Whoever said dressing a little boy wasn't as much fun as dressing a little girl?
Yes, I admit it is harder to find stylish and modern clothing for the little men in your life and it can be quite frustrating when you're not really in the market for another one of those overly cutesy, bright, not so funny saying across the chest, chain store from your local mall, outfits.
Of course there are a ton of wonderful independent kids fashion labels and Etsy handmade shops that sell the most drool worthy clothing for little ones. Most of the time though, these options can be quite pricey compared to your local mall stores.
When it comes to dressing Logan I like to keep a good balance between these different options.
When he was smaller I got tons of onesies from places like Carter's and Oshkosh. I try to stick to the most basic ones and get plain white or gray t-shirts, socks and sleepers there quite frequently.
I also like to pick up a few things for him every time we're in Germany because I just can't get them here.
A few of my favorite places to shop for him include but are not limited to:
H&M
Zara
77kids (they just changed into RUUM and aren't quite the same anymore. bummer)
Gap Kids (awesome clearance)
Timberland (shoes)
Minnetonka (shoes)
Converse (shoes)
Next UK
Cotton On
Target
Oshkosh
Splurging on children's clothes is something I don't usually do. I am in love with Freshly Picked moccasins or Bobo Choses but I just can't justify spending $60 on something he will only wear for a few months. My husband is frantically nodding his head while reading this ;)
So what to do when you're looking for something different and unique without the hefty price tag?
If you have basic skills using a sewing machine then the following little tutorial is for you.
In just about 30 minutes you can make this pair of military style, chevron appliqued khaki pants for your little guy and all it will cost you is about $10!!
I recently picked up this pair of khaki green pants from the Oshkosh clearance for $8. I already knew I was going to spruce them up a little bit to make them less boring. When it comes to kids clothing, comfort is key so I avoid any major adjustments as well as all itchy fabrics or unnecessary zippers and the like.
To do what i did with these khakis you will need the following:
- A pair of basic khaki pants in your child's size. I recommend you not go smaller than a 2T (what I used) for sewing purposes, unless you're sewing the pants as well. Then just applique the different parts before sewing them together.
- Fabric for the appliques. I used a corduroy.
- Scissors
- A ruler
- Thread in your color of choice.
- Heatbond Iron-On material
- Sewing machine
First, trace your shape of choice on the back side of the fabric and cut out the pieces. Then cut the same shapes from your heatbond material. Another option is to first iron a piece of fabric onto the heatbond material and then trace and cut out the shapes. Either way works fine.
Remove the backing paper from all of the fabric pieces. Then find the perfect placement of your pieces of fabric on the clothing item. Make sure they stay close to a leg opening or the waist because you won't be able to pull the pant legs over your sewing machine very well. Knee patches wouldn't have worked for me or I'd have sewn the front and back of the pant leg together ;) Carefully iron each piece in place. Make sure to leave some room in between the pieces (like my chevron) to allow for the zigzag stitch.
Now comes the hardest part and you'll be happy you used the heatbond instead of just pinning the pieces down. Depending on your machine, bunch up and pull your fabric over the plate as well as you can, make sure the backside fabric isn't in the way so you don't sow the pieces together.
Slowly sew down all the sides of the corduroy fabric. Just take your time and don't forget to sink your needle into the fabric at each turn.
As you can tell, the sewing is a tiny bit wonky but that really won't be noticeable once your busy boy wears them. The bigger the size pants you use, the easier this sewing process will be.
Now here are some more pictures of Logan "posing" in his new pants. Excuse the picture quality but with the lighting situation and trying to get this 20 month old to stand still for two seconds... well, let's say these are actually pretty amazing given the circumstances :)
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| pants: oshkosh (appliqued by me), shirt: the children's place, bandana bib: bambinos and bunny, beanie: 77kids The reality of photo shoots with toddlers! |
