Mr. Muscles up there is pretty psyched about his new outfit, and honestly so am I. One super soft hoodie and one pair of crazy town pants and kcw outfit #2 is done and dusted.

First let’s talk about the pants:

PATTERN: Jacob pants pattern by Zonen 09. Obviously I love me some crazy town super flares. This pattern is just fun to make. I made a faux fly again (like yesterday) with piped patch pockets. I omitted the back pockets, because I was starting to go blind staring at this fabric.

FABRIC: the fabric is home dec-y stuff from JoAnn’s. I think it’s made by HGTV.  It had some sort of coating on it, because it was meant for outdoor use, but that seemed to have come out in the wash. Unfortunately, it faded a ton in the washer too. But I think I can safely say this print still pops.

SEWING: The sewing went super smoothly. Patterns are just twice as fast the second time around.

now for the hoodie:

PATTERN: flashback skinny tee by Rae. I made one size up (a 7 for my 6 year old) and it’s perfect. I added a hood, using Rae’s tutorial. I finished the edging around the hood and neckline in a different way and it’s eh. Okay, but just eh. Do it the way Rae wants you too. It’s a little fiddly, but looks better. I left the end of the sleeves raw, then rolled them up and tacked them with a few stitches. It’s a little half assed, but I like how it looks. I’ve noticed a few of the shirts I’ve bought lately do this. Hey they’re lazy like me!

FABRIC: oh this fabric is a dream. It’s a thin, but still cozy, sweatshirt material. It’s a beautiful dark teal color and a little loopy on the wrong side, heathered on the right. Ack! I love it. I think I got it from lowpricefabric.com, but I can’t find anything similar there now. I wish I could because I’d like to make myself something out of it.

SEWING: the sewing went well. Attaching the hood was easier than I thought, but finishing it was a lot harder. I’m not happy with how the placket turned out. Next time I think I’ll make a bias tape tube (circle?) the length of the opening and sew continuously around the placket + the hood. Would that work? I’m not great with plackets. But! But! I did sew those buttons that are on the placket with my sewing machine. WooHoo!

Outfit #2 is done, I might just be able to eek out #3.

If you are anything like me you have finally let out that breath you’ve been holding all summer. The first week of school get-togethers and half days and general first week freak-outs is behind you. Things are slowly settling down into a routine and you are breathing again. Actually starting–and possibly even finishing!–a project is in the realm of possibility.

If that project were, say, a pattern by Zonen 09. And if you sewed it up by next Sunday and added it to their flickr group (all totally possible). Well, you could win heaps of amazing prizes.

What, what? You haven’t heard of Zonen 09? They are a small Belgian pattern company that makes sewing patterns for boys (and only boys!) clothes. How amazing is that? And the patterns are so stinkin’ cute! I read a few Dutch blogs and I see the Jacob pants pop up again and again on them. The pants are always awesome. I mean just look:

1. yellow jacob pants by Griet 2.plaid jacob pants by Ik ben Vink 3. stamped jacob pants by huisje boompje boefjes 4. pink jacob pants by Enid Vandecan

I’m happy to say that the Jacob pants pattern is now available in English! The Charlie shirt is too. I have a few pairs of Jacob pants on my to do list this weekend, but sadly I cannot enter them in the contest because I am a judge. But you can!

Is this the first you’ve heard of Zonen 09? Have I convinced you of their awesomeness? Are you already eyeing your sewing machine?