Sewing For My Man

My Little Man, that is! This is Simplicity 2836- the High School Musical shirt. Bryan wasn't too thrilled when he saw the pattern envelope. I believe his exact words were, "But I don't want a High School Musical shirt!" I assured him there would be nothing remotely HSM about his shirt when it was done. He was still suspicious, but he decided to trust me, and we ended up with a totally Bryan approved astronaut shirt.

I'd been on the lookout for a "sized" shirt pattern. I have tons of camp shirt patterns that are sized S, M, L for little boys and then jump up to mens' sizes. I needed something in the middle and this pattern fit the bill nicely. It's sized 8 through 16, and I made the 12. A word of warning about the sizing, though. I measured Bryan's chest carefully and according to that measurement, I should have made an 8. I had already decided to go up one size just for growing room, but when I cut the pieces out I decided to hold them up to him just to be on the safe side. Good thing, too, because I decided to go up to the 12. Even so, I will probably add an inch to the length when I make this again.

This is really a great little pattern with lots of design options for boys and girls. I made the short sleeved boys' version without the pockets. The fabric I used- a bright astronaut novelty print from Hancock Fabrics- was the real focal point of the project, and I didn't think a pocket was needed. I love the details on this shirt. It has a collar with a stand, separate front band pieces (no annoying facings flaping around!), and topstitching. One of the best things about it is the sleeve finish.

The raw edge is enclosed in a tuck and the tuck is pressed up so that the sleeve looks like it has a cuff. It's easy, fast, and cute. (It's also a great finish for skirt hems, too.)

All in all, I'm very pleased with this pattern and I will be making it again. I have a stack of novelty fabrics just waiting to be made into shirts for my little man. I also might try some of the girls' options. The Princess is not quite in this size range yet, but considering the size issue I had with Bryan, it might be worth my while to check out how the 8 fits her.

I'm off to cut out another one. This time I think it will be frogs...