Marissa here from Rae Gun Ramblings and I’m not going to lie one thing that stumped me when I found out I was having a boy was what on earth I would sew for him. I had spent years sewing girly things for my nieces and my Etsy shop but boys, don’t they pretty much just wear t-shirts and more t-shirts? I’ve come to learn the answer to that (at least in the case of my active little guy) is kind of yes (at least for this phase in his life). But that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Today I’m sharing some easy ways to spruce up basic knit shirt patterns with different 5 different styles of pockets. I whipped these 5 shirts up in just a few hours. While most of them are the same pattern (my favorite Happy Feet pattern from Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop)they each get their own personality with the different combinations of fabrics and pocket details.
1.Rectangular Pocket with Button Option
d
As awesome as the selection of knits is getting, there are still WAY more woven options and sometimes you just fall in love with a design that isn’t made as a knit like this Gold Weave one from the Four Corners Cotton collection. But when you’re using it as a pocket it doesn’t really need to stretch so you can still get a comfy wild boy friendly shirt with fun little pop.
2.Double Duty Applique Pocket
My little boat shirt might at first seem like a fun little applique from scraps which it is in part, but with the straight edge of the ship not sewn down it actually is a pocket. You can do with with pretty much any shape. For my boat the staff and flag are sewn down but I made the body of the ship out of two pieces sewn together and turned right side out that way I don’t have to worry about any frayed edges after it gets worn for a while. For this shirt I used the
Anchors in the Multi color choice paired with basic 1/2 navy stripes and solid red.
3.Front Pouch Pocket
The front pouch pocket has always been one of my favorites. As a kid I loved how big a space they made for stashing treasures or carrying contraband. As a sewing mom I love that I can use any fabric for a quick and easy design feature. I have always LOVED this Ninja fabric but never knew what to do with it. But paired with the solid knitsI think it made the perfect accent for this little shirt.
For this pocket I just serged all the edges, folded under the curved sides, sewed those down and then sewed the top and side edges to the shirt and caught the bottom edge in the band when I finished the edge.
4. Peek-a-boo Pocket
I am kind of obsessed with fun elements that at first aren’t obvious in kids clothes. My sun and moon shirt is a prime example of this. I used some iron-on vinyl to make different suns and moon (my kiddo’s current obsession) and made a cloud pocket for the sun to pop out behind. My boy FLIPPED when he saw this shirt. In the store he insisted that we buy the Circle Four Corners knits. And paired with his favorite moon and sun I don’t know if I’ll be able to get him to take it off!
I can see all kinds of fun versions of this. Think little animals or creatures peeking out from traditional shaped pockets or more silly ones like my cloud. In fact I think I might do a llama in a regular old 5 point pocket next!
5. Five Point Pocket
And that brings me to the five point pocket. It’s another classic like the rectangle but with a completely different feel. I wanted to showcase the awesome Four Corners main knit fabric in teal that I’ve been eyeing. So for this shirt I used some black knitand just sewed down the edges and the bottom. If you wanted to use a woven you could easily pull of this style by either serging the edges and folding them under or cutting two sewing right sides together and then turning them right side out before attaching them to your shirts.
My little guys is super excited about his new shirts I hope you like them too. I’d love for you to swing by my blog Rae Gun Ramblings and check out my other quick and easy sewing tutorials as well as the other crafty, bookish, and delicious things I am up to.