field trip cargos

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

a couple things for the boys

Today is my sweet boy's 4th birthday and out of everything I could have made him (as I like to have at least one handmade item as a gift), he chose this little worm from the Wee Wonderfuls book by Hillary Lang. I'm not normally a 'worm' person, but look at it's friendly little smile. C named it Lowly. He's actually a bookworm so he likes to hang out inside, but today we popped outside just before the rainstorm hit to get some fresh air and nibble on a juicy green leaf. C made me take off the head scarf so he looks like a little old bald worm now (not that worms are supposed to have hair..) I think I'll make him a bow tie as he seems a little naked without the scarf..

I had also just finished a very belated birthday gift for my 6 year old nephew. A while back I had made a super hero cape for C. He loved it and I was pretty pleased with it too except for the neck band. I used a satin crepe fabric and wanted it to be double sided so he could pretend to be either Superman or Batman, but the cape ended up being a bit too heavy and since I changed the pattern slightly (it was originally supposed to attach at the shoulders of a full super hero suit), the velcro neckband was kind of 'chokey' and uncomfortable. C still wears it but not for a very long time.

Sooo, I was supposed to make a cape for my nephew but couldn't figure out how to do the neck. My mom had suggested making a real collar for the cape instead of just a strap (she got this idea from seeing one in a movie). I got thinking...

Since I had a few shirt collars kicking around from my UPcycled dresses, I decided to use one of those instead of making a whole new one.

I thought it looked a little 'off' at first, but now I really like it! It's kind of like Bruce Wayne on one side, and Batman on the other. (or Clark Kent and Superman - you get the picture..) Well, it was way more comfortable and C didn't seem to find it uncomfortable at all when he modeled it for me. The only tricky thing is that it's a button closure, so definitely for the older kids only. So, there you go B. I hope you like it!