They've gone plaid!

Spring is arriving and J! is due for a new pair of shorts. His first pair, in brown plaid, are long gone--disintegrated at the seams, I think. That was back when I first started sewing and I'm pretty sure I made him a size Large. He wears a Small. Ha. The second pair--blue plaid with silver stripes--are his favorites. He really loves the silver stripes. He actually points them out to people. Those won't last much longer, I'm afraid.

So, here's the third pair. Green plaid with narrow yellow and blue stripes. I like how they turned out, although I'm not crazy about the piping. I'm also not so crazy about this pattern (Simplicity 3891) anymore. It's easy to make, but I don't like the patch pockets. I think I'll look around for a different pattern--maybe this Kwik Sew 3267. As far as I can tell, the Big 4 don't really make many patterns for men. What a shame, because J!'s a good sport and wears pretty much anything I make for him. I'm hoarding a few yards of some really hideous dinosaur fabric; it will make a great pair of shorts--perfect for his 29th birthday.

One other thing. All the big pattern companies make "Men and Boy" patterns, so that you can dress your son and partner up in the same clothes. This strikes me as very odd, although it makes sense from a marketing standpoint, I guess. I mean, I hardly ever see "Women and Girl" patterns--if you want to have matchy-matchy outfits with your daughter (or niece, or whatever) you have to buy two separate patterns. But for your partner and son, just one pattern will work. I didn't read carefully enough the first time I used this Simplicity pattern, though, and I cut the front short pieces from the "Men" sizes and the back pieces from the "Boy" sizes. That would have been a hilarious pair of shorts.

J! models his new shorts.

And the back.


I really need a "Man and Dog" pattern, so that J! and Tessa can wear the same outfits. Maybe if she's very good, she'll get a matching green plaid collar for her adoption day present.