Father's Day Boxers

So it's been previously demonstrated that I tend to make boxers a lot for the men in my life.  And this Father's Day was no exception!

My dad is an Army veteran, and I've previously made him Army print boxers.  But I was in JAF recently and saw that their licensed fabric was on sale 50% off.  I hadn't really expected to buy any of it, but then I saw this print and thought it was really neat.  So....my dad got a new pair of Army boxers for Father's Day.

My husband is a Marine Corps veteran, and so he has previously been the recipient of Marine print boxers.  But I thought it was time to make more, and both of these prints (purchased from a coop) have been in the stash - intended for boxers - for at least four years.  So it was time to move them out. :)

And since I was working up boxers and had black thread in the serger (with the Army boxers), I also cut out and whipped up this pair of monster boxers.  My husband has a couple of pairs of Halloween boxers already, but they are 9-10 years old, and at least one pair needs to be retired from use.  So when I saw this print on clearance at JAF for $2/yd, I bought some.  I'll hang on to them for now, but maybe give them to him around Halloween.

This and that....

I have finished a few more things lately - yet another pair of flannel PJ pants (a birthday present this time), as well as several fleece hats. I'll review those later, since the photos are not on this computer.

My current projects are accumulating! There is The Shirt #3, a solid navy broadcloth blend, which only lacks final hems, buttonholes, and buttons. I plan to finish that tonight. (Mainly because I want to cut out The Shirt #4 and hopefully have it done by the time DH leaves for Hawaii on Valentine's Day.

There are the shark thermal knit PJs for the Things, which lack hems, waistband elastic, and cuffs/neckbands. I'm a little afraid of stretching out the hems, which has contributed to sewing paralysis.

There is a scrub cap for my Indianapolis Colts-loving buddy. I should have gotten that done well before the Super Bowl, but, you know? She'll still love it. And it can go into the package with the dog booties and assorted reading material. And maybe Chex mix...

There is a pair of boxers for my dad's birthday. He is former Army, and this is a Robert Kaufman Army print. I think he'll really like them! I hope...

There is a double-layer fleece blanket for Thing 2. I just need to sew the binding together and then sew it on. I really should do that this weekend. It doesn't require much time or the serger...And then Thing 2 will have more warm options for sleeping time.

And I also cut out a Snoopy Valentine's scrub jacket for my friend, and seven or so pairs of underwear for Thing 2. So it's time to get cracking! We'll see how things go this weekend....

Finally hemmed the thermal knits (among other things)....

So I forget how long the thermal knit jammies have been languishing in the land of "Mostly Done," but let's just go with - "it's been awhile." Probably at least a month. I was trying out liquid starch for stiffening some thin knits that are going to become new Patrick raglan seam shirts, so I decided to try it on these as well. I think it really helped! I had no troubles with the waist elastic, and I think that the shirt hems also behaved pretty well. Of course, everything is always helped by a final wash and dry, and these were no exception. They made their PJ debut last night, when we went to the grade school for a PJs and movie night. (Btw, I heartily recommend Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.) A definite hit! They fit well, with some growth room, and the boys love them. The smaller one is from KS SFT (size T3), and the larger is KS 2275 for the pants (size 5) and KS 2894 for the shirt (size S). Four yards out of stash - yay!

My dad's birthday was last month, and he is former Army. I had gotten this Robert Kaufman fabric from a coop, and I used it with S9958 for a pair of boxers for him (size L).

And for a bit of instant gratification, I bought this flannel fabric on sale at JAF last weekend and cut and sewed the pillowcases yesterday morning. The boys were able to take their new pillowcases (and pillows) to the PJs and movie night, as well as wearing their new shark jammies! These definitely went over well. (With me, too - I loved the silly monsters print but had no real reason to buy it!)

New stuff....

So the last time I was at Hobby Lobby, I saw that cotton prints were 30% off, and I found another Robert Kaufman Army print that I liked, so I bought it to make boxers for my dad, with the vague thought of getting them done for Father's Day. Clearly, that did not happen - mainly because I decided that I just had other priorities for Father's Day....such as my husband's new shirt. But these have been done for a week or so, and I just realized that I never showed them off! (S9958, size L)

And here is the pile that was my weekend intentions....which didn't get done, of course! From left to right: 2 Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirts (one for each Thing), green scrub pants, fabric for a scrub shirt, Thing 1's new shirt, and Thing 2's new shirt.
But at least I finished the scrub pants! This is M9359, size M. Minimal alterations - I skipped the inseam pockets, added a cargo pocket to the right leg for my cell phone or anything else that seems necessary, and used 1/2-inch twill tape for a drawstring instead of elastic and self-fabric. The cargo pocket has a finished size of 7.25 inches wide by 8 inches deep. I placed it with the intent of the top being 12 inches below the top of the waist casing, but I forgot that the casing was for a 1/2-inch drawstring rather than an inch wide elastic. So the pocket is a bit lower than I had wanted. I will wear this another time or two before making the next ones to decide on a better placement.

I made these from symphony broadcloth (JAF) and wore them the day after I finished them. I was concerned that the fabric might be too thin and possibly see-through, but this color at least did not have that problem. It will be interesting to see how well it holds up to repeated washings, but at least for the first wearing, it seems thin enough to be cool in a warm surgery suite but not too thin to be useful. I bought a second color at the same time, so I will definitely make it up soon, and as long as it also wears well, I'll be buying more later on.