Blog Hop!!!

I'm so excited to have been asked by Sarah at The Crazy Tailor to participate in my first blog hop. I said yes, immediately, of course! The purpose of this blog hop is to learn more about the blogger behind the blog. Cool right! I love getting to know more about the people who right the blogs I love. So I was given a few questions to answer so you can get to know me a bit better. :) How perfect for a new blog!

Why do I write? I decided to start up Handmade Boy because so many times I would see people say things like "What are good boy patterns?" "I see so many great girl stuff, what can I sew for my boy?" "Boy sewing isn't that exciting." "My son is jealous of all the stuff I sew for my daughter, what can I sew for him?" There are SO many great things people can sew for the boys in their lives! Really, a LOT out there! Sure, there are only so many ways you can design a pair of pants, or a shirt, but that opens the door super wide to put some artist thought into what you sew for your boy. DETAILING is what makes boy clothes amazing. Girl stuff gets away with slapping a ruffle on it, or the use of the million great girl fabrics out there to make girl stuff super cute and fun and different. For boy stuff you have to think a bit more, but it is possible to make amazing boy stuff through fabric pairings, detailing like topstitching and pockets and more! I want to open peoples eyes to how much FUN boy sewing is! Like I have said before, boy sewing is way more than pillow cases, pajama pants and crayon rolls.

Peek-a-Boo's Dakota Denim Jacket, Hangout Hoodie, and Classic Chino pants. Please, tell me what is boring about sewing that up? ;)

 What am I working on? Umm, a lot. LOL I have a stack of Halloween costumes in the works. I sew costumes for three of my kids (fourth is a big cool 16 year old who doesn't trick or treat) and my niece and nephew. I am also working on a few tester patterns. I really need to get better about blogging about what I test. I usually have around 3 tests going at any given time. I also have a shirt I need to hem up for my husband. Poor guy, nearly at the bottom of the stack. I also have a purse for myself that I have been working on since, umm May. Yeah, hanging my head about that one. Oh and a few crochet projects are going too. And if we are going to pull up the really sad, I just recently pulled out a blanket I am knitting that I have been working on, very slowly, for what is going to be the third winter. Maybe I will get that puppy done to enjoy this winter! (let's get real, that isn't likely. LOL)

How does it differ from others of it's genre? I am geared to the boy aspect of sewing, and not baby boy sewing. I aim for my things to look modern and resemble ready to wear items. I don't want my items to scream "My mom made me!" when my kids wear their handmade clothes to school. I want people to ask "Where did you get that?" and be surprised when my kids answer "My mom made it!" I also do a lot of sewing for older kids, which isn't very typical. And, my kids LIKE what I sew. I aim to show people that you CAN sew cool things that your tweens will like and cool stuff for boys that fits active, crazy, dirty little boy lifestyles. I don't feel there is a lot of either of these things in the sewing blogs. Lots of cute little girl sewing in about 12 months- 4 years is out there but not a lot of boy or older kid stuff, some, but not lots.

These Happy Camper Jackets from Peek-a-Boo don't look homemade at all and are great for boys and older kids!

 

Men's basketball shorts from Patterns for Pirates. Seriously, big boy sewing. And, he actually does WEAR these shorts. See, you can sew for boys of any age!!

 

How does my writing process work? Yeah, I don't really have a process. LOL I just kinda dump everything in my head onto my screen and then edit like mad so I don't sound like the Mad Hatter. When I do tutorials, I make an item (or 8 in some cases) to figure out how I want to tackle it if I am do a pattern hack and then I make a final one and take pictures of the process. I do have a sheet of paper, usually the back of some random school paper telling me about a class pizza party or family reading night, that I jot notes down as I go. Then I upload my photos and type out the tutorial. I almost always sit on a post for 24-48 hours before I hit publish and look at it several times to check for errors and flow of reading, that sort of thing.

Well, it looks like I answered all the questions! Do I get a sticker now? I should. Next week Karly from Paisley Roots is going to play along! Be sure to go see what she has to say next week! Thanks for asking me to play along Sarah! It was fun!