I finally sewed a boy thing!

About time too! I have been wanting to sew something for T for ages, and given the amount of things I've made for L, it's well overdue. However I have so far been stumped by a fear of trousers and a fear of sewing with knits, which rule out the overwhelming majority of boy outfits. I know these fears are irrational and I will get over them, but not just yet.

So what would it be? Well T is not usually a jealous child, but ever since he saw the bags I bashed out for L the other day, he has been clamouring for his own one. Ping! Lightbulb moment. The ever-obliging internet quickly turned up this tutorial, and T kindly kept me at home for a day by feigning sickness (I have never seen a less ill sick person). So I set to it.

This bag was fun. And not just for the sewist. Here are some of the things T was doing while I was making it.

Making a train with crayons:

Charming his mother:

Hiding:

Spotted him yet?

Phoning: 

Practising breakdancing moves on the Fisher Price garage:

Phew! With all that going on it's a miracle I ever finished it. But lo and behold, I did:

It opens with a flap at the top so he can get into it easily:

I only had a fat quarter of the car fabric so I used a plain grey cotton for the back and the reverse side of the straps. There was one car picture left intact after I'd chopped the fabric up, so I appliqued it onto the back to liven it up a bit. The edge is a bit wobbly which I'm not very pleased with, but then it doesn't exactly matter.

I'm also not very pleased with this square patch which covers the seam at the top here. It's supposed to be aligned in the middle, but it's not (I forgot about it when I was pinning the side on). No-one except me will ever notice or care though.

The thing I am most upset about is that I forgot to add one of my brand spanking new labels to it! Rather gutted about that, as I would be very happy to see T toting around his "Made by Jo" backpack. But it is nonetheless very gratifying to see him with it anyway - because he LOVES this bag.

Here are some things T did straight away while wearing his newly made bag. (Photos may be blurred - I don't actually believe there is a camera with fast enough exposure to catch him without moving).

Cooking:

Climbing:

Exploring the kitchen cupboards:

And the drawers:

Somersaults: 

Choosing a dvd:

Putting chosen dvd in the dvd player:

And finally, sitting and watching the dvd:



After all that, he was ready for bed.

He wore the bag for most of the rest of the weekend too, and proudly strutted into creche with it this morning.

And after such an instant success, I am now on a mission to find more boy fabrics...