Playdate with Snowflakes

Projects without much direction are hard for me.  The theme was "boy week" but that makes the possibilities endless.  Do any of you feel that way?  I decided to create a look for my boy.  I wanted to reflect his personality and make something that he can re-wear.  I drew inspiration from JCrew Crewcuts. I love the style of adult sophistication with some childhood fun, so that's what I went for.

This hat was my favorite part of the outfit, actually being my starting point.  I knew I wanted a fun accessory and decided on a huge fur hat.  I have deconstructed many dress shirts so recreating one was not too terribly difficult.  Using a lightweight cotton plaid, I simplified the pattern from dress shirts I usually make for my husband.  

This shirt has a continuous back and rather than creating a placket on the sleeve, I used a continuous lap. The shirt fits Ephraim perfectly and I really love it on him.  It's a bit dressy for his everyday wear but still fun enough he can wear with some shorts when it warms up.

The sweater was re-constructed from a hooded, pullover sweater that used to be mine, coincidentally from J. Crew.  I used the bottom of the original sweater to start this one, turned it into a cardigan, gave it a V neck and created the large collar from the hood of the original sweater.  Using the original hems from sweaters creates convincing reconstructions!  I wanted to add a bit of personality to the sweater and decided to go with gold elbow pads.  I painted the gold fabric paint onto felt, giving it a thicker appearance.  I love the look when it dried because it had a similar texture to leather.   

The pants are made from a gray suiting fabric, with pockets lined in navy gingham re-purposed from an old crib sheet. I love being able to re-purose things into new garments.