Sewing for Boys

What do you sew for the boys in your life?

My partner has been given pyjama bottoms, a waistcoat, several shirts and even a wash-bag. He’s forever moaning that I never sew for him, and to be honest I find it really hard to find interesting projects that I think he’ll like/wear.

I’ve found a similar problem with sewing for my son. I mostly make him a lot of leggings. (They’re so wearable, simple to sew and unlike a lot of sewing projects the fabric costs less than it would to buy him ready made leggings – a lot of the time I can even fit the pattern on the scraps from other stretch projects).

I find there is such a range of designs in women’s-wear but I get stuck for inspiration with the boys. It’s something I will continue to try and resolve but in the meantime I have taken to making them both shirts. My partner just loves to match with our son so to avoid him walking around in leggings (no-one needs to see that) I find the shirts work really well.

Plus, the cuteness levels of this photo are just off the chart!

I know from my teaching that sewing shirts seems to scare people. There are lots of details that people don’t feel confident they’ll be able to execute so the project just seems to be avoided. It’s all those details that I love though, technical sewing is my favourite kind. The trick is to just break it down, take each step of the pattern one at a time and take your time. Everything is achievable, and the final results are just beyond satisfying.

The pattern I use for the adult shirt is McCalls 6613. I omit the back pleat and add a back dart for my partner as he is very narrow so it helps the shirt fit him better.

The pattern for my sons shirt is from Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop. I use their Classic Oxford Button-up Shirt pattern. It is a print at home .pdf pattern and contains sizes 3months to 12 years. I am a big lover of value for money and knowing I can print out another copy for each size I need as he grows is something I just love. The long sleeve version contains some beautiful placket detailing at the cuff and I’ve found it has been sized just right for my son so far.

Sewing on a small scale is a really helpful way of practicing shirt details as it takes less fabric so is less stressful if things go wrong. Take a chance and try it as the outcomes are just beautiful.