I'm a little behind getting this one posted! The June patter in the Sewing For Boys sew-along was the Henry Shirt. I was so excited to see that Stacy picked this shirt because I had just bought the perfect fabric I knew would make a fabulous Henry Shirt. The fabric I used was from Ed Emberly's Happy Drawing line for Cloud 9 Fabrics. On top of being cute it is 100% organic cotton and so soft to the touch. I used the Elephant print for the front, back, yoke, collar and side pockets, Gray Scribbles for the side panels and inner yoke & Green Scribbles for under side of the collar.
I have learned many different techniques sewing the patterns from this book. This shirt features a bias yoke. I was a little confused at first but dug right in, followed the instructions and without much difficulty the shirt was done. I love the side panels and the curved shape of the front panels. The added top stitching just adds a more professional touch.
The pattern calls for snaps or buttons. I really liked the look of the snaps in the book photographs so I set out to find plastic snaps because the metal ones I've used before just wouldn't look quite right. I ended up getting KAM snaps and they are SO easy to use, I want to use them on everything now. I had a gift certificate on eBay so I headed there and found so many options. The package purchased allowed me to get two different colors so I choose grey and green. I decided that the gray snaps looked better but in the end added one green snap in the middle just to mix things up. I also figured it would help my son get the snaps aligned correctly.
A note about the fit: Like most patterns in this book this shirt tends to run wide. For my son (who wears a size 4 in commercially made shirts) I made the size 2/3 with the length of the 4/5 and could have easily added another inch or inch and a half to allow for growth.
Luckily for us our local zoo was opening a brand new elephant/Asian animal exhibit this summer. Milo loves the elephants but 2 who had been at the zoo for decades had been off display for the prior 6 months to get used to their new home and new elephant friends. Decked out in his new elephant shirt we went on opening day to say 'Hi' to our old friends Mimi & Dolly and check out the new guys as well.
After finishing the Henry Shirt I had quite a bit of left over fabric and because it was a bit more expensive than I normally pay I was determined to use it all. I ended up making a pair of treasure pocket pants...
I made a matching Gone Fishing Hat..
I also made a flashback skinny tee (from Made By Rae) in white knit with green collar and sleeve binding that I freezer paper stenciled the elephants on...
Lastly, I made a pair of Made's basic shorts with a stenciled elephant.
A cute little elephant wardrobe inspired by son's love of elephants and my love of matching kids clothes (I've been ruined inspired by Gymboree).
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