Hit the Road Pants!

I wrote more about fitting boys and men in my last post, but essentially, when it comes to my twins, every winter, we have this choice:

A) Pants that fit at the waist but are way too short

B) Pants that are falling down but are long enough to cover their ankles

It’s no choice at all, really. Thank goodness I can sew, to save them from cold legs and drafty backsides. Unfortunately, though, despite a plethora of women’s patterns and a growing number of men’s patterns, good boys patterns, the kind with cool details that are important to 7 year old explorers, are hard to find.

When I saw the chance to test the new Thomas Track Pants from Love Notions, I had to jump in- the fit, style lines and details (hem zips!) were exactly what my boys long to wear, but usually can’t fit! I showed them the design and they were super excited- especially about the pockets (I don’t know why, but so many patterns don’t include pockets for boys! Wherever will they put the FROGS? – true story).

For my first set, I chose to make the size 8 and a lengthened size 5, which corresponded with their hip measurements. This didn’t work out so well- both were huge on them- not in the waist, but all throughout the hips and legs. To illustrate, Noah fit better in the pair I cut for Oliver- the size 5- than he did in the 8.

Kelly suggested sizing down to a 7 and a 4, at which point we had a MUCH better experience- the elastic measurements for these sizes were what I was using anyway, and the ease is what you would expect for a loose fitting track pant. If you’re between sizes, or even at the lower range for a size, I’d highly recommend sizing down, and adding length if necessary.

The grey pair are View A in the size 4- can you tell he’s thrilled to finally have something that fits?

Oliver also wants you to know that they are excellent fencing pants (he totally crushed this match!):

After we got the fit dialed in, the pants came together really quickly. The navy french terry from LDG Textiles is very heavy, and will stand up well to the boy abuse it’s certain to receive, and the grey sweatshirt fleece from Cali Fabrics is super soft on the inside. It was originally planned as a hoodie for me- so I hope I can order more!

Here is View B, in the size 7:

I used my sewing machine to construct the pockets, which are really unique and plenty big enough for several large toads, or a dozen smaller frogs.

What? You don’t measure pocket size in terms of how many frogs can fit?

 

The back yoke and size panel details on View B are also really cool, and can be colorblocked in so many different ways.

Everything else got serged and cover stitched,  and the waistband was a great opportunity to try out the chain stitch on my new cover stitch machine. It sewed through the double layer of heavy french terry and elastic like butter, never skipping a stitch, and creating the best, stretchiest waistband I’ve ever constructed.

Next time I’ll lengthen the size 7 a bit- Noah is in the 93% for height at 7.5 years old (no, we don’t know where he got that), and could use a little extra growing room. Both boys are THRILLED with their pants, and have requested more pairs ASAP, so they can “hit the road” on their next adventure!

But be sure to bundle up- this is what you get when you make your kids take pictures outside at dusk in the winter!

The pattern is on sale for $7 through Monday, February 5th, 2018. Grab it here (aff link)

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