When you’re going on a field trip, or even just out to the backyard to play, you need a lot of pockets for storing all your treasures.
We’ve got you covered here with six pockets in the cargo pants pattern: two front pockets, two back pockets, and two big roomy three-dimensional cargo pockets at the side seams with flaps to help protect their precious contents. (Which probably means rocks, right? Or Legos? Or maybe some fabric scraps?)
This pattern includes lots of great details, too. The knees are articulated to make movement easy and comfortable. “Articulated,” like I mentioned yesterday, means that they have darts to give extra space at the knees. This is a detail that originated with work wear and active wear (once upon a time I designed outdoor gear for men, so I’ve worked with lots of articulated elbows and knees) and is great for kids’ clothing, too.
And here’s an idea for those of you who are hesitant to sew for boys because they always wear out the knees of the pants you make them. If you want to, you can cut and assemble the knee panel with two layers of fabric so they’re extra durable where pants usually wear out the fastest. Since the knee is a separate panel, it would be an easy change to make.
There are also lots of great seams and places for topstitching on these pants. I think topstitched seams can make all the difference when it comes to something like this. A little extra effort can go a long way. It can make the pants look incredible if you’re willing to take the extra time. But if you want to keep them simpler and cleaner looking, that can also be done and might even give the pants a dressy feel.
Other reasons to like these pants? We gave them a nice interior waistband facing instead of an applied exterior waistband so they look really neat outside and you can include a little contrast fabric or pop of color at the inside waistband. The back and sides of the waistband have a hidden elastic for a great, comfortable fit, but the front waistband is flat. We also included belt loops so you can add a belt if you want. And just because belt loops look great.
The raglan T-shirt is very simple and quick to sew. Like I said, I’m a big fan of the classic baseball raglan T with contrast sleeves and neckband, and we took inspiration from that style for this design.You can do all sorts of fun things with this piece. And here’s where I get to show you that this pattern can be as appropriate for girls as it is for boys. For S’s version here, we used a pink striped jersey for the sleeves and neckband.
But what about color blocking the shirt with two different solids instead of color and white? Or maybe you’d like to try a printed knit with a solid knit? We also added a simple chest pocket to the shirt, just for the fun of it and because the theme of this pattern is definitely pockets.
In terms of fabric choices, the cargo pants pattern is great with light- to medium-weight woven fabrics like quilting cottons, broadcloth, chambray, denim, poplin, linen, lightweight twill, and fine wale corduroy. I selected a printed quilting cotton for S’s more feminine version of the cargo pants and a lightweight twill for the boy’s version. The raglan T-shirt can be made with knits that have at least 25% stretch like jersey and interlock. For our T’s I chose simple cotton jersey.
This pattern is rated two of four scissors in difficulty and will be available here by this time next week. I hope you’ll get lots of use out of it.