How to Crochet Shorts: A Step-by-Step Tutorial for Beginners and Beyond

Whether you’re looking for the perfect summer beach cover-up, a cozy pair of lounge shorts, or a stylish handmade wardrobe staple, crocheted shorts are one of the most rewarding garment projects you can tackle. They’re versatile, customizable, and surprisingly beginner-friendly once you understand the basic construction. This tutorial walks you through everything you need to know — from choosing the right yarn and hook to finishing your waistband and adding personal touches — so you can create a pair of crochet shorts that fits your body and your style perfectly.

Why Crochet Shorts Are Worth Making

Before we dive into the how-to, let’s talk about why crochet shorts deserve a spot on your project list.

First, crochet fabric has a beautiful natural drape and breathability that makes it ideal for warm-weather garments. Unlike knitting, crochet creates a thicker, more structured fabric, which means your shorts will hold their shape well without a lining (though adding one is always an option for extra coverage or comfort).

Second, crochet shorts are endlessly customizable. You can adjust the length from a barely-there mini to a relaxed bermuda style. You can choose chunky cotton for a beachy boho look or fine mercerized cotton for something sleeker and more polished. The waistband can be worked with an elastic casing, a drawstring, or even a crocheted tie.

Third, once you understand the basic shape — essentially two rectangles or a worked-in-the-round tube split into legs — you’ll be able to adapt any pattern or even draft your own.

What You’ll Need

Yarn: For crochet shorts, cotton or cotton-blend yarn is your best friend. It’s breathable, holds its shape, and washes well. A light worsted weight (around 200–400 meters per 100g skein) works beautifully for most shorts patterns. The exact amount depends on your size, but plan for 400–800 meters for a small to medium pair of shorts.

Some great yarn choices include Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton, WeCrochet Dishie, Paintbox Cotton DK, or any similar cotton yarn in a weight that suits your desired drape.

Hook: Match your hook to your yarn. For worsted weight cotton, a 4.5mm to 5.5mm hook is typical, though always swatch first. For DK weight, try a 3.75mm to 4.5mm hook.

Other supplies:

• Stitch markers (very helpful when working in the round)
• A tapestry needle for weaving in ends
• Scissors
• A measuring tape
• Elastic (1–1.5 inches wide) for the waistband, or a length of cord/ribbon if you prefer a drawstring
• Straight pins for blocking

Understanding the Basic Crochet Shorts Construction

Crochet shorts can be made using a few different construction methods. This tutorial uses one of the most popular and beginner-friendly approaches: working flat in two panels (front and back) that are then seamed together, with the legs worked in the round after joining.

This method is great because it lets you easily check your gauge and measurements as you go, and seaming gives you clean, durable inseams.

Alternatively, you can work the waistband in the round first and then work down to the crotch before splitting for the legs — a technique borrowed from top-down pants construction. Both methods are valid, and once you master this flat-panel version, the in-the-round approach will make a lot more sense.

Taking Your Measurements

Before you cast on a single stitch, grab your measuring tape. Accurate measurements are the difference between shorts that fit beautifully and shorts that sit in a drawer.

You’ll need:

Waist circumference: Measure around the smallest part of your waist, or wherever you want the waistband to sit. If you want a low-rise short, measure at your hips instead.

Hip circumference: Measure the fullest part of your hips and seat.

Desired length: Decide how long you want your shorts. Measure from your waist (or wherever the waistband will sit) down to where you’d like the hem to fall. For a classic short, something in the 10–14 inch range is typical.

Inseam: Measure from your crotch down to where you want the leg hem to end.

Rise: This is the measurement from the top of the waistband down through the crotch and back up to the waistband at the back. You can measure this by sitting on a chair and measuring from your waist at the front, down to the chair seat, and back up to your waist at the back.

Write all of these numbers down. You’ll refer to them constantly.

Making Your Gauge Swatch (Don’t Skip This!)

Gauge swatching is the step that every beginner wants to skip and every experienced crafter wishes they hadn’t skipped. For a fitted garment like shorts, gauge is critical. Even half a stitch per inch off can mean the difference between shorts that fit and shorts that don’t.

To make your gauge swatch, chain about 20 stitches and work your chosen stitch pattern for about 4 inches. The stitch pattern in this tutorial is half double crochet (hdc), which creates a medium-weight fabric with good drape.

Block your swatch by wetting it, gently pressing out the water, and laying it flat to dry. Cotton yarn in particular relaxes and stretches when wet, so measuring a blocked swatch gives you the most accurate gauge.

Measure a 4-inch square in the center of your swatch (not at the edges). Count the number of stitches across and the number of rows down in that 4-inch space.

For this tutorial, the target gauge is approximately 14 hdc stitches and 10 rows = 4 inches using worsted weight cotton and a 5mm hook.

If your gauge is different, adjust your hook size accordingly. More stitches per inch means your tension is tight — go up a hook size. Fewer stitches per inch means your tension is loose — go down a hook size.

The Stitch: Half Double Crochet

This entire pattern is worked in half double crochet (hdc). If you’re new to the stitch, here’s a quick refresher:

Yarn over, insert your hook into the stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop (you now have three loops on your hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops. That’s one hdc.

It’s faster than double crochet and taller than single crochet, making it ideal for garments. It creates a fabric that’s slightly stretchy horizontally, which is exactly what you want in a pair of shorts.

For each row, chain 2 at the beginning (this counts as your turning chain but NOT as your first stitch in this pattern), then work hdc across. At the end of each row, your last stitch goes into the second-to-last stitch of the previous row, not into the chain-2. This keeps your edges clean and even.

Pattern Instructions

These instructions are written for a medium size with a 36-inch hip measurement. At the end of this section, you’ll find notes on how to size up or down.

Front Panel

Chain 64. (This gives you approximately 18 inches of width, which is half of a 36-inch hip measurement.)

Row 1: Hdc in the third chain from hook and in each chain across. Turn. (62 hdc)

Row 2: Ch 2, hdc in each stitch across. Turn.

Repeat Row 2 until your panel measures the desired length from waist to crotch (this is roughly half your rise measurement). For most sizes, this is around 8–10 inches.

Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Back Panel

Work the same as the front panel, but add 2–3 extra inches of length. The back rise is longer than the front rise on most bodies, and this extra length ensures a comfortable fit through the seat.

Joining the Panels

Lay your front and back panels with right sides facing each other. Using a tapestry needle and your yarn, whipstitch or mattress stitch along both side seams, leaving the top (waistband) and bottom (crotch) open. Turn right side out.

Now fold your joined piece so the side seams align at the center. This creates a tube with the crotch area at the bottom. Seam the crotch, leaving a gap on each side for the leg openings. The length of this gap will determine how long your inseam is — so try it on (or measure carefully) before committing.

The Legs

Join your yarn to one leg opening and work in the round, placing a stitch marker at the beginning of each round.

Round 1: Work hdc evenly around the leg opening. The number of stitches will depend on your leg circumference — aim to pick up approximately 1 stitch for every stitch or row end around the opening.

Continue working in rounds of hdc until the leg reaches your desired length. For most shorts, this is 2–4 inches of leg ribbing or hem.

For a finished edge, work one round of single crochet around the bottom of each leg. Alternatively, work a shell stitch border by: skip one stitch, work 5 double crochets in the next stitch, skip one stitch, slip stitch into the next stitch. Repeat around.

Fasten off and weave in ends. Repeat for the second leg.

The Waistband

For an elastic waistband, join your yarn to the top edge of the shorts and work in the round for about 8–10 rounds of hdc. This creates a casing tall enough to thread elastic through. After the last round, fold the waistband over to the inside and, using your tapestry needle, whipstitch it in place along the inside, leaving a small gap to thread your elastic. Cut your elastic to your waist measurement plus one inch (for overlap), thread it through, overlap the ends and sew them securely, then close the gap.

For a drawstring waistband, work only 4 rounds of hdc, then add a row of evenly spaced chain-3 spaces (skip one stitch, chain 3, skip one stitch, slip stitch in the next stitch, repeat around) to create drawstring holes. Work 2 more rounds, then thread a ribbon, cord, or a crocheted chain through the holes.

Sizing Up or Down

To adjust the width: Add or subtract stitches in multiples of 2 from your starting chain. Every 2 stitches adds or removes approximately half an inch (based on the gauge in this pattern).

To adjust the rise: Work more or fewer rows before joining the panels.

To adjust the leg width: Pick up more or fewer stitches around the leg opening, or increase or decrease in the first round of the leg.

For plus sizes, it’s often helpful to add shaping at the back waist by working short rows (turning before you reach the end of the row for a few rows) to add extra length at the back. This accommodates the difference in front rise and back rise that becomes more pronounced at larger sizes.

Tips for a Better Fit

Try on your work as you go. Crochet fabric is forgiving and can be frogged (unraveled) and reworked without damage to the yarn, especially with cotton. There’s no reason to wait until you’re done to check the fit.

Block your finished shorts before wearing them. Wet blocking (soaking the shorts fully in cool water, pressing out the water gently, and laying flat to dry) relaxes cotton fibers and evens out your stitches dramatically. Your shorts will look far more polished after blocking.

Add a fabric lining if you want more coverage or structure. A simple tube of jersey fabric, sewn by hand or machine, can be tacked inside the shorts with a few stitches at the waistband and leg hems.

Use stitch markers liberally when working in the round. It’s very easy to accidentally increase or decrease a stitch at the beginning or end of a round without realizing it. Markers keep you honest.

If you find your shorts are flaring out at the legs, work a decrease round (hdc2tog evenly spaced) near the hem to pull things in. If they’re too narrow at the thighs, add an increase round near the top of the leg section.

Styling Your Crochet Shorts

One of the most fun parts of making your own clothes is thinking about how you’ll wear them.

Crochet shorts in neutral cotton look stunning paired with a linen button-down or a simple white tee. A chunky, open-weave version makes an ideal beach cover-up thrown over a swimsuit. You can also work a matching top using the same yarn and stitch pattern — a crochet co-ord set is a perennial summer favorite and remarkably achievable once you’ve mastered the shorts.

Try experimenting with color. Stripes are easy to achieve in a flat-panel construction — just change colors at the beginning of a row. Colorblocking (working the front in one color and the back in another) is another striking option that requires very little extra effort.

You can also embellish the finished shorts with surface slip stitches, sewn-on embroidery, or fabric patches for a more eclectic, handcrafted look.

Caring for Your Crochet Shorts

Cotton crochet garments are relatively easy to care for. Machine wash on a gentle cycle in cool water, or hand wash and lay flat to dry. Avoid putting crochet garments in the dryer, as heat can cause cotton to shrink and distort your stitches.

If your shorts lose their shape after washing, a quick wet block will restore them. This is one of the genuinely wonderful things about cotton — it responds beautifully to blocking every single time.

Final Thoughts

Making your own crochet shorts is a genuinely achievable project that pays off enormously in wearability and satisfaction. The construction is logical once you break it down into panels, seams, and legs, and every step gives you an opportunity to customize the fit and look to suit your body and your taste.

Don’t be discouraged if your first attempt isn’t perfect. Crochet garments, especially cotton ones, improve dramatically with washing and blocking, and even a slightly imperfect pair of handmade shorts carries a charm that no mass-produced garment can match. Save your gauge swatch, take notes on what worked and what you’d change, and your second pair will be even better than the first.

Happy crocheting — and enjoy every stitch.