Sandbox Pants – The Finished Garment

Shorts on the Line – The Scooter Edition

My kids always seem to grow like beanstalks over the summer. Inevitably, they grow out of their hot weather clothes sometime around July.

This year, the Shorts on the Line sew along arrived at just the right time to make something for the now much taller, Kid No 2.

The Oliver + S Sandbox Pants sewing pattern, as sewn by The Finished Garment. Fabric: Scoot Scoot in Blue from the Havana collection by Monaluna (organic). — I really love this print. So bright and fun!

For these shorts I used the Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S. It’s a really great pattern, that I’ve used a few times before.

Oliver and S Sandbox Pants — Oliver + S Sandbox Pants sewing pattern.

I didn’t make many modifications. I shortened the pants to shorts. I also left off the drawstring waist and used a simple elastic waist. I left off the buttons on the pockets as well. Kid No 2 is not a fan of either. Drawstrings and buttons are his kryptonite. They also take longer, so I’m not complaining!

The pattern calls for 1 3/4 yards for the pants, but I got these shorts out of 1 yard of fabric.

The print is Scoot Scoot in Blue from the Havana collection by Monaluna. It’s a really nice, smooth organic cotton. I love the print, but unfortunately it was printed slightly off grain, which made cutting and pattern matching a bit of a pain. I’ve used other prints from the collection, without any problem, so I guess I was just unlucky this time.

Kid No. 2 loves bright colours and fun, but age-appropriate prints. Unfortunately, most of the clothes in the stores for boys his age are in darker, and/or more serious colours – lots of navy, grey and beige (yawn). One of the great things about sewing my kids’ clothes is being able to make them the things they really like.

This is also a stash-busting project for the Stashbusting Sewalong. I bought this fabric maybe a year ago, so I’m really happy to get it into regular rotation.

Summary

Pattern Review: Sandbox Pants as shorts by Oliver + S.

Fabric: Scoot Scoot in Blue from the Havana collection by Monaluna (organic).

Size: 6.

Cost:
Fabric: about $16. Pattern: $0, since I’d used it before.

Sewing Level: Advanced beginner.

Modifications: I shortened the pants to shorts, changed the waist from a drawstring to an elastic waist, and left off the buttons on the back pockets.

Results: Great. I’ve used this pattern a few times before and will definitely use it again.

Star Pants

This past week Kid No 4 came down with the chicken pox, so sewing time and blogging time were extra limited. Babies with chicken pox are 100 per cent grumpy 100 per cent of the time.

The worst part is that there is a vaccine for chicken pox, a vaccine that all my other kids got at 12 months, but which is now given at 18 months. It’s like a guaranteed recipe for 12-18 month-olds with chicken pox.

Anyway, since I had only intermittent sewing time, I decided to tackle some unfinished objects (UFOs).

Sandbox Pants sewing pattern by Oliver + S as sewn by The Finished Garment — Sandbox Pants

This is the first one – my very first pair of Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S. I made them in a size 6, and they were just too big. So I put them aside, waiting for Kid No 2 to grow and started on some cords using the same pattern, but in the right size.

I made this first pair in a heavy twill with quilting cotton for the waistband and pocket lining. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but the twill is really beige denim.

I underestimated the weight of the twill and I think the waistband will be too flimsy. When I made my second pair out of corduroy I used corduroy for the waistband as well, and made a flat front pant. They are much more sturdy.

If the pants were in a lighter material, the drawstring waistband would be great. It’s not the pattern, just my poor pairing of fabric. So to compensate somewhat, I added a second row of elastic to the waistband, but without a drawstring, just to be on the safe side.

I also added a second row of topstitching to the pockets, since the pants seemed so much like jeans.

And of course the grumpiness was catching so the now taller Kid No 2 tried them on, declared them “wonderful”, then took them off and refused to pose for photos. Oh well. Some days are like that.

Summary

Pattern Review: Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S.

Fabric:Heavy twill, with quilting cotton (mystery print) for the waistband and pocket lining. Not a great pairing.

Sizes: 6.

Sewing Level: Intermediate.

Modifications: I added an extra length of elastic to the waistband, and a second row of topstitching.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and I have already made them four more times.

Whale Watching

There is still snow on the ground here in Montreal, but I was in the mood for some spring sewing so I whipped up these shorts for my son.

The pattern I used was the Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S, which I’ve made before. The hat is the matching Reversible Bucket Hat that I’ve blogged about previously.

The pattern is very easy to follow. The only changes I made were to switch an elastic waistband for the drawstring waist in the pattern, and turn the pants into shorts. These fit a little large, but by the time it’s really summer, they should be just right.

Whale Sandbox Shorts Pocket. Check out that top stitching.

I love those whales! Check out those matched up pockets and that top stitching.

All the fabric was from my stash. The whale print is left over from my whale quilt. I’ve already used the pattern a few times. Even the elastic came from my stash. That brings the cost of these shorts to $0! Not bad.

For my older girls I had made spring dresses a while ago. But since I hadn’t blogged about them, I thought I would do that now. These are both the Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S.

This pattern is really a dream to sew. There are almost no seams to finish, it’s very quick to sew, and there is a lot of room for creativity in fabric choices. My kids love these dresses!

The fabrics are Red Ladybugs and Liquorice cats by Ann Kelle.

Three spring outfits ready for the snow to melt. THis post is linked up with Make It, Wear It.

Summary 1

Pattern Review: Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S.

Fabric: Bright Whales by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).

Size: 5.

Sewing Level: Intermediate.

Modifications: I changed the waist from a drawstring to an elastic waist, and left off the buttons on the back pockets.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

Summary 2

Pattern Review: Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + S.

Fabrics:

Red Ladybugs by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).
Kona Red
Liquorice Cats by Ann Kelle from Urban Zoologie (Robert Kaufman).

Sizes: 3T, 5.

Sewing Level: Beginner.

Modifications: none.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.

Babies in Baby Cord

I have had about 5 meters of chocolate brown baby corduroy in my fabric stash just taunting me. A quick intervention was required.

Enter 4 pairs of the Oliver + S Sandbox Pants.

Sandbox Pants by Oliver and S — Three pair of Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S, sizes 5, 3T and 18m.

I know I said there were four pairs. Kid № 1 looked, touched, and immediately put them on. She then declared them officially comfortable and wore them to school. Success! (But no photos).

The fabric is a dark chocolate brown, and really quite soft. I picked it up on sale at one of the local chain stores. It’s not a very spring-like fabric, but here in Montreal spring is still a long way off. The pockets are lined with Kona quilting cotton in brown. Both fabrics were on sale.

The Sandbox Pants, like all the Oliver + S patterns I’ve tried, are a dream to make. The instructions are great. I bought the paper version of this pattern, in both size ranges (I need all the sizes), on Etsy from Plum Project Studio. I think I bought it right after the paper version was discontinued. You can still get the digital version online and print it out at home.

I made these in sizes 18m, 3T, 5 and 6. Making that many pairs in that many sizes requires a lot of tracing paper! On the other hand, you get pretty quick at them with that much practice. It’s like an intense pattern testing setup here.

I made a couple of small changes to the pattern. I left off the buttons on the back pockets. I also made the waistband out of corduroy (the pattern calls for coordinating quilting cotton). I had tried this pattern once before with a super heavy twill, and the cotton was just too flimsy for the pants fabric. Even though the baby corduroy is much lighter weight that the twill, I think the pants work better with a slightly heavier fabric in the waistband. I still used quilting cotton for the pocket linings though. I also switched the drawstring waist for a flat front pant with wider elastic in the back. I think it looks a bit nicer that way with the corduroy.

I plan to make this pattern again. I’ve already had a request for these as shorts in a brighter colour from Kid № 1. Again, success!

The other thing about making so many pairs of pants, is that you can really use the fabric very efficiently. I still had enough to make Colette Pattern‘s Ginger skirt. Hopefully I can get that hemmed and show you tomorrow. I’m pretty excited about it. And there’s even enough fabric left to make a skirt for one lucky kid, as soon as I get to it.

You can also find this in the Make It Wear It Thursday linkup.

Summary

Pattern Review: Sandbox Pants by Oliver + S.

Fabric: baby corduroy, with Kona quilting cotton in brown for the pocket lining. Both were on sale.

Sizes: 18m, 3T, 5, and 6.

Sewing Level: Intermediate.

Modifications: I made the waistband in corduroy, not quilting cotton, changed the waist from a drawstring to a flat front, and left off the buttons on the back pockets.

Results: Great. I would recommend this pattern and will definitely make it again.