Hey guys! Whats new?

This week's theme for Project Run & Play was Boys Week! I know right? This has always been my favourite week in seasons past, it's so rad to see fresh ideas for boyswear!



I had a hard time deciding on something for Boys Week, most of my sewing has been for my main man - Vincent! I decided to go with something definitely his style, with a few little twists for his personality. Vincent is going through a stage where he will not wear something if it doesn't have a superhero on it. Actually, it has to be more involved than that. It has to make him feel like a superhero. That blue shirt I made him last week? Yeh apparently that is Obi-Wan Kenobi shirt.

I don't even.

I want him to wear things that aren't emblazoned with labels or licensed products, but when he wants to wear his Superman tee for 3 days in a row, sometimes we end up getting a bit rowdy at each other. Tim and I have gotten to the point where we will put a shirt on him and tell him that it is Bane shirt, or a Joker shirt, or Lex Luthor.



So when I sewed these up for him, I decided to add some little secrets for him. The outfit was inspired by {don't laugh} One Direction. Before you flip out and think I've gone crazy, I actually think they're adorable and I like that they dress so well! Whoever their stylist is has totally nailed it. I wanted to do a suit, but casual it up. I infused punk-fashion into it, and turned it into something my little guy would wear.


Punk Jeans
Inspired by jeans I have made in the past for friends, and myself, I decided to make Vince a pair of dual-tone jeans. The hardest part of these jeans was trying to decide on a tartan! I have about 6 or 7 tartans in my stash, but I finally settled on this green tartan which is made from a brushed cotton. Using black drill, one of the staple fabrics in most things I have made, I used the Skinny Jeans pattern* from the Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop. Because I wasn't using stretch fabric, I cut my drill on the bias {the brushed cotton already had a bit of give to it} and added 2.5cm on the side seams.



The pockets on the butt were going to be pockets on the jacket, but I didn't want the whole look being so busy busy, so I made the blazer plain {on the outside} and the shirt plain-ish {except for what is hidden under the blazer} and made the pants the busy focal point!


One leg is tartan, the other is black drill. I made the pockets contrasting and added brass zippers at the ankles. I didn't make these as skinny as they should be because I wanted him to be comfortable in them. I made sure to match up the tartan on the green leg; my cheap thrill is successfully matching up tartans or stripes, plus it makes everything look way more polished.



These jeans are fondly called {by me} the Toothpaste Jeans. Vincent is convince that the Batman villain Two-Face is called Toothpaste. At first, I thought I was being clever that I named them after Harvey Dent. But apparently it was a bad bad move. Vincent was horrified. He didn't want to be a villain! He was Robin!


Yeesh.

I did add a secret to the pockets though. The pocket lining is part of some my precious Batman fabric, and I made sure when I cut the pieces out that there was a Two-Face on both of them.


After the photoshoot though, he was well pleased with the jeans, and wanted to wear them for the rest of the day. Fist pump!



Blazer
This blazer was a lot of fun. I got to return to what I learned in fashion school and redrafted the collar of the Basic Blazer* pattern by Blank Slate Patterns. Why yes, you may have noticed I used both this pattern & the jeans pattern last week. They are my staple patterns! {I actually have an upcoming post about my go-to patterns for sewing for Vincent!}



I changed the revere collar to a shawl collar, which had me pulling moves I haven't used since 2006! I'm happy I have my pattern-drafting book as a reference. I bought this book off Amazon, and I'm not sure if it is suitable for a beginner pattern drafter, but it is perfect for me to help brush up on techniques I have forgotten. It's a fantastic resource and I love it!



I made the blazer in basic black drill {ha}, but the lining is the fun part! I used the same green tartan brushed cotton, to pull the look together, but I mean it's lining. No one is going to see that when he is wearing it, which makes this little black blazer the perfect staple for Vincent's wardrobe!


And even though it is lining, yep, I matched up the tartans! I added two welt pockets on the inside, but these are called Lego Pockets. Vincent is obsessed with his little Lego Minifigures, especially Jango Fett, and he takes them with him everywhere. To stop him from losing them, I make him put them in his pockets.



His Lego Pockets have a secret too. The fun is always in the lining you know?


In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil will escape Green Lantern's sight! Those lego mandalorians are safe in these pockets!

Oh and by the way, the sleeves are full length! I had them pushed up for the photos and totally spaced.



Dripping Pocket Shirt
So I was stuck for a shirt. For ages. Even at the start of this week I still had no idea what shirt I was going to make. I knew it would be a t-shirt, because I wanted to start casualing the look up, and I knew it couldn't be too crazy because of the tartan going on {and the idea I had for a bow tie}. I had a few ideas, and thought I knew what I wanted but then when I thought of the bow-tie I also wanted to make, none of the ideas I had would work.



I've got a few Tim Gunn-esque mentors this season, and they are so helpful and renew my confidence in my designs when I feel like I'm failing. Darling Kat from Sew Chibi has been a daily cheerleader for me, and she suggested a white t-shirt with a  leather patch pocket. That spun my brain cogs into gear and I decided on a V-neck shirt and somehow I decided on a pocket that looked like it was melting.



Making the shirt was easy, I've made a tonne of t-shirts and I made the sleeves a little longer. Sewing the patch pocket was a bit scary. I DO have a tutorial all ready ready for how I did the pocket! So whether I win this week or not, next week you will be seeing that tutorial.

I made a pattern for the patch pocket, then freehanded some drips using photos of dripping paint as a guide. Then I cut it out of pleather from an offcut of a faux leather mini skirt I had shortened for my sister. Using baking paper and a long stitch length it was surprisingly easy to attach the pocket to the shirt!'

Expect more leather patches or details soon, I love the look!

Bow Tie
Last weekend I was talking to Kat and telling her how I wanted to do a lego bowtie! I knew it wouldn't work with the Signature Look I had planned, and the next two looks aren't for Vincent {if I get that far!}, so I wanted to somehow incorporate it into this week's outfit.


I wasn't holding my breath. I didn't want to make the whole look turn out stupid just because I really really wanted a lego bow tie.


I sat and played with Vincent's lego for a while, I SWEAR I was designing and not playing, and came up with a few bow tie ideas. I thought of spraypainting them black to make them go with the look better, but it just wasn't working. Not with this outfit anyway.


So I decided to do the next best thing. Perler beads! I've been playing with perler beads a lot lately, just to try and zen out and Vincent likes to 'help'. I made up my own pattern and made a mini bow in black and greens. When it had cooled I glued a brooch back to it, and now he can wear it as a bow-tie on his shirts, or also I was thinking as like a manly brooch on his blazer ^_^

I made a pattern up for you if you want a small bow!


What is fun about this competition is that the pieces I have designed for each of the weeks slowly evolve into what you get to see. It's fun, I'm pushing myself A LOT and making sure everything is absolutely perfect.