problem solving time

So, I got the shorts all cut out. Sewed up the drawstring (there is an elastic but also a drawstring, I presume to adjust fit.

I tried to turn the drawstring. I forgot how much I HATE dealing with narrow seam allowances. The drawstring is long, and skinny, and turning makes it bunch up. (And I forgot to do the trick of sewing a piece of yarn in there that you can grab and pull to try to turn it, but I'm not sure that would have helped here.)

I used the blunt end of a large knitting needle to work it for a ways. Then the end punched through a bit of the fabric.

"Okay," I said, gritting my teeth. "I'll sew that up when I sew up the opening."

Then it got stuck worse and tore worse. Many bad words were said.

Finally, the end just ripped off. I COULD have used the few scraps I had and made a new one, or....then I thought, back to what my mom used to do when we lost drawstrings out of hoodies and the like....

I knew I didn't want to knit i-cord (one option) FOREVER (because that's what it would take and i-cord is SUPER boring), so here I am: fat acrylic yarn, size H hook, am just going to make a big old chain and hope it works:

If that's uncomfortable in the shorts, or if it doesn't hold well, whatever, maybe next time I'm at JoAnn's I can see if they have the proper sort of drawstring like you put in a hoodie, but argh: one minor initial step should not take longer than the rest of the project.

I wish I felt more about these kinds of things like "I found a clever solution" than "Ugh, this is an awful kludge because I couldn't do it the RIGHT way," but that's life when you're a perfectionist.