Easy Side Pocket Tutorial [from the K.I.D.S. series!]

This post was originally part of the K.I.D.S. series at Me Sew Crazy. I wanted to share the post and pocket tutorial here, in case you missed it the first time around!

I have to admit – I have never once asked my boys’ opinions on the clothes I make for them. Until now. Asking my five-year-old, Sam, to design his own clothing (and teaching him the word design, which he loves now) absolutely made his day. He didn’t even hesitate when I asked him; he knew exactly what he wanted:
The top is the shirt, bottom is pants, in case his drawing wasn’t *ahem* perfectly clear. He even was so kind as to label it with sticky notes – stripes and cars. And as I looked at his drawing, he told me several times, “The stripes go up and down, Mommy. Not side to side.” Well okay then.

I took a little liberty with his design, and went for a bit more subtle approach. The stripes on the tee are faint and the cars are on the side pockets.Apparently, I took a little too much liberty, because I have since been told that cars all over the pants would have been more acceptable…

The stripes were drawn with a fabric paint pen. They’re more noticeable in person than in photos. And they’re shimmery. Who says boys can’t wear glitter?

Both the pants and the T-shirt were upcycled from adult-sized shirt and pants and made from self-drafted patterns. Upcycling is seriously fun – and can make for such quick sewing. Reusing hems and waistbands for the win!What I really love about the pants are these pockets – they’re different from the usual cargo pants pockets you typically find, and they’re ridiculously easy to make in any size.

Here’s how you can make your own:

1. Cut out the shape of your pocket – you want it to be just slightly larger than you want your pocket to be in the end. Use pinking shears to cut around all sides.

2. Press the top edge down 1/2 inch and sew it in place using a straight stitch. This will become the casing for your elastic.

3. Thread 1/4 inch elastic into the casing. Gather the fabric slightly as you can see in the above photo. You want the ends of the elastic to stick slightly out of your casing.4. Press the curved edges of the pocket in about 1/2 inch.

5. Pin onto the outer seam of the leg. Line it up with the curve of the inseam, as you can see in the photo above. The pocket should then hit right at mid-thigh.

6. Sew along the curved edges to attach your pocket, and you’re done!Sam had a lot of fun designing … and now I owe him a pair of pants covered completely in cars. ;)

Baby + Baby Pants

Well, apparently blogging [or doing anything, actually] with three kids + a newborn is not easy.

Slowly but surely, though, we are getting into some kind of routine. Sewing and blogging are making their way back into the mix… with the help of coffee. Lots of coffee.
Remember the baby pants tutorial? They’re getting good use these days.

Baby toes get me every time.

P.S. He peed through these pants about thirty seconds after I took this picture. Obviously.

Surfer Slacks

As promised, I’m sharing with you another one of the patterns I had the privilege of testing for the Pattern Anthology collection. [If you missed yesterday's post, read it here to see the Submarine Pullover!]See Kate Sew is another pattern designer that you’ve got to know if you have littles to sew for. She has such a great style. Her little girl patterns kill me with cuteness. And as a mama of two, she knows a thing or two about what kids like to wear. This pattern was, of course, no exception!
The Surfer Slacks are a super easy sew. I don’t think you need a lot of sewing experience at all to sew these, especially with Kate’s great photo instructions that are very clear and easy to follow. There is one pattern piece for all the leg pieces and the pants have an elastic waistband, so they sew up really quickly.

The cuff detail at the bottom of the pants is my favorite part, and a fun way to highlight a fabric. Plus, you can pull the cuff down as they grow and extend the life of the pants. Win! The main fabric I used is a lightweight corduroy, which will carry really nicely from winter to spring. If winter ever ends…

I tend to make my oldest pants that are much slimmer, since he is ridiculously skinny, so at first I wasn’t sure if I would like the fit. But after watching him in them, I realized that the looser, relaxed look works for him too. Perfect for my boy who is running, jumping, and moving all.the.time.

Speaking of fun details – how great are these back pockets?

Don’t forget, the Pattern Anthology has patterns for boys AND girls and is a limited time package that you do not want to miss.

AND just to repeat what i said yesterday, I WAS GIVEN THIS PATTERN IN RETURN FOR TESTING IT AND GIVING MY HONEST FEEDBACK, BUT I DON’T GET ANYTHING FOR TELLING YOU HOW AWESOME IT IS – OR FOR TELLING YOU ABOUT THE PATTERN SALE. I JUST KNOW THAT YOU WILL DEFINITELY WANT THESE PATTERNS. :)

Easy DIY Baby Pants Tutorial

With a house already full of boys, I haven’t had the need to buy much of anything for this new babe. I did want to make a few things for baby, however, and one of my favorite things to make is baby pants. Okay, pants in general are a fave, I’ll admit, but especially baby pants. Everything is much better in miniature version.

There are two things that I really love about sewing knit baby pants: they are a super quick sew and they take very little fabric.

Don’t have a baby to sew for? This tutorial is basically an updated version of my lounge pants, so you could easily make these for any sized kid.

If you know my crazy love for upcycling, you have to know that I adore using thrifted T-Shirts for baby pants. Not only does it make these even that much faster to make, it also gives you so many great fabric options. [the two pants on the right were both upcycled from thrifted tees!] And obviously, stripes are always a good choice…

1. Lay a pair of baby pants on top of your fabric/thrifted tee. You want to line up the outside seam of your pants with the folded edge of your fabric. Cut around the pants, giving yourself a little extra fabric around the side for a seam allowance. [for baby pants made out of knit, I make the front and back the same, but you can always make the back a little higher if you need some room in the booty]

Be sure also that you add some extra length at the top for the waistband. How much will depend on how wide your elastic is. I prefer to use fold over elastic like this:

for baby pants, since it’s soft and won’t dig into baby’s skin at all.

2. Sew down the inseam of each leg, with the right sides of the fabric together.

4. Turn the pant legs right side out. Pin the legs together at the center seam and sew.

5. Sew the ends of your elastic together. My elastic was about 14in. long, allowing room for overlap as the ends were sewn together. I don’t want my pants to be too tight, and I cloth diaper my babes, so I don’t need the pants to be super skinny. And my babies tend to be well over eight pounds. If yours are smaller, you might want to use less elastic.

6. Fold the top of the waistband over the circle of elastic and pin in place.

7. Sew the waistband down, being careful not to sew the elastic at the same time.And then sew up a bunch for all the babies you know, because it was so ridiculously quick!

C’mon, baby, you’ve got some sweet stripey pants waiting for you!

Comfy Rockstar Pants Tutorial… made from an unlikely fabric!

I have one of those three-year-olds who would live in sweatpants if I let him. He loves to be comfy. And really, who can blame him? Sweatpants are quite delightful. Especially when the windchill is below zero.

But as comfy as it is to spend everyday in sweats, sometimes that isn’t really appropriate. Also, let’s face it, it’s hard to pull off the rockstar look in sweats. Not impossible, but harder.

So, enter the most unlikely fabric choice for a boy… Jeggings! Not something that usually screams “boy.”

Jeggings fabric [I picked mine up at Joann's] is comfy and stretchy like sweat pants, but has a nicer more “jeans-y” look to it. The perfect way to pull off the comfy rockstar look.

Tips for working with jeggings fabric:

• If you have a serger, use it.
• If you don’t have a serger, use a stretch needle and a stretch stitch if you have it.
• Remember that it has a LOT of stretch to it, so choose your pattern/size accordingly.
• Don’t get locked in to thinking it’s just for girls. :)

Start out by finding a pair of pants that fit your boy well. [or girl... girls can wear comfy rockstar pants too] You want to find a pair that is a slim fit. If you don’t have one, find some pajama pants, but keep in mind that you’ll probably want to widen the bottom of the leg a little.1. Trace one leg of the pants, up to but NOT including the waistband. Make sure the stretch of the fabric goes horizontally and that you allow for hemming at the bottom.

I made all four pieces of my legs virtually identical, meaning the back doesn’t go up higher than the front, as you’d typically find with pants. If your kid has a bigger backside or still wears cloth diapers, you may want to trace separate back and front pieces, making the back higher. However, keep in mind that the fabric is very stretchy!

2. Cut all four pieces out. Then pin and sew up the long outside seam and then up the inseam. Repeat with the second leg.

3. Pin and sew the two legs together at the center seam.4. Measure the width of the pants. Cut two rectangles for your waistband that match that width and are about two inches tall. Pin the right sides together and sew the short ends.5. Measure your little one’s waist. Cut a length of 1 1/2 inch elastic that is slightly smaller than that number, so it’s snug around their middle. Sew the ends of the elastic together to form a circle. Then fold the waistband pieces so the seams are inside and tuck the elastic in.6. Pin and sew the waistband around the top of the pants. Avoid sewing the elastic. If the elastic is pulling on the waistband, it will help to stretch the fabric slightly so that it is laying flat. But don’t stretch the fabric too much!7. Fold the bottom up and hem, using a longer stitch length to allow for stretch.

Now your little rockstar has a pair of pants that are so comfy, he’ll ask you if they are pajamas. [true story] But they look a lot nicer for playdates and preschool!
Be sure to come back tomorrow when I’ll be sharing the rest of this rockstar look, inspired by a super fun 80s song. See you then!

 

linking up with Make it Wear it

The Grandpa Inspired Look – sewing along with PR&P’s boy week

Well I’m sewing along with another week of Project Run and Play! Really, how could I not sew along with boy week?

I decided to sew for my three-year-old, because honestly, I don’t do that often. Poor middle child. Plus, he’s my most reluctant model.

As I lay awake the other night [seriously, pregnancy insomnia? I'd like to sleep while I can, thankyouverymuch], I knew exactly what I needed to make for my middle man. Inspired, once again, by this photo:

My grandpa seriously knew how to rock the plaid pants. Instead of going plaid this time, though, I went argyle. Argyle! I seriously love this fabric.

The pants are made from this yummy Kaufman 21 Wale Cool Cords Argyle Brown that I got from fabric.com. It’s a self-drafted pattern based on another pair of his pants, and they fit him exactly the way I wanted.

The shirt is upcycled from a men’s tee and self-drafted as well, though I wish I had made the neckline a little bit higher. This dude of mine has a large head and since I don’t sew for him terribly often, I always overcompensate.

Then to take the grandpa inspiration to the next level, I sized down a thrifted sweater. I used the existing neckline, which meant I had to move a button up. It ended up a little bit big, but he should be able to wear it for awhile.

The pants also have a little flare at the bottom [which I could not capture for the life of me, since he was being oh-so-cooperative].

Flat front, elastic back. Best style for a three-year-old.

He really was a fan of the clothes. Maybe just not a fan of me….

And then he realized just how crazy his mom is for making him stand in front of the open door in twenty degree weather.

 

Linking up with Make it Wear it on The Train to Crazy.

Stripes and Polka Dots – sewing along with PR&P

Have you been following along with Project Run and Play? If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s an online sewing/design competition for kids’ clothing. It’s super fun and introduces you to lots of fabulous kids’ clothing designers/bloggers.

Along with the competitors, they have a weekly Sew Along where those of us not part of the competition can enter our own outfits. The outfits should go along with the theme for the week. This week the theme is Stripes and Polka Dots.

If you’ve read my blog… well, ever… you probably know my love for stripes. For myself, for my boys. Especially for my boys. I have a ridiculous amount of striped fabric in my stash right now – especially knits. [seriously, someone may need to come over for an intervention soon]

The pants have both stripes and polka dots – the teeny polka dots are tucked away in the pockets and waistband. I love the two together.

The pants are loosely taken off Shwin & Shwin’s Nowhere Man Pants [which I've made before and love]. I say loosely, because I just traced this pair and made it a slimmer fit and didn’t pull out my pattern pieces at all. I also lowered the pocket pieces down a bit, to show off the polka dots a bit more.

The shirt is a self-drafted pattern, and the polka dots were painted on using a jelly jar. I kind of want to paint everything this way now, that’s how much I love how it turned out.

I’m also in love with the mustard knit I used for the neckline and cuffs.

I don’t think I would have paired stripes and polka dots together without the Project Run and Play inspiration, and I’m so happy with how it turned out.

Have you been sewing along? I think next week is Boy Week, so I’m hoping to have time to sew an outfit to join in on the fun again!

 

*Linking up to Make it Wear it at The Train to Crazy*

Flowery Tunic and Polka Dot Bows

Yes, I’m still continuing with my posts of my handmade Christmas gifts! I never want to ruin the surprise by blogging them ahead of time.

My sweet niece Hazel [how cute is she?!] is just two months older than my youngest. This works out well for outfit sewing, since I had a pretty good idea of her size.

I made her a tunic out of this super lovely crushed floral knit from Fabric.com [which they don't seem to have currently, which is a bummer, because it is SO lovely]

I added a little placket in the front with some ivory knit and some sweet lace that has a vintage-y feel.

The bias tape and the adorable little flower button are both vintage. Which makes the top much more special in my eyes. Plus, I know her mama loves vintage, so I thought that would be fun for her. :)

The pants are simple flat-front cords, made specially for that cloth diaper booty.

I added simple polka dot bows to the bottom of the pants, to give them a girly flair. But they are just tacked on, since Hazel will have a baby brother in March, and I wanted her to be able to hand these pants down to him.

Sewing for girls is pretty fun. :)

Quick Flannel Jammies

I’ve busy working on all the things I am going to share with you during Boys Will Be Boys… So Handmake Their Toys [our super awesome handmade gift series!]. But of course, I can’t show you any of that. Yet. But you’re going to love it. Promise.

So I whipped up a couple of quick pairs of flannel pj pants that I can share with you!

Both of these are super simple – two cuts of flannel [each leg is one piece of fabric] and an elastic waistband. And bonus – both fabrics were remnants from Joann’s. One of the best things about sewing for kids – being able to sew an entire garment from a remnant! And both completed within a naptime? Double bonus.

And whoever came up with the idea to put penguins in scarves? Genius. Can’t handle the adorable factor.

Comfy Overalls – the Naptime Pants!

Little boys wearing overalls. Seriously, can it get any cuter?

Well, he is my kid, so I’m probably biased.

But the one problem I have with overalls is that most of them are denim with all these buckles and whatnot – which aren’t always super comfortable for baby taking a nap. [and a no-napping baby makes for a no-happy mama]

So I made a super comfy pair of jersey knit overalls for my little guy.

I added some simple embroidered stars in yellow and orange – not blue, on the off chance [fat chance?] baby number four is a girl.

The T-shirt underneath is upcycled from a shirt that I loved in college and couldn’t bear to part with. And now I don’t have to. It ended up a little big [which is what you get for sewing and not measuring during naptime!], but this way it will last through the long, LONG winter.

I’m going to tweak my overall pattern a bit, because it didn’t turn out exactly how I pictured in my head. But hey – I did my first snap-crotch! [and seriously, can someone please tell me something else I could call that?]

Here’s to stripes and overalls that make babies nap! Or something like that…