Boys – Page 2

Sewing with Kids – Making Pajama Shorts Plus A Free Pattern

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I made the mistake of taking my youngest son with me to JoAnn’s one day (I’m sure he went along because we always stop at Starbucks afterwards!). He found some woven (non-stretch) material that he really liked. I had no clue what we would make with it, but I bought a yard for him.

He told me he wanted to make a sheath for his sword. Boys! (picture a mom eye roll) I suggested that we could also make some pajama shorts for him and that maybe he could even help with the process – I would cut them out and then he could sew the two pieces together and then I would do the waist and hemming (I’m sure kids can hem, but my 10 y/o isn’t ready for that yet).

I knew that the Walk the Plank PJ Pants by Patterns for Pirates would be perfect and it’s free – no code, no joining a Facebook group, just hop on over and “buy” it.

I made his somewhere between short and knee length. The short shorts I made for him previously were too short for him and the knee length were just too long to be comfy for sleeping.

He was so proud of himself! Using Mom’s machine for the first time, learning to use clips instead of pins (which are so hard for kids!), and the final result is wearable. That’s a win in my book!

For reference, here’s the short shorts length on him. I feel like just a couple extra inches made a huge difference in how comfortable they are for sleeping and lounging.

Even though the directions don’t call for it, I sewed around the top of the waistband too – just about 1/4″ from the fold. I think it adds a more finished look to the waist.

I also made some Walk the Planks for my other two kids. Besides short shorts and knee length, it also comes in pants length (or you can be like me – have them try them on before hemming and choose your length). Both of these are knee length.

There’s also an adult version (I have not made this version) which is also free and includes men’s and women’s sizes. You could make family pajama pants!

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Pattern Review: Reagan Rash Guard

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The newest pattern from Made for Mermaids is the Reagan Rash Guard. It’s available in women’s and kid’s sizes.

My daughter is in the women’s version and my youngest is in the kids version. Fabric is from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

The Reagan is a raglan style shirt that is close fitting. It can be short or long sleeved (since we’re in Florida and the sun is pretty intense in the summer, I went with long sleeves). There’s also a cropped version and the kids version has an optional ruffle along one arm seam. As with most raglan style shirts, this one is a quick sew! I made mine in about 30 minutes. I think the longest part is taping the pattern together.

Sewing with swim fabric is not that much harder than sewing knit fabrics. Swim does tend to be slippery-ier (is that a word?) so you will need to pin or clip your seams really well to keep them straight. Also make sure you’re using a stretch stitch (zig zag or triple stretch stitch are my favorites). If it’s your first time, just go slow! The pattern itself is easy and the instructions will walk you through each step.

We took ours to the beach for the ultimate test. It was a success! The kids love their new shirts and the fabric is so soft! It’s from Raspberry Creek Fabrics swim collection. They design and print their own fabric right here in the US! It provides UPF 50+ protection.

I also made my boys new swim trunks. I used the Monaco swim trunks pattern by Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop. It’s a European style swim suit made with swim fabric rather than board short fabric. The pattern has a shorter inseam, but my boys wanted shorts closer to their knees so I lengthened the inseam to about 8″.

The turtle fabric and coordinating stripes are also from Peek-A-Boo Fabric Shop.

The turtle shirt is the Boulder Tee by Gracious Threads

The Reagan pattern is on sale now through Tuesday, May 21.

Women’s Reagan

Kids Reagan

Reagan Bundle

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Pattern Review: Rover Pants/Shorts by Winter Wear Designs

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I have been looking for new-to-me pattern designers. I’m sure that I’ve known about Winter Wear Designs for a while, but only recently paid attention to her patterns. When she posted a tester call for cargo pants/shorts, I knew I wanted to test.

New Rover Pants paired with a Jordan hoodie by Made for Mermaids

It seems like so many patterns are for girls so a fun pattern for boys was a nice change (especially since I have two boys). This pattern is designed for wovens (fabric with little to no stretch) and is loaded with options including 5 different types of pockets to mix and match. One of them is this unique back pocket.

I love these back pockets! They’re a fun change from the traditional back patch pockets you see on jeans.

For the front, I only did a patch pocket, but there are also options for two different styles of cargo pockets plus a more traditional front pocket (similar to the back pocket).

This pattern comes with two waistband options – either elastic waist (back shown above, front shown below) with a faux fly or a contoured waistband with a fully functional fly. Both options include directions for adjustable elastic. Since my youngest doesn’t want to take the time to unbutton and unzip pants, this elastic waist is perfect!

Front view of the faux fly and elastic waist.

One thing I learned while testing is that accurate measurements are very important! Do not, I repeat do NOT try to compare ready-to-wear (RTW) sizing to a PDF pattern size. My son wears a 12 in RTW so that the legs are long enough and then he cinches the waist down to make them stay up. For my first pair (a muslin made with cheap fabric), I made a straight size 10 based on his waist and hips. They didn’t fit right – the legs would’ve been too long and the rise was way too long. I remeasured and found that according to his inseam, I should have done a 10 width with an 8 length. There are instructions in the pattern for grading and it really isn’t that hard. By grading my second pair, I ended up making a much better fitting pair of jeans.

The Rover Pants and Shorts pattern is available for sizes 18M-14. It will be on sale for just $6.50 through May 6. Then it will be $7.95.

*This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.

Pattern Review: Jordan by Made for Mermaids

I recently tested the newest pattern by Made for Mermaids – the Jordan.

It’s available in kid’s, women’s, and men’s sizes! Perfect for the whole family! My sons love their new Jordan hoodies.

They’re made from lightweight cotton lycra from JoAnns which makes them perfect for cool Florida mornings (no snowmageddon here!).

I decided that I needed a Jordan too (I don’t think I’ve owned a hoodie in my adult life…possibly ever). I made my sleeveless since that’s what I wear most of the summer. I love it!

I choose a lightweight cotton/poly blend from Nature’s Fabrics for the main part, and then I used a cotton lycra for the bands around the armholes so that they looked good. The main fabric does not have good recovery which means the arms holes looked all stretched out. Using fabric with good recovery means that the arm holes will not look all stretched out by the end of the day.

I made mine with the high/low hem, but it there are other options including dress length.

Get yours here:

Kids

Women

Men

Then come back and tell me which one you’re going to make first.

Pattern Review: Freestyle Pullover by Peekaboo Pattern Shop

I recently tested the newest pullover top by Peekaboo Pattern Shop. I love the idea of color blocking tops, but I’m horrible at actually doing it. This pattern does it all for you and gives you so many options! You can have it all one color, two different blocks, or three!

Once you decide which view and what fabric, sewing it up is fairly simple.

For my first one, I used two different fabrics (actually, they were polos that I had saved because although they didn’t fit, the fabric was really nice). I think the hardest part was deciding how I wanted the bottom panel to look. I didn’t want the pocket to be from the same fabric as the bottom, so I had to decide which one looked better as the pocket. It really wasn’t a hard choice, but it was the hardest part of the whole process.

I did my top stitching on this on with a triple stretch stitch. It makes a nice slightly thicker seam and works well for this fabric.

Hood is topstitched with a triple stretch stitch

For my second pullover, I had three fabrics which my youngest son picked out of my stash. He’d been eyeing them for a while, but I wasn’t willing to use them for just anything. Plus, as I mentioned, I’m not good at color blocking on my own. This pattern was perfect for his game-over shirt. Before cutting into them, I laid them out in several different ways to see which one worked best. I knew I wanted the pocket to be the game-over print and he wanted the hood to have the stars and game-over on it. I was nervous that it would look really crazy, but I think it works well!

Since this shirt is a little more fun, I used a zig-zag stitch for the top stitching. It still looks great, but it fits better with the overall feel of the fabric choice.

I made both of my pullovers short sleeve (SWFL doesn’t get cold enough for long sleeves that often and even if I think it’s cold, my boys never do!). There is an option for long sleeves and they can be color blocked as well. They can also be made without the hood and have a regular t-shirt neck line. The Freestyle Pullover is on sale now for $6.75.

Fabric from Nature’s Fabric:

Game Over

Game Over Stars

Orange