Comox Trunks!

Like I said, I've been slowing making my way through the Thread Theory catalog of patterns for men (my Newcastle here and my Strathcona here!). When they announced a sew-along for their latest pattern, Comox Trunks, it was perfect timing for me to join in!  Sewing mens underwear is a little weird, maybe, but fun anyway!  And potentially useful, since this is the type of undies Tim wears anyway.

(PS, as an aside, it's totally worth clicking the Comox Trunks link to check out the male models... wowza.)

the front

My fabric for this pair, sort of a wearable muslin, is actually an upcycled skirt of mine: a 6 gore Target skirt that I never wear anymore.  The fabric is 95% rayon and 5% spandex: super soft, good stretch and recovery.  I had 2 problems using this fabric: finding the grain and ending up with a butt-crack seam due to fabric limitations.  The elastic is from a pair of Tim's underwear that he was planning to toss. I just hacked the waistband off and repurposed it for these Comox trunks.

Understandably, I couldn't convince Tim to model these new undies for the internet.  There is not enough craft beer in the world (craft beer being his modeling bribe of choice).

the back

My thoughts on/adjustments to the pattern: 

- The pattern was surprisingly easy and very quick to put together... somehow I thought it would be more complicated and scary.

- The only speedbump I had was attaching the waistband... lining up the right side of the trunks with the wrong side of the waistband with a consistent amount of overlap while also easing in the excess trunk fabric was a beast.  Mine is a bit of a mess.  I think it may have something to do with my repurposed waistband. But this pair is definitely a rough draft/muslin, so hopefully I'll get it right next time.

- I customized Tim's trunks as described in the sew-along: I removed the "fly exit." Tim said he doesn't use it and not including it simplified the sewing process, so win-win, right?  I kept it a double layer, as recommended.  Worked out just fine!

- Other than that, the fit seems quite good!  The only challenge for me will be finding the proper fabric and elastic here in Bangkok.  I may have to place some online orders.

Batik Basics

Some more batik stuff I made pre-Christmas:

A paneled elastic waist skirt for Jamie (figuring she could take wear it while pregnant and take it in post-baby)... made with the same batik and plaid combo as the outfit I made for Zoe a few months ago.

Some green batik Big Butt Baby Pants to pair with a monkey t-shirt I bought in Bangkok, for Miss Monkey herself, Zoe:

Another Butterick 5625 baby romper, this one with the batik scraps from the skirt above and Zoe's outfit:

And finally, some batik boxer shorts, made using a pattern from the book "Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders," which Colleen generously gave me.  They came out pretty well, but I will say that the fly part of the pattern and instructions totally blew my mind.  And not just mine, but the Real Martha's, too, so you know it was difficult/confusing, as she is a pro.  I'm working on another pattern from the book right now and the instructions are fool-proof, so perhaps this one was a fluke.