Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I Hereby Declare Today Boxer Day!

I can't believe it but I finished my first pair of boxers late last night. They looked like boxers. They even looked to be about Kyle's size, which was good since they were made from the pattern that used his measurements but would they actually fit??

This morning we had no time for trying on boxers before we raced out the door to an early appointment to get the car inspected. When we got home, Kyle went into his room and tried on the boxers. He came out with a big smile on his face and a simple question, "Can I put my underwear in the hamper and wear these instead?"

Can you all see me doing my happy dance? He's worn them all day and the only change he's requested is perhaps a snap on the fly. Actually, that request came from his sister after he ripped off his shorts to show her his new boxers and accidentally gave her an eyeful. It's not a bad thought though.

I used the boxer pattern from Threadbangers. The only change I made was decreasing the length of the fly from 9 inches to 7 inches because these were for a child. This seemed to work out very well in the final product. Along the way I also discovered I could get an entire pair of boxers out of one of Jim's old shirts for Kyle. Rob may need a larger piece of fabric so I'm thinking of using the shirt fabric for a fancier front and the cotton sheet for a plainer back. We'll see. For now, I think I'll cut out the fabric for the rest of Kyle's boxers since I know the pattern is a winner. Cutting the fabric takes most of the time, the sewing goes very quickly once you understand how the pattern goes together.

I can't tell you how exciting it is to successfully make a pattern (with the help of a great tutorial from Threadbangers) and then sew an actual piece of wearable clothing. I feel so empowered, like this is one more thing I don't need to go to the store for. Can making my own underwear be far behind? (Hey Chile, did you try that pattern yet?) Imagine if I actually master sock making?? Socks from recycled sweaters could be next, my mind is reeling at the possibilities.

Actually my sock is coming along nicely. I finally figured out the whole heel turning business but it took me forever. Now if I can do this you can too, so what are you going to create? Come on, you can do it too!

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