Hey, did you hear? It's Celebrate the Boy time again, hosted by Rae and Dana. Since I usually end up making dresses (and dresses and more dresses), I figured now would be a good time to start working on my poor boy's wardrobe. Another thing that's been bothering me lately, is that about 75% of my kid's 'basics' (being jeans, leggings, and tees) come from the Gap. After reading this book and all the reviews and commentary that's been floating around the web (here, here and here to name a few) I decided that this is the year I'm going to end my dependence on The Gap for basics and start making more myself. So this is what I've started with:
These are the Field Trip Cargo Pants by Oliver + S. And first off, what a freak'n awesome pattern this is! I made these up in the size 5 but lengthened the leg to the size 6 (for my tall and skinny 5 1/2 year old). I sewed these up over the weekend, a couple hours here and there with many internet and snack breaks in between.. So maybe 4-5 hours total not including sewing prep (tracing the pattern and cutting out the fabric). I'm so bad about keeping track of my sewing time and am easily distracted so projects usually take longer than they should. Anyways, even though I've only sewn up a couple of Oliver + S patterns and I have to say, the design and instructions are genius, well written and so very easy to follow. They include lots of fabulous details like knee darts, a faux fly, belt loops and snazzy top stitching. And I love the fit of these 'homemade pants' which, aside from my fabric choice (which I'll get into in a bit), don't really look 'homemade' at all (at least not to me..)
So about the fabric.. I found this organic cotton twill at my local Fabricana and although it's supposed to be 'charcoal', it looks a bit more brown to me than gray (and sorry for the crappy pictures taken in seriously bad lighting). The weight and feel of the fabric is great. They are soft and comfortable, but they kind of 'shine'. I realized after making these that most store-bought cargo pants are probably made with a brushed twill/cotton so that they look more 'worn in'. These kinda look a little too 'new' if you know what I mean, so I'm going to try tossing them in the washer a dryer a few times to see if they will look a little more 'worn in'.
Overall, I'm super happy with the look and fit of these cargos (and yes, C likes them too!) I'm going to try to make these again in a brushed twill or maybe even a denim without the cargo pockets so they are more like a simple pair of jeans.
Next up will be a basic tee. Thinking of either the Flashback Skinny Tee or the Hipster Henley..
melissa x
