Josh's Penguin Treasure Pocket Pants

If the little boys that you know are anything like my son, they like to pick out really impractical prints at the fabric store.  Recently, I was left wondering how I would make stylish pants out of the penguin fabric that Josh selected - he specifically said that he wanted me to make pants with it.  So, I was super excited when I saw the Treasure Pocket Pants pattern in Sewing for Boys.  These pants are a great way to showcase a neat print while using a sturdy, practical fabric as the body of the pants.




I used the quilting-weight Penguin fabric for the side-panel accent, and a sturdy denim from Sew to Speak for the body of the pants.  They turned out great!  Josh looks stylin' in them, and the mix of fabrics was a good compromise.

The book isn't exactly clear about how to achieve the look in the photo - experienced readers will pick up on the differences, but others may not.  In the book's photo, the accent fabric doesn't go all the way up to the waistband, but Josh's pants have penguins all the way up the side.  The book doesn't do a good job of explaining that they've followed different cutting instructions to get the pictured product.  This wasn't a problem for me, but others might be bothered by this.

Overall, Sewing for Boys is a really nice book.  I wish they included more pictures and diagrams for the patterns themselves, though the big pictures of the finished products are really nice.  I'm just disappointed that the patterns only go up to Size 6-7. Unfortunately, my 6 year-old boy won't be able to fit in these clothes much longer.  Perhaps my (soon to be born) nephew will need some Treasure Pocket Pants of his own someday!  In the meantime, I'm planning to make another pair for Josh with some tan cord and red puppy fabric.