pdf patterns

Pattern Review: Baseball Boxers by Meyraki Patterns

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I recently tested the new Baseball Boxers pattern by Meyraki Patterns (formerly PickleToe Patterns). They are a super quick sew! I normally make functional boxers (found here), but my oldest son is too big for the pattern now. I actually had to buy him underwear….oh, the horror! Fortunately, this pattern has solved my problem. It comes in sizes up to 16.

Front of Boxers - long length and regular length

This pattern is great for scraps – the front and back panels don’t take up much fabric. The legs require a little more, but I was able to use mostly scraps for these and still end up with decent looking boxers.

Back of Boxers, long length and regular length

I chose the easiest options for testing – unlined and unhemmed (actually that wasn’t part of the testing, but I rarely hem knit underwear – it doesn’t ravel and it seems like it’s just a wasted step). The are several options for leg length – I made the shorter length (stripes) and longer length (solid). There’s also an option to band them.

There are a couple options for the waistband too. If you have plush back elastic, you can do an exposed elastic waist. I did not have any, so my elastic is enclosed. Both are super quick!

Grab the pattern while it’s on sale plus the WHOLE site is on sale at 60% off with purchase of $10 or more in your cart.

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Pattern Review: V Neck Hoodie

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I recently tested the new Vivacious V Neck Sweatshirt Dress & Hoodie pattern from Winter Wear Designs.

The v-neck is a nice change from the normal neckline for hoodies. Getting the v-neck just right took me a couple tries. I normally shy away from anything other than scoop necks because v-necks look bad if they’re even a little bit off. I’m glad I gave it a shot! I definitely recommend basting it first to make sure it’s right. Basting is so much easier to remove and redo!

DD was thrilled to have a shirt with thumb cuffs….not that we need them very often here in SWFL, but she does love her warm clothes when we have “winter.”

Our foster kitten loved the kangaroo pocket.

Such a cozy place to watch the world go by.

On a completely different note – My daughter has recently discovered ear wraps. This dragon is her current favorite. Sometimes she wears one, sometimes two.

The fabric I used is a french terry from Peek-a-boo Fabric Shop. I couldn’t decide which color to pair the print with, so I ordered the mauve pictured and I also ordered a sage green. Either one would’ve worked, but this color combo was her choice.

Buy the pattern here while it’s on sale and then come back and let me know what options you would choose.

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Pattern Hack – Making Lined Gym Shorts plus a Free Pattern


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Have you seen gym shorts that have two layers? Usually a light knit underlayer and then a stretchy mesh kind of top layer? Well, I decided that it can’t be that hard to make them without buying a special pattern. Guess what? I was right! My boys have both been wanting new gym shorts – the kind with just elastic, no tie waists.

Elastic waistband

I ordered some fabric from Amazon (yes, they really do sell everything!). It was a little thin so it was perfect for my experiment. I’m using the Tupelo shorts pattern by Sew Like My Mom which is free, by the way, and comes in sizes 12M – 16!

This is my wannabe ninja putting his shorts to the test.

For the first pair, I used a double layer of the orange. I folded the fabric the “wrong” way because I wanted the fold to be at the hem of the shorts. Instead of folding the fabric with the selvages together (so it’s half the width), I folded the fabric and kept the selvages on either side (so it’s half the length).

Place hem on the fold.

Keep the pieces folded and treat each one as one piece. If it helps, you can baste the raw edges together. Sew the center front seam and the center back seam. You will be sewing through 4 layers of fabric.

Line up all the layers to sew.

Then clip the inseam together and sew that as well.

Clip the inseam together

Because there is no need to hem them, you will need to tuck in the tails from serging.

Tuck in serger tail

Thread the tail into a large eye needle and pull it into the serger stitches.

Now it won’t be visible from the right side.

Next, attach the waistband per the instructions in the pattern. Just remember that you will be sewing through 4 layers of fabric rather than three. Also, because my fabric doesn’t have very good stretch/recovery, I used 1.5″ elastic. I measured it to fit my son’s waist, zigzagged the ends together and put it in the waistband before attaching it.

Attach waistband

Because the hem was cut on the fold, there’s no need for hemming! If you wanted it to look hemmed, you could sew a line of stitching around the bottom 1/4″ from the fold, use your twin needle, or zigzag (one of my current favorite ways to hem sports type clothing).

No need to hem because they're cut on the fold

The neon orange is one of his favorite colors (actually, any neon is good with him).

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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.