I'm really enjoying taking part in blog tours this year, they are pushing me to create and try sewing some things I probably wouldn't have thought about before.
Today I'm excited to be included in the Lulu & Celeste, Sprouting JubeJube Productions Back to School Tour now I hear you saying, "but don't you home educate?!" and yes, yes I do but we still have several groups which take a break over the summer and restart in Autumn time along with the need to change wardrobes for the new seasons weather. Here in the UK, the Autumnal weather is wind, intermittent and unpredictable rain and temperatures. We spend a LOT of time outdoors so waterproofs and layers feature heavily for us. I'm super excited by this outfit, It's just perfect for going to his forest group, walking through the countryside or even just playing out in the garden and I can't hide it from you any longer so here it is! 
One of my favourite colour schemes for my boys to wear is Mustard and Grey so when I found this mustard jersey and grey badgers softshell both at Mibs Fabrics and knew they were the perfect base for this project, I then just needed to find the right patterns for them!
Thankfully, I was spoilt for choice on that as we have so many fantastic pattern designers sponsoring this tour. We were encouraged to look through them all and choose patterns to create a complete look or outfit suitable for back to school. After a lengthy browse through all the amazing variety available, I chose to create something suitable for my eldest sons forest group using a combination of patterns from Jalie and Gracious Threads.
From Jalie, I used the Unisex Lined Pants (2321) and the Boys' and Men's Polo Shirt (3137). As with the coat I recently made myself from Jalie 2680 recently, both of these patterns include child and adult sizes so are exceptionally good value and will last a LONG time whilst probably fit several members of your family. 
From Gracious Threads, I used the Puffin Vest which is for ages 2-12. It is drafted for quilted (or self quilted using the enclosed instructions) fabrics and has a detachable hood option. I'm a big fan of Gracious Threads having sewn and tested several of their patterns previously so was very confident in my choice here. 
I modified all three patterns ever-so-slightly in some way to tie the whole outfit together how I wanted.
The lined pants are designed for using 2 thin fabrics but I chose to use a thin waterproof PU coated nylon and line with thick polyester fleece. The instructions say to baste the lining and main fabric pieces together once cut out and then sew the pants together as if they were 1 fabric. Instead I sewed the outer and inner separately then slipped them together before adding the waistband. This meant I was able to add seam sealing tape to the inside of all the seams in the PU fabric to help keep the water out as well as avoiding having any exposed seams inside to rub on his skin. I also chose to use an elastic and jersey fabric waistband as I felt the PU fabric I used for the outer might be a bit scratchy and stiff for a waistband. To do this I calculated the waistband and elastic measurement by multiplying my sons waist measurement by 0.9. 
The only adjustment I made from the Polo shirt pattern was to shorten and change the hem shape to mimic and compliment that of the Puffin Vest. To do this, I used the bottom curve of the Puffin's back pattern piece. I wanted it 1" longer than the vest so it would show underneath. 
The Puffin vest is drafted for quilted (or self quilted) fabrics so I took a little gamble on this by choosing it for the Badgers Softshell. I didn't want to quilt it as it would affect some of the water resistancy, I also liked the smooth texture of the softshell for the complete look so left it as is. To make up for some of the warmth lost through not padding, I used a thick sweatshirt fleece as the lining. I left off the pockets and used a nylon coil zipper to help with the smoother look. I did make the detachable hood but decided against adding the snaps for it when I saw the outfit all together without it although I have it on hand and it would be easy to add the required snaps at any time if the weather deems it more useful with a hood!
All in all I really love the way this outfit has come together and super impressed by all 3 patterns I used. I hope you've enjoyed reading about them, a big thank you for stopping by!
Please do go check out all the other talented bloggers taking part as well as all the amazing sponsors
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6 Comments
9/27/2017 02:15:17 am
Amazing outfit! I was put off buying waterproof material for my son's Forest School trousers. Perhaps I should have bitten the bullet and done so, your ones look soo good! 11/15/2017 02:21:17 am
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AuthorHi! I'm Sarah and I live with my 2 boys and my Husband in East Anglia, UK. I enjoy sewing for my family and it is my aim to have a completely MeMade wardrobe for us all! Archives
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