Dinosaurs & Brazilian Performance

My son loves dinosaurs and shorts in French Terry. So, when So Sew English came out with a new Dino print on French Terry, it was an immediate purchase.

The last few pairs of shorts I have made for him, have all been without pockets. He loves pockets, but I don’t love the surprises those pockets leave behind in my washing machine. He really, REALLY wanted pockets in this pair, and informed me that he was now 7 and had a better memory. Even though Daddy is way older than 7 and still forgets. ๐Ÿคฃ

He likes the fit of the Pattern Niche 11th Hour Gear Shorts and I love how quick of a sew it is. I always double check measurements before sewing and saw he had moved up a size, so I ended up needing to redo my pattern pieces. I’m glad I checked though, because he loves the shorts and we have a long summer ahead of us.

Since he heard his sister picking her shorts length, he wanted to as well, fortunately his desired length was really close to the pattern length so it was as simple as taking a smaller hem allowance. You can read about how I used this same pattern to make my daughter a pair of shorts a few weeks back, here.

Naturally our puppy, who is almost 6 months now, needed a matching scARF (a.k.a. super soft bandana). I had a two yard cut and was easily able to get both his shorts and the scARF out of it.

If you read my last few posts, you know I’ve been interested in trying new to me fabric bases, so I decided to try out the Brazilian Performance Rib from So Sew English for a matching top. The rib is listed as a horizontal rib, but upon arrival I noticed that it only had around 25% stretch horizontal and around 100% vertical, so I chose to use it as a vertical rib. Unfortunately my camera had a hard time photographing the rib, but the mint color is a perfect complement to the shorts.

On the right side of the fabric, there is a definite rib, and the wrong side is smooth. My son is a little sensitive when it comes to things being soft or having texture, so I wasn’t sure how he would like the rib as the neckband. After wearing, he said he doesn’t mind it, but it isn’t as soft as his Double Brushed Poly or other performance shirts, and that they are his favorites.

The fabric sewed up well, but I did notice that hemming was a bit odd on my machine, with all the ribbing. When compared to other performance fabrics I have used, it feels a little stiffer, again, because of the ribbing.

My husband wants a shirt in it to try too, I knew I should have gotten 2 yards instead of one.

I can’t get over how cute they look together ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜.

I used our normal go to t-shirt pattern, the Jalie 2918.

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through that link, I may get a % back, at no additional cost to you.ย Thank you for supporting my sewing ๐Ÿ’•

Tie Dye Twinning – 11th Hour Gear Joggers

With the sun here, everything gets hot to the touch, chairs, swings, slides, everything. My daughter was getting frustrated with the continual “back of the thigh burn” and she asked for some longer play shorts. Her requests were to have them just above her knees, relaxed fit, and with pockets. She also wanted to match with our puppy, so she picked a beautiful royal/aqua tie dye French Terry from So Sew English Fabrics.

I recently used the 11th hour gear jogger pattern for several pairs of joggers for her and my son. She really liked the fit so I just did a length modification to it, and added pockets.

To decide the length, she tried on her joggers, and I measured down from the crotch seam, to where she wanted them. This ended up being about 6″.

I measured down the 6″ from the crotch curve on the pattern piece, and added a new cut line. Since she gave me a 2″ area she wanted them to hit, I wasn’t worried about including seam allowance or hem.

Sewing tip: before cutting, I like to place my pattern pieces together, and ensure that the modification I did to the front and the back, will match on my side seams when sewn. Once I verified that mine matched, I sewed up the pattern per the jogger instructions.

Added a matching scARF for our “little” puppy, and done!

Enabler Alert – All Pattern Niche patterns are on 30% off sale until tomorrow (March 25th) with code SPRING30

The fabric is from So Sew English Fabrics, and they have $8.50 flat rate domestic shipping, for the month of March.

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through that link, I may get a % back, at no additional cost to you.ย Thank you for supporting my sewing ๐Ÿ’•