Christmas gift sewing

Treasure Pocket Pants

Which is more stressful - spending the Sunday before Christmas sitting at your sewing machine smashing out 3 pairs of shorts as gifts, or taking on the big shopping centres to buy gifts?  I decided the shopping centre.  Therefore I spent a very hot day in front of my machine wondering if I was totally crazy.  But I got it done.  This year, my three nieces and nephews all got home sewn shorts for Christmas.  I had a little rant a few months ago about the lack of boys patterns a few posts ago and became aware of a pattern book called 'Sewing For Boys' by Shelly Figueroa and Karen LePage.  Purchased!  So as yet my poor little guy hasn't got a garment from the book yet but I have made 3 of the patterns.  Ironically, two for girls.

Sewing For Boys, by Shelly Figueroa and Karen LePage

The book covers sizes 2-7 with a few token baby patterns and some starting at 18 months.  I was quite taken with the Treasure Pocket Pants.  I made these in a size 4/5 for Mr 5yo as I read somewhere that the sizes make big and he isn't a huge kid. 

Front view with faux fly

These are for intermediate sewers and I found the pattern and instructions very easy to follow.  Actually the pattern sheets are very well spaced out and don't have any overlapping (unlike some magazines eg burdastyle).  The instructions are very easy to follow.  I love love the elastic topped pockets for the boys to collect their treasures.  The book suggests using a contrast fabric for the side panels but I only used the contrast in the waistband just because.  I also made them shorts instead of longs because it is summer in Brisbane. 

Back view

Although I made the three shorts in one sitting I had already traced the pattern, cut out the fabric and pre-purchased little 'treasures' for the shorts pockets. 
 

Can fit treasure!

These pants are really cute and as this pattern starts from 18 months I will definitely make a pair for Owen, probably in the same royal blue which I have leftover.  He is 2 years old next month but is still on the small side because of all the treatment he had last year.  I'm thinking I wouldn't mind a pair of treasure pockets in all of my shorts!

Front view

The next pair made up were Bobby's Bathers in a size 2/3 for Miss 3yo.  These are a great basic pattern and are also the same pattern for the Goodnight Sweetheart PJs and the Kickin' Back Sweats, just different lengths.  This is a beginner pattern.  One of the main reasons I bought this book was to have a basic shorts pattern in multiple sizes to make up for gifts.

Back view

I obviously girlyfied these a bit by making them in a floral, shortened them and gathered the legs bloomer style.  I think I gathered them to 3/4 of the original size.

Side view

I was still taken with the whole treasure pocket idea that I added these pockets to the pattern.  This is not a part of the SFBs pattern.  I made semi circles and gathered the top with some elastic.  It was actually a little more complicated than the Treasure Pocket Pants pattern I think.  These pants are in size 2-7 and so will be a little too big for my Owen at the moment, however as I have drafted him his perfect sized pants, it doesn't really matter.

The next pattern made up were the Little Heartbreaker Pants, an intermediate pattern, which actually became the little heartbreaker skirt because I didn't have enough fabric to make the size 6/7 for Miss 6.  I must have miscalculated the yards to metres conversion.  I really wanted to make Miss 6 shorts because I still remember favouring shorts over skirts as a kid.

Front view

These have a faux fly, angle pockets and an adjustable elasticised back waistband.  As I didn't have the required buttonhole elastic for this, I just made it a fixed length and hoped for the best.  Miss 6 also got a small treasure in her pocket as well. 

Back view

These pants are also really cute but as they also start at size 2 (up to 7) I'm not sure Owen would fit into these any time soon.  Perhaps I will make him a similar pair to the long, pinstriped pants modelled in the book, for winter.  Apologies for not having any photos of the kids in their gifts.  They actually didn't even try them on.  You know how it is on Christmas Day - the gift giving can get a little overwhelming, so no time for tedious things such as trying on clothes.  You may have read in my 2013 sewing goals was to work my way through the 'Sewing For Boys' book, so hopefully I will have photos of Owen in a few of these garments.  There are some very cute jackets in the book and also a pretty cool raglan T-shirt.  I'm not so sure about the suspender pants, a little impractical and old fashioned.  So far though, I am quite impressed with the book.  BTW all fabric is cotton drill purchased last month from Spotlight