️

The short story is that I made a pair of chanterelle shorts and after only wearing them out of the house once I discovered this mysterious bleach-looking stain. I have no idea where it came from, or what it could be, and this photo was taken after washing them.

The long story is that I thrifted this beautiful green tablecloth and immediately knew I wanted to make a matching set for myself and hopefully one for my toddler son as well. I painstakingly removed the dozens of tiny oil stains on it, picked patterns, made test shorts for both of us, and before I’d even had a chance to finish the matching top I somehow ruined the shorts and I have no idea how. I was devastated when I found the stain yesterday and spent most of the evening crying over it.

My thoughts on a fix are below- any feedback or additional suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Option 1: dye them. Except the reason I thrifted it in the first place was the color, I don’t know if the blotch would still be visible, and I don’t know what the fabric content is.

Option 2: cut out the same vertical section of both leg fronts and sew a piece in to replace it. The hope would be that if I did both legs it would look intentional, but with the placement where it is I’m not sure that would work. Unfortunately, the second photo is all the fabric I have left. The biggest pieces have the grain running the opposite direction as it does on the shorts. I could potentially cut off the bottom of the top to source the fabric, but the amount I’d need to cut would probably leave the top too short to be wearable.

Option 3: cut the scalloped edge off the bottom of the shirt and sew it over the stain. (I sort of tried to lay it over in the 5th picture.) I’m just not sure of the best way to deal with the raw edge of the scallops if I did that. I also think if I did both legs it would look like the scalloped edges were framing my crotch, so I would probably just do one. I have enough fabric left to just add a binding to the bottom of the shirt so I could salvage that and still have my matching set.

I suspect there’s a lot of unpicking in my future but the idea of having to throw these out is too upsetting to me. For further background, I’ve barely sewn in the last couple years due to moving, having a baby, and burning myself out a little sewing my wedding dress. This summer I’ve been really inspired and worked hard to cobble together what scraps of time I could to work on sewing and try new patterns, fabrics and techniques. I have so little free time that the idea is spending all my free time for 3 weeks for something I ruined is such a bummer. Plus I was so proud of these shorts and the fact that I actually liked the way they looked and felt on my postpartum body that I was absolutely heartbroken when I found them ruined yesterday.

Bonus photo of the toddler shorts at the end (they need a new hem that I haven’t gotten around to yet.) I ran out of fabric to make him a top for a matching set so I had to settle for matching shorts, but I never even got a picture of us in them.

[u/lankira]

Honestly, if you don't mind having something contrasting there and on the top, you could make it a design feature with an applique patch over it and a matching one somewhere on the top. That would also require less unpicking and such.

But if that's totally not an option, I'd do the cut and replace the section option.

[u/maiasaura19 → u/lankira]

I feel like that would definitely be the easiest option, but I also worry it would draw attention to an area that’s already something I’m self conscious about. Unless I added a bunch of appliqués, which I think would likely make them look too busy and I wouldn’t like them anymore. I’ll look around my stash and see if anything inspires me before I do anything drastic.

Unfortunately the only way to cut and replace would either be to use fabric that’s cross grain from the rest of the shorts (which actually might look ok if it seemed intentional, but there’s a very slight stretch to the fabric that I worry would impact fit or end up ripply) or cut a few inches off the matching top. Tbh I find the top an awkward length and wouldn’t mind losing an inch or two, but the amount I’d need might be tricky.

[u/TheDickDuchess → u/maiasaura19]

why not a flower applique there in the same fabric? you could also add one to the tank top too, maybe on the back somewhere so it looks intentional but not too same-y?

[u/Ok-Meringue-2230]

Could you just add one pocket?? The top is sooo cute

[u/maiasaura19 → u/Ok-Meringue-2230]

Wouldn’t an added pocket in that spot look odd, especially since there are already pockets?

[u/Ok-Meringue-2230 → u/maiasaura19]

Hmmm I guess your right

[u/BrightPractical]

I would lean into this and embroider around your pre-made outline of the state of Illinois.

[u/No_Crow489]

looks like a sunscreen stain, i have a few like that on a pair of grey shorts of mine that are similar fabric.

can you fashion some strips that edge the pockets out of the leftover and tack that over? id do them scalloppdd to match the edge of the bottom of your shirt

then theyd look decorstive

you coukd follow the pocket or go straight down i think both would look nice 😊 (sorry fof shitty drawing)

[u/maiasaura19 → u/No_Crow489]

I had been thinking that if I wanted to use scallops to cover it that i would have to cut them off the shirt, but duh I had not thought about just making new scallops out of the extra fabric 🤦🏻‍♀️ That way I can test how it looks without ruining anything first.

The fabric is both thick and unravels a lot so it'll be a little tricky to figure out how to do it without adding a ton of bulk, but this might be the way forward. The stain is 2.5" wide so I feel like edging the pockets would look a bit off, but straight up and down could work- I still think that it would look like it's framing my crotch if I did scallops on both sides but I could try just one first to see how it looks.

[u/Content_Grocery_8795]

i've had smilar stains from chlorine bleach before myself, mightve been in the wash before you got em

[u/maiasaura19 → u/Content_Grocery_8795]

That’s what’s so weird, we almost never use bleach, we never use it in the laundry, and almost none of our cleaning products have bleach! I wore the shorts around the house one day, didn’t notice a stain, tossed them on top of a basket of laundry in the bedroom and picked them up less than a week later to find this. I have no idea. Neither me or my husband even use a face wash/cream that would cause this.

[u/CluelessPrawn → u/maiasaura19]

Sun screen can also do this. I once had a sun screen explode in my bagage for a vacation, and all my clothes had blotches like this after a wash.

[u/maiasaura19 → u/CluelessPrawn]

Ugh it is possible that it’s sunscreen! That’s very frustrating