Sewing For Boys Pump Up Series: Thar She Sews

A little deviation from our planned guest today.  Instead, meet Krista.  My savior for the day.  She has so willingly volunteered to fill in today and I can't tell you how grateful I am.  And bonus?  She and her blog are amazing.  She swears she's a new sewer but everything I've seen on there looks perfect.  The story behind how I found, Krista?  I have been drooling over the already sewn garments on the Sewing For Boys-The Book Flickr Group and came across pictures of her finished Henry Shirt.  When I clicked to view further information about this adorable shirt, I saw that she (along with Bilingual Baby) had done a Sew Along for the shirt back in October.  So when our original guest for today had to drop out, I sought her out.  And lucky us, she's here today.  Since then she's sewn several patterns from the book, so she's officially a Sewing For Boys expert.  
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Hi, I'm Krista from the blog Thar She Sews! I'm a mom to two boys and a relatively new sewer, just getting started about two years ago. Another blogger and I did a Henry Shirt Sew Along in November, and this is the final post in that series. This project was a first for me in a lot of ways. Certainly one of the more advanced garments I've ever made, and I learned a lot. Hope you enjoy it, and if there are any questions, I'll gladly answer them in the comments. Thanks to Stacey for the invite!

There it is! My Henry Shirt in action. Isn't it cute? I really do love it. I'm so thankful for this Sew Along because I don't know I would have tackled this project without it.

Two notes about those photos: isn't that dogwood a wonderful red? I love it in the fall. And yes, my kid is wearing his pants backward. You're not crazy. 

Back to the Sew Along wrap-up: I learned so much. I know next time the results will be even better. I want to jot down a quick list, for my reference and anyone else's. Here are some things I would do differently next time:

• Take more time cutting. I think my cutting was not 100% as accurate as it could be. 
• Use 3/8 inch -- or maybe even 1/2 inch -- seams. This is because I make such skinny little children. (Like, my 3-year-old weighs less than 30 pounds.) The shirt doesn't fit too badly honestly, but a slimmer cut would work well, too. 
• Try a fabric besides cotton. I love cotton for the ease in sewing and the fabulous patterns and for being the fabric I'm most comfortable working with. But I think it might be good to try a different textile for this shirt, especially for the main body pieces. 
• I'd follow Leila's lead and cut the shirt a little longer. I believe she did that by adding two inches or so to the main front panels, the side panels and the back. This would help not just to lengthen the shirt but to make my hemming issue a non-issue. 
• I'd add some top-stitching to the pockets and the collar. 
• I'd like to try buttons next time, if only because these snaps just aren't working for me! (And I realize the issue there is probably me.) After I took these photos, they all basically popped off. 
• My collar skills need work. This one is a little messy. 

If you want to make your own shirt and follow along with this Sew Along at some later point, here are all the posts you need.

• Day 1: Preparing your fabric and getting ready. Krista /Leila
• Day 2: Cutting. Krista//Leila
• Day 3: Preparing to sew. Krista ///// Leila
• Day 4: Assembling the shirt body. Krista/Leila
• Day 5: Assembling and attaching the yoke and sleeves. Krista/Leila
• Day 6: Assembling and attaching the collar.. Krista/Leila
• Day 7: Finishing touches(snaps and hem) and reveal. Krista / Leila

Also, here are a few links to some other relevant Web sites and resources.

Sewing for Boys: Official Web site
One Girl Circus: Blog of book author Karen LePage
Patterns by Figgy
Sewing for Boys Flickr Group

That's it! Thanks to anyone who followed along. :) I can't wait to try something else from this book. What should we do next?!
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Thank you, thank you, thank you Krista.  The shirt turned out lovely.  I love the fabrics you chose and your tips are invaluable.  And I love the fact that your little guy has his pants on backwards.  These are real-life pictures.  It makes me smile because I get a sense of just what kind of guy he is.  You can believe we'll be giving this one a go during the year.


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