Toddler Dress Clothes--Finished!

My little guy (and my big guy for that matter) wear suits a lot (well, it doesn't seem a lot to us, but compared to most guys--I suppose it is.) We attend Christian meetings twice a week & work in our ministry 1-2 every week, so my little boy wears a lot of suits.  Typically, his dress clothes consist of slacks & a button down shirt, sometimes with a suit jacket or vest.

Needless to say, my boy is growing like a weed.  And buying new suits gets expensive. They are hard to find in the first place, and he's getting out of the sizes where they sell "sets" with pants, vest, shirt & tie.  So I made it my mission to find patterns for my little guy.

The pants were easy. The extremely talented (and generous!) Dana from MADE has been so kind as to share a pattern for kid pants. I've sewn these up twice now (both with a flat front) and I love how they fit. The legs are slim & make my little guy look oh so grown up! Not to mention her instructions are easy to follow & straight forward. Thanks Dana!

Finding a vest was more challenging. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find resources on-line for toddler suit vests.  I did find one helpful tutorial that explained how to draft your own vest from a dress shirt. That was very helpful, but I really prefer patterns at this point in my sewing.  They make me less nervous.  Anyway, I came across this vest pattern from Jocole on Etsy. And we all know how much I love PDF patterns. I didn't hesitate before buying it.

 

And I'm glad I did. It's a reversible pattern, but I used the same fabric for both sides. Next time I'll use a satin lining to make it even more RTW.  I love the end results & will be sewing more little suits very soon. :)

Finished! Toddler Hoodie

Hi! If you're here from allfreepatterns.com, I have to tell you there is no free pattern linked in this post. I'm not sure how my post got submitted to them, but I'm trying to get it removed from their links. 

When my husband saw the Heidi & Finn Unisex  hoodie pattern that I bought for the kids--he loved it. Until I told him I was going to make one for Shawn. He insisted it was much too girly for that. So, I went ahead & let him pick out a fabric to make a hoodie for Laila. He picked an adorable black & pink plaid woven. At the time, I didn't really know the whole knits vs. wovens thing, so when I brought the fabric home & did some research, I realized that a knit fabric really would function better (so the black & pink plaid remains stashed). Also, at the time, I was afraid of knits. So, the pattern got put aside.

Fast forward to Celebrate the Boy month at MADE. Lots & lots of goodies, including the Unisex Hoodie Pattern!! And let me tell you, these hoodies just scream "BOY". I found Emily's version particularly awesome.She was sweet enough to include a tutorial on inserting the zipper.

This project came together super fast; the instructions were excellent.  I did have significant trouble with the zipper (which is not the pattern's fault, since it includes button closures). Mostly, I'd sew it in, decide I did it wrong, rip it out & then realize that I was right the first time. D'oh. I found the zipper tricky for a number of reasons.First off, I don't really know how to do a zipper. Second, this zipper isn't inserted the conventional way. Third, my fabric was a pain. Both the outer shell & the lining are super thin & unstable. Nevertheless, as long as you don't look too close, it's fine. You can find my "offical" pattern review here.

And the end result? Well. It's anything but girly. 

 

Linked to: Made by You Monday @ Skip to my Lou

Toddler Backpack

I think this is my favorite project so far. I sewed it up before starting this blog, but I thought I'd share anyway.

This pattern was complicated enough that I feel like I really learned a lot working on it, but the steps were laid out so simply that I didn't get overwhelmed.

It certainly wasn't a project that I saved money on...the fabric alone (Michael Miller's Dig It & Clown Check) cost about $20 including shipping. Plus the pattern...yikes. Let's just say I never would have spent this much on a RTW toddler backpack. But look how cute my little guy is!! All in all, I highly recommend this pattern. People cannot believe that I made it & I get at least 2 compliments whenever he wears it. I can't wait to make more.

I bought both the pattern & the fabric from Etsy. I apologize for the so-so photography--Shawn doesn't yet quite understand the "modeling" concept & the backpack just wasn't the same just hanging there.

Decisions, decisions....

I had originally intended to use this fabric to sew Simplicity 2572, but, sigh, I've decided it would be much better suited for a more casual hoodie. So I found this pattern:

and I bought it. Of course I bought it. But now...I'm having second thoughts about lining up the plaids. I mean, there's no way they would line up at the sleeve (right?), but what about the trim? Maybe I could do that in a contrasting fabric, maybe a solid pink that I'm planning to do the lining from? Would it look ridiculous if it didn't line up there along the front? I just don't know. Should I just stash the plaid fabric for something else? Should I just shut up & sew? Any thoughts? What would you do?