En Garde!

My son O loves to fence. He picked it up earlier this year, and it has done amazing things for his self confidence, especially since it is the first activity he has participated in without his twin brother.

When they are together, people tend to underestimate him since he is so much smaller, but when he is alone, he really gets a chance to shine. It’s been heartwarming to see him expand his horizons as he has attacked this new hobby with a determination and strength I hadn’t seen in him previously.

One of the things that continues to undermine his self confidence, however, are clothes. A size 2 or 3 waist and a size 5 height, he rarely finds ready to wear clothing that fits him well, and pants are the worst. When a pattern test came up for the Dax Trousers (available from One Thimble HERE) at Gracious Threads for a boys pant that included a buttonhole elastic option and the freedom to blend sizes as needed, I was sold. When I saw that the test would include welt pockets, belt loops and a real zip fly, I was even more excited. The opportunity to expand my sewing skills AND create a pair of pants that fit my boy? Yes please!

I let him choose his fabrics, and he chose a lightweight denim from my stash, with just a tiny bit of stretch for comfort and ease of movement when doing fencing lunges. I was nervous about the welt pockets and zip fly, but Jessica’s instructions led me through with ease (sewing must be where I get my self confidence!) and before I knew it, I had a fully featured pair of pants for my son. I even used “Star Wars” fabric for the inner welt pockets, as I knew it would make him happy.

The fit was AMAZING, and you could just see his little eyes light up with joy when he tried them on. Serioulsy, I want to make him a million pairs, just to see that look again.

We took him to the park for the photoshoot, and let him play around and have fun.

The color of the pants made them challenging to photograph, but he loves them, and I highly recommend this pattern if you’re looking for a nicely finished pant that fits well. As you can see, they are also good for running around, skipping rocks, and just being a happy boy!

 

After the test was completed, we found out the pattern would be included in Issue 15 of One Thimble, an online sewing magazine based in Australia. I love this concept- sort of like an online Burda or Ottobre, and so fun to see the patterns all styled together. You can purchase the magazine on a one time basis (with this pattern included), or subscribe to this and future publications from their website here. The pants also have a “cropped” view, making them a year round staple!

And, this is what I look like (with a baby on my back) when I’m not the focus of a photoshoot! Wearing my TAMI hoodie (blogged here, also good for northern hemisphere winters!)

Note: this post contains affiliate links, which I use to help fund my pattern testing and blogging! Thank you for reading, as always!

 

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3 Comments

  1. […] that I’ve made and taking pride in the ability to create things that fit just right (example here), or to improve on ready to wear styles (example here). I also buy higher quality fabric than chain […]

  2. […] mentioned before that my son Oliver LOVES fencing. And at twice per week, its pretty ingrained in the rest of us too […]

  3. […] Gracious Threads Dax Trousers (blogged here) […]

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