The last two days of KCWC were pretty light-on, sewing wise (but busy in every other regard!) I did manage to finish off these church pants for Oscar and Tommy.
They were started a few weeks ago and were put on the back-burner so this was a good excuse to pull them out and finish them off.
Both pairs are a little roomy at the moment, which is how I want them. So that they will fit for at least a year, maybe more. Because they only wear them for half a day every Sunday I know that they will last forever and am looking forward to using Oscar’s hand-me-downs for Tommy.
The pattern is my High Flyers boy’s pants. It isn’t a difficult sew, but quite time consuming with loads of detail. I used suiting fabric from a local fabric store (not sure what it is exactly though). Oscar’s is a little thin so I’m considering popping on some knee patches just to make sure they hold up.
Here are my two happy little boys (one is apparently obsessed with teeth brushing at the moment!)
KCWC was a great way to get stuck into some “necessary” sewing. Although it seems rather boring compared to most of the other things I usually sew, it feels good knowing that I’ve used up some of my supplies to make some much needed clothes for the kids and means that I don’t have to go to the shops – yippee!
I know that the sewing pattern world is lacking decent patterns for boys…so let’s do something to change that – check out my latest pattern, High Flyers:
High Flyers are a handsome pair of pants that can both dress up and go casual with ease. With these cool and comfy trousers in your little guy’s wardrobe, he’ll always be looking shipshape.
Featuring an elastic-backed, adjustable waistband, slim fitting legs, loads of pockets and an easy-to-sew fake fly opening, High Flyers will suit just about any occasion.
High Flyers can be given a more casual feel with the use of contrast topstitching detail and when sewn with denim they make a great pair of jeans.
I breathe a big sigh of relief as I send this pattern out today. It has been one of the most time-consuming patterns that I have designed so far. I know that so many of you have been crying out for more boy patterns, but to be honest, there isn’t a lot of variety when it comes to boy clothing. After a bit of research (read: rummaging through wardrobes and examining my boy’s pants!) I came to the realisation that if you want to sew for boys, you need to spend time on details. It’s these details that will help create a quality pair of pants that look as though they’ve come from your favourite clothing store. Girl’s clothing has the advantage of using beautiful printed fabrics to give them detail, but when it comes to boys we mostly stick with plains, checks, or other toned-down fabrics so unless sewn details are added then your elastic-waisted pants will look a little slouchy and more like a pair of pyjama pants.
Having said all of that, I can assure you that it is NOT hard to make a tailored pair of boys pants. I’ve worked really hard to simplify some tricky sewing techniques and make sure that High Flyers has all of the detail of a store-bough pair of pants with minimum fuss.
And what about that fly, I hear you ask? I have to admit, I was scared of sewing a proper zippered fly to begin with. I got over it though and worked it out and it isn’t that hard, but still a little tricky for a less-confident sewer…so instead of a zippered fly, High Flyers features a fake fly opening (yes, it opens, not just pretty topstitching) that is sewn shut half-way down. So the pants are still easy to get on and off, but look as though they have the real-deal fly, without the tricky zippered opening. Besides, what little boy wants to remember to do up his fly all the time anyway?!
I think you’ll enjoy making these – and it is a great satisfaction to sew something for your boy that looks as though it came out of a shop.
And I’m sure that your boy will dance some crazy moves in approval like my cool model Jake did! Big thanks to my awesome photographer, Sally from Eden Lane Photography. Her photos never disappoint – there are loads more on my website. If you are looking for a photographer in the Sydney area, I highly recommend her!
You can find out fabric requirements for High Flyers on the website. If you have a store and want to stock this or any other Make It Perfect patterns, contact Creative Abundance to place an order.
If you would like to purchase a copy of High Flyers for yourself, they should be popping up in retail stores very soon. Ask your favourite store to get one in for you!
I’m giving away a copy of High Flyers (in your choice of size range) to one lucky reader – leave a comment on this post to be in the running! (Please make sure you leave an email address with your comment. Giveaway will close Wednesday 25th May and winner will be drawn via a random number generator.)
