Eli enjoying the day playing with bubbles and sporting his “shorts with pockets”.
One of my goals this year has been to sew more for my little boy Elijah. Not only is it a great way to treasure him it is also very practical. Every week it seems he grows taller but his waist appears to grow smaller. Add to it the fact that he is now potty trained and no longer has nice cloth diapers to add some bulk to keep his pants up. 🙂 It seems that we are now resigned to buying only adjustable elastic waist pants or sewing them myself.
After another day of fighting pants that were falling off (despite a pair of suspenders) I decided I would sew him a pair of shorts. I looked over a number of patterns and finally decided to splurge on Kwik Sew 2858. I’m so glad that I did. This pattern is wonderful. I have made the shorts twice this summer and look forward to making the pants and vest this fall. (I actually made the shorts in May but am just now getting around to reviewing them.)
The perfect pair of play shorts.
I made a size 1 for my little boy but this was probably a bit small. At the time of making these his waist measured 18.5 and his hip with a diaper was 22.5, without a diaper 21. They fit great in the waist but seem to be a little bit short for my taste. Next time I plan on making the size 1 in the waist and taper them out to a size 2 for length. These are the perfect pants for my active little boy. He absolutely loves the pockets. There are two pockets on the front and Elijah just loves to walk around with his hands in them.
Notice the pocket on the back.
There is also a small pocket on the back. The pattern only calls for one pocket on the back but you could easily add another. It would also be cute to add a patch or applique on the back pocket. On the second pair of shorts I made (not shown) I used 2 coordinating fabrics for a very boutique look. 🙂 The waistband and pockets were cut from a solid coordinating print. While making the shorts I also stitched the crotch seem twice in order to reinforce the seams. Since they are play shorts I thought they would experience plenty of strain and appreciate extra support. I also hemmed the legs using a 1/4″ seam instead of the 1″ seam suggested. I plan on making this pattern a lot so I also added a size tag of 24 months for the size 1 shorts I made.
This will be my go-to shorts and pants pattern for the next 2 years!
Overall Kwik Sew 2858 has to be one of my favorite patterns I have sewn this year. I’m still amazed at how easy it is to sew. Kwik Sew patterns always have great instructions but they are expensive and never go on sale. I did purchase this pattern used off of etsy for around $5 including shipping. It’s still a lot more than the usual .99 I usually pay for patterns but since I traced this pattern I will be able to use it for probably 2 more years. (The pattern includes T1-T4.) It also includes a vest and pants pattern that are at the top of my fall sewing to-do list.
Emerson Family 
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