Well, this week on Project Run and Play, it is boy’s week.  I was already planning on making a s.w.a.p. for Kai, so it fell in nicely.  There is sure to be some “boy suits” sewn for this challenge, but usually I try to make clothes that he will actually wear all the time.

I’m sure he will wear these pants once and stain them, though.  He’s a boy…it seems impossible for him to wear cream or white without permanently staining it.

This is part of a S.W.A.P. using Ottobre patterns.  I have more I will be making, but I will wait until the big reveal at the end of October to show it all.  I am entering them into a contest for a sewing forum, and we aren’t supposed to show anything before the end.  Technically, I’m not showing anything there, right??  Right…I am all about hitting two birds with one stone.

Not that I hit birds with stones…unless it is a woodpecker pounding on my wall at 7am on a Saturday morning.  THEN, I will get dressed, go outside, pick up a stone, throw it at him, and MISS.  At least it scared him away.

Dang woodpeckers.

Back to the outfit…

The patterns for this outfit are:

Pants: Ottobre 6/2010 #31 (size 134 width and 140 length…should have added more length, though)

Shirt: Ottobre 1/2010 #24 (size 146…modified)

The pants are a stretch twill, and I used woven for the belt loops and for the lining on the pockets.  I have a hoodie all cut out that matches this outfit, with the woven as an accent on it.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make it for this challenge.  It will get done and revealed at the end of October, along with the rest of the S.W.A.P. (assuming I find some time somewhere to sew it all!)

Just a public service announcement…if you stick yourself with a pin, and are working with cream fabric, you might just want to get a bandaid.  I totally bled on the fabric.  On the front.  Good thing I had a bleach pen available!  Ugh!

The pattern ended up being too wide on the front.  The back fit him great…the front, not so much.  I had to bring in the pocket area, so they will stick out a little bit.    Next time I will cut the front a bit narrower.

This has a real working fly zipper.  I only had to use the seam ripper 3 or 4 times in doing it.  I’m not a fan of these, but I need to get used to making them.  Faux fly fronts only work for so long on little boys.  Eventually, you need to have the real thing.

The back pockets I put on some free form embroidery to add a bit of color to them, and the topstitching was done in orange thread.

I modified the shirt pattern, in a very simple way.  I just added a fake placket where the front was cut on the pattern.  Then I added an extra bit of fabric to the collar.  I sewed buttons on the fake placket and it gives it an interesting look.  This was a copy of a pin I saw on Pinterest.  It is a pretty simple modification to a pattern that really ups the visual interest.  I interfaced the orange so the pieces wouldn’t be floppy.  The front is kept in place by the buttons, but on the back it is free to move.  The interfacing keeps it from stretching out and sagging.

I needed to add a design element to it, too.  I quick drew out the design on freezer paper and cut it out.  I attached it to the orange fabric, along with Heat n’ Bond on the back.  I cut it out, then used some embroidery thread along the edges.  Then I ironed it onto the shirt and stitched along the edge with a straight, cream stitch.  I put tear away stabilizer underneath while I stitched it, so it wouldn’t stretch out.

There you have it…my boy outfit!  I will definitely have more for him coming up in the next month.  He has grown like a weed…again.

Almost cooperating

 Oh, and Anya asked if the outfit was for her when she saw it in my sewing room.  I told her it was for Kai, and she said, “Oh, well it is cool.  I really like it, Mommy!”  Then she asked me to make her some jeans.  Add it to the list, Baby Girl! 🙂