Sewing for a boy: bibs & shorts

I admit, I think sewing for girls is more fun than for boys.  My oldest boy prefers to wear jeans, tees and button up shirts…all of which we get in quantity from a couple of friends as handmedowns.   My (currently) youngest son, at 18 mths, could care less what he wears…he’d prefer to be naked, actually.  So I naturally tend to focus my limited sewing time and energy on my much more appreciative girls.

But I decided to spread the sewing love today and made a couple things for my youngest boy.  First up, bibs.  He is very determined to feed himself using a spoon or fork and, of course, makes a huge mess doing so.  The bibs we have are old, ratty, and too short.  They keep his shirt clean, but don’t protect his pants.  Part of the issue is that we use a wooden restaurant style highchair that doesn’t pull up quite as close to the table as I’d like.  (But I detest those huge, plastic highchairs with a zillion little cracks and crevices for food to get stuck in and a footprint the size of a refridgerator, so it’s a worthwhile trade off for me.)  So, I drafted a bib pattern that I hope will work better for us.  If these testers “pass”, I’ll make some for sale.

These bibs are slightly wider and much longer than what we’ve been using.  They are 10.5 inches wide and the main front area is about 12 inches long.  This will cover the straps of the chair and his lap.  I made 4.

    

They are flannel backed and fasten with a snap.  I tested some different stitch patterns for the top stitching, some worked better than others, especially around the tight curve where the snaps are.  I’ll post a “how they are working” update in a week or two.

The other thing I made him was a pair of shorts.  His older brother was not this size during summer and the handmedown shorts are too short, plus they don’t fit over his cloth diapered tush.  I’ve been cutting off the bottoms of pants with worn knees for him, but wanted something a little nicer.

    

Pretty cute, eh?  I used a vintage-y pattern for boys pants and then made them the length I wanted:  slightly below the knee.  I might make the next pair a little bit shorter, maybe an inch or so.  And I need to add one inch to the back rise.  I think this fabric is so cute…and I’d completely forgotten I had it!  I moved something and voila! there it was.  (Is that a sign my stash is too big…noooo, of course not!)

Another cute picture, an action shot, with our poor garden in the background:

My big girls come home tomorrow from their week with the grandparents and I’m so excited to see them!  And I need to tackle the weeds in the tomatoes and replant (again!!) our second crop of peas:  some small animal keeps digging up the seeds.  Have a great weekend!!