I’ve been on the hunt for a boys sewing pattern that uses woven fabric so I’m giving the Classic Oxford from Peek-a-Boo Patterns a whirl. I’m sewing it up in this fabulous Haunted Hill fabric, just perfect for Halloween parties.
Classic Oxford Button Up Shirt Sewing Pattern
I’ve got loads of woven fabrics which is great for sewing my Little Miss lots of dresses but it leaves my Little Dude feeling left out. I wanted to make him matching outfits but I’ve been really struggling to find sewing patterns for boys clothes that require woven fabrics.
I’ve resisted buying the Classic Oxford shirt pattern from Peek-A-Boo patterns because it seems so formal. But I read that the collar can be used on the Cape Cod shirt and dress pattern. This is a much less formal style shirt that should be more comfortable for the rough and tumble play that both of my kids love.
Little Miss is in need of a new school dress pattern as shoe’s outgrown the Jump Rope Dress from Oliver and S. The collar from the Classic Oxford and the dress from the Cape Cod should do her nicely.
Because this is my first sew with the Classic Oxford I’ll be sewing it up according to the pattern instructions. I’ll hack it later once I’ve got the grips with the pattern.
Digital Sewing Patterns
Digital sewing patterns are fantastic for kids clothes because you just print the size you want, no tracing or messing about trying to preserve the larger sizes of the pattern for using as your child grows.
They generally come with loads of different options and a wider size range than traditional paper sewing patterns. Most of the digital sewing patterns I own go all the way up to the teenage years.
For me one of the huge benefits of using digital sewing patterns over their paper counterparts is space. I can keep as many digital patterns as I like on a tiny hard drive taking up hardly any space in my sewing room. My traditional paper sewing patterns have to squeeze into a box on a shelf. I don’t feel guilty keeping that digital pattern that I’ll probably never find the time to use because it doesn’t take up any resources in my home. That paper dress pattern on the other hand – that has to justify the space it takes up.
Sewing Fabric
I’m sewing with this fabulous Haunted Hill cotton fabric from Clothworks. It’s 100% cotton and lovely quality, just right for a party shirt for my Little Dude.
I picked it up on sale from Patches and Buttons in Clitheroe. Sadly they’ve since closed down but I have heard the business was bought and rebranded. I’m looking forward to checking out the new shop when I get the chance.
Peek-A-Boo Patterns are usually quite simple so I was a bit intimidated by how complex all the pattern pieces looked. I’m not one to be put off so I’ve taken my time and paid close attention tot he pattern instructions.
Contrary to my usual slap and dash approach I’ve carefully measured the front placket.
I love how neat the yoke makes the inside of the shirt. Only the sleeve and side seams are exposed. It’s a bit of a faff but the result looks so professional!
The sleeve placket is pretty complicated. I think I’ve marked it in the wrong way round. My printer is playing up and some of the pattern markings are missing from my printout. I think I’ve sewn the placket onto the pleat markings. The end result is that the placket is on the wrong side of the wrist.
I’ve managed to make it work and got a functional cuff out of it so I’m not going to worry about unpicking anything. No one will notice.
Like the yoke the sleeve cuff leaves all the row edges neatly hidden. I’ve clipped the corners of the cuffs, this wasn’t in the instructions which surprised me.
The button holes are tricky to place mostly because I can’t use my Frixion markers to mark my button holes on the dark fabric. If you’ve not tried Pilot Frixion markers for sewing yet, I highly recommend you pick yourself one up and give them a go. They’re a gel type pen with heat erasable ink. So you can get a really accurate line that disappears as soon as you put an iron over it. The only downside is that they don’t show up on dark fabric.
I’m in love with the hem. It’s a beautifully curved hem which makes the shirt look really professional. To get the hem neat the pattern instructs to tack a line of stitching an even distance from the raw edge them press along that line. The raw edge is folded to the inside and neatly hidden by the hem stitching. Beautiful!
I’m really proud of my first sew of the Classic Oxford. Whilst it was more involved that I anticipated and I did make a lot of mistakes, I’m looking forward to sewing this pattern again in the future.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my sewing adventures with the Classic Oxford from Peek-A-Boo Patterns.
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A Little Bit About Me . . .
Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner of the interweb. I’m Bridie, mum to two small humans, full time homemaker and full time craftaholic – which totally explains why I’m always short on time!
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