A Blazer, a Bowtie, and the Musical Stylings of Quinn

Last week, my sweet baby Quinn had his preschool holiday concert. Obviously, he needed a special outfit for the occasion, so I made him a bowtie using the pattern from Little Gentleman's Closet, and a blazer using a pattern by Melly Sews.

 

The bowtie pattern is double layered, so it's sturdy and keeps it's shape well, which I like. And I had some of the tie clips on hand so I didn't have to actually tie the tie on Quinn's squirmy little body. You can see my review of the Little Gentleman's Closet necktie pattern here. If you're looking for a quick bowtie pattern for your little guy, this is a good one.

I've been meaning to draft a blazer patterns for a looooong time, so I was excited to see that someone else had already done it for me. For the most part, I really liked this pattern. I made the 4T for Quinn, who is a 98th percentile 3.5 year old. 

I think the sizing was good, and the pattern went together quite easily. The only thing I didn't like about the pattern was the sleeves. The sleeves are made up of two pieces -a main sleeve and an undersleeve. This would make perfect sense on a  blazer sleeve that had buttons at the cuff, but this one doesn't. I still can't really see the need for the two piece sleeve. It's only one extra seam though, so in the grand scheme of things, it isn't a huge deal.

I also am very particular about how I like to sew sleeve into garments. I like to attach them to the shoulder, and then sew the side seam, turn at the arm pit, and sew the sleeve shut. The two piece sleeve pattern prevents using that method, and instead you have to sew the sleeve pieces together, and then insert the sleeve into the arm hole in the main jacket. I was cursing the pattern as I realized I had to use that method, until the sleeve fit the armscye LIKE A GLOVE. I mean, perfectly. Imagine how annoyed I was when I found out there was no need to be annoyed in the first place. ;)

My favorite part of this jacket ended up being the lining. I used some of the Alexander Henry Peace Hands fabric I've been hoarding for ages. It's so cute! The main fabric is a black velveteen.

He was so stinking handsome in his new outfit. The sweater and pants are from Target.

Quinn and his best buddy. 

 

Quinn and his buddies get ready to sing. 

They tell the kids to "catch a bubble" in their mouths to be quiet. Quinn is very aggressive with his bubble catching. :) The look on his friend's face cracks me up too.

Mrs. Claus showed up at the end of the show to read a story. The kids loved it!

And, in case you're dying to see an adorable group of kids singing "The Dreidel Song" and "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas", this is your video. The songs start around 2:20. Also, we put a wireless microphone on Quinn so we could actually hear him sing, and it worked great! It was worth the investment in the microphone to be able to hear his sweet little voice. (We used this one.)  And don't miss the little boy on the right side of the screen spinning around his classmate as if he were an actual dreidel. I love little kids. :)