Greenstyle Focus on Fall Tour

I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of Greenstyle's Focus on Fall Tour!

 Greenstyle Creations has some fabulous patterns for the entire family. Stylish stuff that your crew will actually want to wear! In fact, there are a couple patterns I will be picking up for my 16 year old son. I know he would love the Hudson Hooded T-shirt. And I even have a discount code to use. I'll share it at the end of this post. I'm nice like that. ;) 

 When I had my choice of patterns from the kid's line to sew up for the tour, I had the hardest time choosing what to sew. I finally settled on the Brassie Capri Pants, Lacy and Lane Hooded T-Shirt, and the Regan Dress or Shirt.
 Yep, that Regan dress/shirt is totally a girl pattern. But I will share with you how I made it more boyish.

We did two looks for our stop on the tour. Both looks feature the Brassie Capri Pants.

Our first look is a pajama/lounge wear look.

 I used the Regan shirt option and changed the body to a more boxy style more suitable for a boy. I also straightened out the bell sleeves. Perfect comfy t-shirt for my guy to sleep in. Or play in. Who are we kidding? Clothes totally do double duty at my house.

Riley Blake Designs was so generous to supply all the fabric you see here for this look. The orange stripes and grey solid are a wonderful cotton jersey from the knit basics line and the foxes are from their line Good Natured and are a cotton woven. LOVE those foxes!

This pair of pants was sewn per his waist measurments. They are a bit slim, but trust me, he had no problems running around in them. I lengthened the pattern to make them pants length. I have no problem with capris on him, but he is funny about them. They confuse him. He says they are too small. LOL This are really comfy and sew up super fast! I plan to make a few more pairs in knit for him. He likes cozy fabrics.

Our second look is a day time look. But we took a quick detour while changing for that shoot. I hadn't planned on it, but I really like the mix and match way the two styles go together. So of course we had to take a couple of pictures with the stacked patterns!

Here I paired some Birch Organics that I had previously purchased with the Riley Blake grey knit. Really love those fabrics together in this Lacy and Lane Hooded T-shirt. He loves the large hood and of course, thumb holes in the cuffs!

The Brassie pants I made for his day look are from a cozy flannel I purchased from JoAnn's last year. It has a slight herringbone pattern to them. I sewed up a size larger than his waist measurement for this pair, so they have a slightly baggy look to them, that I love. I did insert some elastic into the waist band to make sure they stay in place. We do our best to avoid wardrobe malfunctions over here.

I would call this look "styling nature boy". The cuffs protected his tender little hands from all the climbing. Those were his words by the way. The cuff fabric is from Purple Seamstress.

 It's grainy, slightly out of focus, and I totally underexposed it. But that folks, is the look of concentration and determination in a 4 year old.

By the way, nearly every picture is out of focus because the kid would NOT hold still for a second. And I wasn't able to crank up the shutter speed of the camera enough to keep up. He took those woods as his own personal America Ninja Warrior course.

He built this catapult with his daddy this week. He was so excited to bring it out with us. It bought me 15 seconds of stillness. That was a joke. Next time I'll bring more pom poms with us.

So there you have our two, okay, three really, looks for the tour. Perfect fall styling for an active boy in the woods or the city!

Be sure to check out all the other stops on the tour!

Greenstyle Creations Focus on Fall Blog Tour Schedule

October 13- Kick off Post by Blogs Like A Mother

October 14- Friends Stitched Together

October 15- Handmade Boy

October 16- Becca Duval Photography

October 17- The Lady and The Gents

October 18- Snickerdoodle Stew

October 19- The Sewing Sparrow

October 20- Once Upon A Sewing Machine

October 21- Babyfish Designs

October 22- FABulous Home-Sewn

October 23- Gracious Threads

October 24- Wrap Up Post by Blogs Like A Mother

Love what you see and want to sew up your own fab clothes for fall for your kids? Well you're in luck! Greenstyle Creations is offering a 25% discount with the code "25discount" during the tour.

And there is a raffle!!! Who doesn't love a give-a-way?! I want to give a huge thank you to
Whimsical Fabrics and Greenstyle Creations for providing the prize packages.   Enter by using the widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was given the three patterns used in this post for participating in the tour. I was also supplied the fabrics listed by Riley Blake Designs. I did however purchase the fabric from JoAnn's and Birch Organics. My thoughts and opinions on the patterns and fabrics are all my own. :)

Na na na na na na na na BATMAN!!!

Today I'm over at Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop sharing how I made this cozy fleece Batman costume. Head over there to see the whole tutorial.

Yep! The whole thing, down to that awesome utility belt and shoe covers!

Before you jump over to the how to, here are some bonus shots from his photo shoot.

He is kinda proud of this costume. He wears the roll well.

He has had a massive growth spurt since I last made him a cape in April. He did get a longer cape made for Halloween, we just didn't get it photographed.

The rad belt. I tell you exactly how to make it in the tutorial. Nice, huh!

And the shoe covers, too!

Those things stayed on during a half hour of this.

And this.

Go over and find out the details of the costume. They are all over at the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop Blog!

Happy Costume Making!!

Halloween Hacks and a Treat for YOU

Today I am participating in the Swoodson Says Halloween Hacks tour!

 It's all about using everyday PDF patterns to create Halloween costumes. Hacking a pattern (or two, or three!) to create your costume gives you a look that is totally your own. Sure, you can go pick up a McCall's or Simplicity costume pattern. (and I have!) But, what if you want your little tricker treater to truly stand out or there simply isn't a pattern for the costume your little gem wants to be? Then, pattern hacking is for you!

Today I am going to share with you my nephew's costume. He wanted to be Captain America for Halloween and I knew I could deliver.

Can you guess which patterns I used?

When I saw Mac's Monster Shirt by Cole's Creations, I knew it was PERFECT for Captain American's shirt! For the pants, I used Peek-a-Boo's  Alex and Ann's Winter PJs.

(I am having issues with the color of my images changing upon uploading. I appologize for their inconsistency. Some images appear muted in color and other orangey and very contrasted.)

In the mid west, the weather around late October is very unpredictable. It is most often cold though, and a little wet. Because of this, I used fleece for the entire set to keep my nephew warm and toasty while he runs door to door adding to his candy stash.

I created the red and white striped fleece by cutting strips of fleece 2 1/2" wide and sewing them together. I did topstitch the seams to keep them from irritating his skin. Then, I just used it like purchased fabric. The star is a piece of white fleece cut out and sewn to the center of the shirt.

For his gauntlets, I used fleece again. I simply measured his arms to see how long to make them and then, traced the lower part of the sleeves pattern from Mac's Monster Shirt to that length, flaring out one side slightly to create my pattern piece. The ends are left raw because the fleece won't fray. Love fleece! The gauntlets simply slide up over the bottoms of his sleeves.

To make the look of the layered sleeve, I cut out the long sleeve option of the tee and decided visually how long I wanted the blue section (It's about an inch and a half longer than the short sleeve option of the pattern.). I drew a line at that point on the sleeve pattern piece and cut it out. While cutting out the fabric, I simply added a 1/4" seam allowance to both the new top and bottom portions of the sleeve pattern pieces along the line I created. I sewed the two pieces together to create one sleeve and then continued on as the directions in the pattern state for attaching the sleeve. Easy peasy and no bulkiness!

Clearly, he can move and run freely as Captain America. You get a little peak at the bottom of his shoe covers here. I have a tutorial on those is in the works They are super easy to make and because they are fleece, you don't need to hem them and they stay up really well on their own.

The shield and hat were purchased at a Halloween store. Perfect little accents to his handmade costume.

I am super happy about how this costume came together! What's even better is he can use it throughout the year for pajamas or he can even wear the shirt with jeans for an every day look. Bam! (as my son would say) That is a SUPER Halloween costume hack!

Be sure to check out the other great blogs sharing their Halloween Hacks!

Wednesday, October 1st: Rebekah Sews & Dog Under My Desk

Thursday, October 2nd: Friends Stitched Together & Sew Pandi

Friday, October 3rd: That's What She Crafted & Everything Your Mama Made & More

Monday, October 6th: Shawnta Sews & Handmade Boy

Tuesday, October 7th: Muse of the Morning & Swoodson Says

Wednesday, October 8th: Call Ajaire & Sew McCool

Thursday, October 9th: Once Upon A Sewing Machine  & imagine gnats

Friday, October 10th: The Sewing Geek & Feather's Flights

Monday, October 13th: Get Your Crap Together & Needle and Ted

Tuesday, October 14th: The Shaffer Sisters & The Inspired Wren

Wednesday, October 15th: Pattern Revolution & Just Joshin

Now it's time for the TREAT! It's a digital scavenger hunt! Go to each participating blog and search for this icon

within their September posts to sign up for a chance to win one of THREE awesome sewing prize packs!  Three winners will be chosen randomly (and their form completion verified) and emailed within 3 days of the hunt's closure.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A big thank you to all the sponsors who donated prizes!
Pack 1 { $30 to The Ribbon Retreat +2 patterns from GYCT Designs + 1 pattern from Dog Under My Desk}
Pack 2 {$30 to The Fabric Fairy + Kids Pattern Package from imagine gnats}
Pack 3 {$30 to Fat Quarter Shop + 2 patterns from Everything Your Mama Made & More +Ramblin' Raglan Mega Pattern Pack from Muse of the Morning}

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!

Let's get ready for some football!

Today I'm over at Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop sharing a tutorial on how to turn the Play Date V-Neck into an awesome football jersey t-shirt. I am so beyond happy with how the shirt turned out. It's perfect for fall and football season!  Head over there to check out how to make one.

Here, I am going to give you a little behind the scenes tour of the photo shoot.

 I normally share beautifully posed, modeled photographs.

Well, our modeling sessions are definitely NOT a calm, smooth event. They are crazy, silly and  honestly, not really posed. And I'll admit, they can be stressful! Especially when we are shooting with about 20 minutes of day light left and a deadline to pick up big sister from orchestra practice in 15 minutes! Crazy doesn't describe how I am sure we looked to the people running the track around the football field.

THIS is how he is during our shoots. 

While trying to capture the yummy sleeve detailing, he jumps up and starts shaking like a dog who just jumped out of the tub.

The gorgeously posed pictures are possible with a fast shutter speed and the ability to take 250+ pictures of  blinking, crotch grabbing, jumping, figgeting, and pure silliness in a matter of 15 minutes crossing my fingers that I have captured something great in there, all while playing with him and directing him to look this direction or that. A few mere seconds (maybe 1.5) after I shot that beautifully posed shot above, he threw the ball to me, which was more at me since I had a 20lb camera in my face and no free hand to catch that ball. (myself, and more importantly, the camera, were unharmed due to my lighting reflexes allowing me the skills to duck out of the way in time)

He was not posed in that quarterback shot. We were actually playing catch. Or attempting to anyway.

Goofy faces are his forte. Like I can't see them or something because I have my face behind a camera. I don't know. But when he does this and I tell him to "make a nice face, please!" He comes back with "You me like this?"

Yeah, that's exactly what I want. I want you to show readers how beautiful your molars are, kid.

In this stellar image we have not only a goofy face, but we also witness the wondering hand. That hand has to be accounted for in every. single. image. Nice, huh.

Exasperated that he has to stand right THERE in this nice little pocket of light. Modeling is tough work. He is also watching a man running around the track. Very concerned where that man was at all times. I don't know why that man needed supervised among the dozen or so other people out there that day, but he clearly did.

He is by far my most difficult model, but I love the challenge he brings with him to each and every shoot. I love that I am capturing HIM. He is a very sweet boy, but definitely has a level of spunk in him that can only truly be experienced in person. In the end, like always, he did give me some amazing shots.

Go check out the pretty shots and find out how to make your own football jersey t-shirt over at Peek-a-Boo Pattern!

Kelly