I have done a lot of sewing so far this summer. I think I finished 8 pairs of shorts for the boys. Don’t go thinking I was sooo productive all at once; I cut them out a few weeks ago and it took me awhile to sit down and actually sew them together, meanwhile part of the dining room table was devoted to this effort. The shorts have patterns on them that the kids liked (at the time we bought the fabric which was last summer before we started driving across country) –  soccer balls, baseballs, Cal Bears blue & gold fabric, and skulls & cross bones.

The pattern I love and adore for these shorts is from McCall’s – actually Easy McCall’s, Kidstuff – it is pattern M6099 (although mine says P234 on it from 2001). And, like it says, the pattern is easy. The shorts take about an hour to make, as long as you aren’t interrupted, which never happens around here! I think that’s why it has taken several weeks to finally get all of these shorts completed. That, and when I need to the right kid to measure the elastic or the length of the shorts, they aren’t locatable. That, and I am easily distractible these days with all manner of summer projects. A shirt for me, along with PJs were much more interesting to sew together than these shorts. I tend to watch movies (like Anatomy of a Murder) and stay up way too late doing things like this. In any event, they are almost all done!

I have also made flannel PJs with this pattern using the collared shirt pattern and the shorts/pants. That was way back when Bob the Builder was popular in our house. They just grew out of that set of PJs last time we culled through the closet this spring! This is probably the last time I will use this pattern unless they clamor for PJs. The older two said something to the effect of “I’m  not wearing those!” I retorted that “you have to at least wear them once” (out of the house). They all agreed. But at the same time, I said I wouldn’t sew anymore shorts for them. I’ve since moved on to fleece, but only because they wanted to have beanies that fit. More on the beanies later.

Leave a comment and let me know what your summer projects involve.