Summer Style Surfer Slacks

May 20, 2013 by 6 Comments

Boys Outfit, Varsity Cowl top and Surfer Slack

I was feeling really uninspired with my boy sewing.  I’ve known for a couple weeks that O was one solid dinner away from busting out of ALL of his shorts. But I’ve been left hemming and hawing. I cut out of pair of baggies using this free pattern. But haven’t gotten around to sewing them up. (I might be regretting my fabric choice, it’s curling like mad already)

I decided to break my boy sewing funk by going back to some favorite patterns and adjusting them for the warm weather. I pulled out a linen remnant I had picked up, and one of the vintage revival knits I had just got in the mail.

I altered the Surfer Slacks from See Kate Sew for the shorts and the Varsity Cowl Neck pattern from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop for the top,which by chance was inspired by this See Kate Sew post. (affiliate links)

The Surfer Slacks- Summer Style

Surfer Slacks pattern by See Kate Sew

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Sew You Had A Boy: Pattern Review Surf’s Up Board Shorts

May 9, 2013 by 13 Comments

Rachel has been choosing the patterns that we are using for the pattern review as well as sewing them , mostly because the little bodies are easily accessible to her.  She has been crazy busy lately, with work and managing two toddlers.  So this month it is my turn to review the pattern. This post contains affiliate links, you can learn more here

Surfs Up Board ShortsIt was narrowed down to two patterns. The Long Board Shorts from Make it Perfect and the Surf’s Up Board Shorts from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop.. While we both loved the Long Board Shorts, the pattern sizing goes 0-5, 6-10. Putting us right at the top range of the small pattern again. We’re keeping this pattern on the wish list for when he graduates to the “big” Long Board pattern.

We have both sewn with Peek-a-Boo patterns before, but this is the first time I have worked with board short fabric.  As it turns out, this fabric is not readily available locally so I  set out on an internet search.   Amy has listed several companies that you can order your fabric from.  I ordered several cuts from The Fabric Fairy.

I was very pleased with how quickly my order arrived. When it shipped they sent me an email saying that it shipped in one package which made shipping cost less than anticipated, AND refunded part of my shipping fee!  The fabric is soft and dries quickly. Needless to say I will be ordering fabric from them again.

Swim Shorts Pattern for Boys

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Filed Under: DIY Sewing Projects, Pattern Review, Sewing for Boys

Sew You Had a Boy with Sarah Jane Sews

May 2, 2013 by 4 Comments

We’re so happy to have Sarah of Sarah Jane Sews here today! Sarah shares beautiful projects and tutorials for the whole family over on her blog, and we encourage you to visit her site and make sure to say hi! Today she’s going to share a great t-shirt design complete with template so you can make one up too!

 

Hello, Once Upon a Sewing Machine Readers!  I’m Sarah of Sarah Jane Sews.  I have sewn on and off since high school, but it wasn’t until I had my first child — a boy — that I got into sewing fairly seriously.  A large percentage of my projects are for him, and most years I make him a birthday shirt.  Last year he even designed his own outfit!  His 8th birthday is next week, but he didn’t have any suggestions this time around.

We recently went on a trip to Boston, and one of O’s favorite things was a tour of the USS Constitution, so I used that as my inspiration.

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Filed Under: DIY Sewing Projects, Sewing for Boys, Tutorials

Draft your Own Raglan Tee Pattern

April 20, 2013 by 7 Comments

Pattern drafting: Raglan Tee pattern from a basic teeBetter late then never right? Our Thursday Sew You Had a Boy post is going up today. We feel confident you’ll forgive us, we hope. This week we are going to run through how to draft a raglan tee from a standard t-shirt.

Grab a favorite T-shirt that fits well to use as base.draft a raglan tee

Fold your shirt in half. Trace around the body of the shirt. Remember to add seam allowance to your shoulder and side seams. I added an inch to the bottom of this shirt even though I didn’t plan to hem it (thank you knit) because I wanted it to be a bit bigger than my existing shirt. When you’re done your pattern should look this-

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Sew You Had a Boy: Military Shirt Pattern Review

April 11, 2013 by 10 Comments

Little Military Shirt pattern and tutorial PDF 12m-6t slim fit shirt boys When picking out patterns for this series I’ve made it a goal to use pattern designers I haven’t previously. This is my first Heidi & Finn project. I’ve been eyeing up some of their girl and boy patterns for awhile.

I don’t make a lot of button up shirts for O. He tends not to like wearing them. But I wanted to have an option.

I chose this shirt for the details it offered. I like the tab sleeve, open side seam, and pocket.

I was most drawn to the button placket. It is a little different, and provides a lot of potential ways to tweak the top. I know this is the Little Military Shirt- but it kind of reminds me of a bowling shirt, not in a bad way. In a way that makes me want to make this up in a bowler color scheme and embroider a name on the pocket- just me?

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Filed Under: DIY Sewing Projects, Sewing for Boys

Hooded Vest Pattern and Tutorial

April 5, 2013 by 10 Comments

Hooded Vest Pattern and Tutorial

Its been a quiet week around the blog! We were celebrating Easter, and birthdays, and had toddlers recovering for some time away from home. To make up for our absence today we have a free pattern and tutorial for you! We’ve hit the 40-50s around these parts (finally) so it’s vest season.

You’ll need:

3 pattern pieces, for 2T-3T Download the pattern HERE

Size depending between 1/2 yd-1 yd of Exterior fabric

Size depending between 1/2 yd-1 yd of Lining fabric

Size depending between 1/2 yd-1 yd of Batting or Fleece

2 buttons

and the regular notions

Sew everything at 3/8″ unless noted

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Kicking up the Excitement on Elastic Waist Pants

March 21, 2013 by 6 Comments

Sewing for the kids without having regular access to them can be challenging for a Grandma! When I find a pattern that I know fits them I rely on it. I have an elastic waistband pant pattern that I know is a good fit for Mr. O. But a drawer full of elastic band pants isn’t that exciting- so I’ve been on a mission to redesign my pants into more interesting versions. Today I’m going to go through how to add a fake fly and pockets to an existing elastic waist pant pattern.

 

Adjusting the Fake Fly

The fly was easy to add.   You’ll do these next steps on both of your pant legs. Start at the pattern’s waistline and add 2″ inches. Draw a line straight down toward where the crotch curves out. Stop about 2″ away from your crotch seam and draw a curve till you are back at the original cutting line. It should look like this —–>

adding a mock fly

 

Sew the crotch seam as you would if you hadn’t added the fly piece. Now press your fly piece to the left. Top stitch along the seam line. Top stitch the mock fly you created and pressed to the back left.  This will give you the look of a fly, but no real opening. Bartack at the base of the fly, again giving the look of a “real” fly opening.  find instructions for bartack here.

install mock fly

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Boy’s Pant Pattern Review- Surfer Slacks

March 14, 2013 by 13 Comments

Today we’re reviewing the Surfer Slacks from See Kate Sew! I was mid-pant pattern search when Kate asked if I would test this pattern. Why, yes, I would be happy to!

The Surfer Slacks were just released Monday as part of the Sun and Surf collection. Umm… we’ll take some sun and surf please!

WINTER

The Details

These pants have a cuff detail on the bottom, a tabbed pocket on the back, and a knit waistband. I’ve made up 3 slightly different versions of these pants.

surfer slacks

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Filling the Pajama Drawer: Knit Pajama Pattern

March 10, 2013 by 19 Comments

Lately it has been essential sewing at our house. I’ve been really spoiled and the kids have been holding pretty even in their sizes for awhile now. Not anymore! My little guy had a crazy growth spurt and every time I pull pants out of the drawer I find another pair that is now hitting him midcalf. It happened over night and now I’m sewing in a flurry to try to keep the kid dressed! You can imagine what this growth spurt has done to the drawer full of footie pajamas…So that had to be a priority.

Alex___Anna_Winter_PJs Now I tend to have a hard time buying patterns for what I consider basics. But during Southern Institute’s big pattern sale I picked up a copy of Peek-a-Boo’s Alex and Anna’s Winter PJ’s.

If you follow us on Facebook you may have seen me joke these “winter” pjs translated perfectly into “Midwest Spring”. It’s totally true this knit style of PJ are a great transition weight and style for us.

I dug through my cabinet and looked for some knit that would do the job. I’ve been making it my goal to not buy any new fabric until I do some serious stash busting around here. I was motivated by Suzanne over at W3. Did you see she made it to the finals of Project Run and Play spending like 20.00 dollars? No? Check it out here.

I happened to have a big chunk of this monster knit that would be just perfect for the job! I was gifted this fabric by being in the right place at the right time. I was in my local Joanns (shock) and ran into a woman who had unexpectedly taken a transfer to Alaska. She was returning what she had unused in her stash so she could move as little as possible. She had 2 yards of fabric that she had washed and couldn’t return, she wanted to know if I could give it a good home.

Alex and Anna Winter PJs

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Sew You Had a Boy: Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts

March 7, 2013 by 3 Comments

If you are looking to be really inspired by boy energy our next guest’s blog is the place to go. The tutorial she is sharing today is actually a sewing project I’ve been thinking about- so I’m delighted that she is sharing this great tutorial! (It may have just gotten bumped up in the sewing list.)

If you want to catch up on the  Sew You Had a Boy posts you’ve missed,after you read this one of course, click HERE . Thanks again Stacey for taking the time to share a great fun basic boy’s look with us. Make sure to stop by Stacey’s place and say hi!

 

Hi, I’m Stacey and I blog over at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts. I made a commitment to myself, 4 years ago, when my second son was born, to put some time aside each day to do something I loved, sew.  Four years (and one more boy) later, I’m still searching out great boy patterns and even designing a bit on my own.

The more I sew for my boys, and the more independently they dress themselves, the more I’ve come to realize that boys need a wee bit of help when it comes to matching and pairing clothing.  What I’ve started to do lately is sew up some basics that will be easy to match with many articles of clothing.  If they choose a pair of pants with a wild, funky pattern, I want them to have a few basic shirts they can go ahead and pull out.

Since it’s cold here at least 8 months out of the year, a basic turtleneck has become a staple for my budding “me do” two and a half year old. And they’re surprisingly easier to make than you might think.

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Filed Under: Sewing for Boys, Tutorials
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