well look at this, some legit KCW sewing happened after all. i sewed this just under the wire on day 7, after getting enough of my nesting out of the way that i was able to “indulge myself” in making another project that’s been brewing in my mind for months.
kind of funny what takes hold in my head sometimes – lately it has been a retro-style sweatshirt. i’ve noticed them in men’s fashion, both as basics and with interesting details (like color blocking, patches, piping, etc.) to them. and since O has now definitely grown out of the neon dinosweater i made during the Fall 2012 KCW, it was time to make another and finally scratch the retro sweatshirt itch.
i went pretty basic with the colors – army green and cream, with khaki topstitching. i added a star drawn onto some webbing for a little “Vintage Army” detailing, heavily influenced by Sabra’s fantastic boy looks for STYLO magazine (if you haven’t seen STYLO yet, please do yourself a huge favor and go check it out!).
i’m not usually into much of a military look for little kids, but in this case i thought O might appreciate a Sarge from “Cars” reference with the star and the color scheme.
he did appreciate it.
the fabric is a donate-pile cotton hoodie from my husband, a nice and heavy one that i knew would be great for layering in the springtime. the neckline and sleeves are rib knit from JoAnn, and the waistband is from the original sweatshirt. i did all the internal sewing on my serger but did honeycomb topstitching over the shoulders and on the v-patch at the neck with my machine. i might end up topstitching around the neckline too, we’ll see how much it flips up.
i looked up why sweatshirts have the little triangle at the collar and here’s the answer. mine is just appliquéd on. it seems to be a design element more than a practical one at this point, as a bunch of RTW shirts i examined in stores had either just the stitching or an appliqué; it wasn’t pieced in.
the pattern is the Oliver + S Field Trip Raglan Tee in a 3T (size up if you’re making this as outerwear so it can be layered!). i took just a little length off the sleeves and hem to compensate for the cuffs rather than hems like the pattern calls for, but i left them slightly long so he can grow into it over time.
i love how versatile this pattern is – i just sewed it as a pajama shirt, now it’s a sweatshirt, i’ve seen dress versions…all fun and cute! it’s totally fast to sew, the fit and shape are great, and it looks different each time depending on fabric choice. i especially love the look of raglans on little boys, so i plan to keep sewing these! so classic.
the Field Trip Raglan Tee, Playtime Leggings, and Seashore Bloomers are all now offered as individual PDFs from Oliver + S as i think i’ve mentioned before – a great way to try out their fantastic patterns at a lower price point. if you’ve never sewn one before, you should probably start your collection here and see why i’m always blathering on about how great they are. 😉
i’ve been sewing a lot more for this kid since i found out he’s getting a little brother that’ll be able to wear it all eventually. poor Em and her closetful of dresses she’s quickly growing out of. this spring i should probably work on that a bit!
skirt as top 
I love all your details. Raglans are the best! I want my next one to feature leather…might have to copy that little tag idea – it’s small but adds so much!
thank you!! i can’t wait to make your lady one – it looks fantastic.
I absolutely love this!!! Wow! All the details are just perfect.
such a great boy look. your details make it! O is such a handsome kid.
aw thanks, E!
A fabulous sweater, and the topstitching gives it such a professional finish!
I love this! And I love the appliqued triangle up front. I NEED to sew some more for my kiddos…they both could use a few staple pieces added to their wardrobe!
He’s so cute in his sweatshirt! I love your details, especially the star. Baby #3 is going to inherit a fabulous wardrobe!
Eek! It’s so perfect. I love it. It’s funny that for kcw we both ended up making sweatshirts from daddy donated ones. I even used the waistband from Tim’s. Haha. Twinsies.
Love the colors here. Yellow, red, army green. You have such great taste. Oh and thanks for the link explaining the neckline triangle. Never knew that! 🙂
thanks so much, Delia! and yeah, I’d wondered that too! 😉
Great sweater Kristin. Yours looks decidedly “outerwear” and only one size up? I went up about 4 sizes with my Kenzo one!
Love that honeycomb stitching detail. I’ve been dreaming about a flatlocking machine to do that with swimwear especially but your faked effect is free and every bit as awesome. Well done.
He just turned 3 and the 2T size probably still fits him fine – I think the 3T is quite a bit bigger if I remember what the pattern looked like? Also, I added cuffs so the arms and body ended up naturally longer; only trimmed like .5″ off each but added quite a bit more (in addition to not hemming). ANYWAY. I still want a flatlocker/coverstitch machine too. I hear they’re dreamy.
Had to pin this one! If only they made an adult pattern, my husband lives in these!
Oh it’s true! There’s an adult woman one (http://www.heyjunehandmade.com/lane-raglan.html) but I haven’t seen a basic one for men. Maybe that’s Liesl’s next venture…menswear?