Project Run and Play--Week 4--Boys Week

 If you look through my blog, you'll notice I don't do much sewing for my boys.  I can think of only 2 times--here and here--that they've made it on to my crafting blog.  Pretty sad, huh?  Here's the deal though, sewing for pre-teen and teenage boys just isn't very practical or time efficient.  Add in opinions and there is really no point.  I'll do the costumes and such, just not regular every day clothes.

But Project Run and Play is about challenging one's self, right?  So I decided to actually make something that my son may actually wear.  I knew what it was when I opened the Land's End Kids catalogue and saw that rugby shirts were back in style.  It took me back to junior high, when rugby shirts were all the rage.  I had always wanted one, but never got one.  This was my chance to have a rugby shirt in a way.
(I forgot to add that when my husband saw it, he asked if I could make him one too.  Turns out he always wanted a rugby shirt as well.)

And here it is, A Little Rugby Shirt. 

The shirt is made from another shirt (extra large--score!) I found at Goodwill.  Bold striped fabric is not to be found very easily or cheaply, so I found this men's knit crew neck shirt and used it as the fabric.  I did keep the hem line's from the bottom of the shirt and sleeves, but everything else was cut up and re-cut to make this shirt.

 Handsome, isn't he? 

I just used one of his long sleeve shirts as a pattern and then added the white twill collar to make it a rugby shirt.

Since all rugby shirts seem to have a patch, I went with what I had.  Back in high school I was an exchange student to Germany with Rotary International.  One of the things they encourage all exchange students to do is trade pins and patches.  This is one that I got from a girl from Australia (appropriate right, since rugby is big down there?).  It had just been sitting in a box, so I dug it out and sewed it on.

The back number is just stenciled on using the freezer paper method onto some duck cloth and then sewn on.  Ethan picked his favorite number.

 Yes, those are his real blue eyes.  I didn't mess with this picture at all.  They still make me melt after 11 years.

The reason I chose the rugby shirt was because I wanted to try this collar.  I've done collars with a placket before, but never with that additional little thing under the collar that most store bought collared shirts have.  I have no idea what it is called though or if it even has a name?  Any clues?  The collar is made from some extra bottom weight material that I used in week 2 for the white skirt.  And another thing I learned, how to manually sew button holes.  It seems like every time I have button holes to put on a placket, my button hole foot is not very happy with me and they end up looking horrible.  This time it didn't even fit under the foot (guess with all of the fabric making up the placket it was too thick), so I drew out the button hole and improvised with a zigzag stitch.  It was actually pretty easy.

Total for this shirt--99 cents for the shirt at Goodwill.  Everything else I had in my stash.

 Now for some action shots, because to him that is what a rugby shirt is for.  Forget about  what is in fashion.

  And there you have it, I actually sewed something for one of my boys.