A matching set (for the young man on the go)

One day at Goodwill, Django reaches out and grabs this insanely blue corduroy printed with red, green, white, and yellow dogs.  I would never have bought it, because even a pre-schooler would be embarassed to be seen in that, right?  Apparently wrong.  Very wrong.  He insisted that we buy it, so home it came.

The fabric was in great condition, fortunately.  When buying corduroy at Goodwill, be sure to open it up and take a look.  The pile gets smooshed sometimes, especially when they use those crazy pants hangers with the locking bar.  It ends up leaving big lines where the pile is just crushed and it's super visible.  You don't want none of that.  But this fabric was mostly fine and there was plenty of it.

These are (surprise) the Little Heartbreaker Pants from Sewing for Boys.  Again.  IDGAF they're awesome.  I would never dress my son in skinnies so this is really the only pants pattern I need for him.  And, as always, such a great pattern.  He's kind of between the 4/5 and 6/7 sizes right now.  I can't remember if these are 6/7 or if they're lengthened 4/5s.  He's got some of both in his wardrobe right now.  

He can be such a little ham for the camera sometimes.  When he's not running away trying to foil my evil plot to take pictures of him to post on the internet, of course.  As you can see, these pants have seen a lot of wear: the zoo, the playground, school, you name it.  No shame, this kid.  I hope he stays that way.

This is just about the only close up I have of this fabric.  It's even worse than you thought, isn't it?  I had sooo much left after making him pants (and really, what boy needs more than one pair of brightly colored dog pants?) I made him a backpack.  Oh. My. God.  It's just too much isn't it?  That's ok, I don't have any pictures of him wearing both at the same time.  Because that is too much.  At least for me.  I don't think I could handle that much.

I used the Toddler Backpack pattern from Made by Rae.  This was actually a Christmas present so it's been a long time since construction.  I seem to recall that it came together with no problems, though.  I really like the size of this backpack.  All the kid backpacks I've seen in stores are huge for him!  Although he's growing so fast, I definitely think he'll need a bigger one for kindergarten (yikes! I still can't believe that's coming up so soon).  

I lined it with some more of the fish sheet.  That thing just keeps going.  It's become a Henry shirt, one or two pairs of boxers, a number of quilt squares in a few different quilts, and there's still more!  Inserting the lining wasn't nearly as difficult as i expected; the instructions are very clear and the technique is a cinch.  I think I even got it on the first try!

You can see it here filled with lots of Christmas schwag.  I did add a pouch with elastic at the top for his water bottle, which was also a Christmas present.  The straps were made with Kona cotton, the piping I bought pre-made because I'm lazy, and the straps are that stuff they use for bag straps.  The pattern calls for it, but I forget what it's called.  Ahh, there it is: nylon strap, often called "webbing."  

The Boy is already growing out of this backpack, but hopefully his lil' sis won't be opposed to inheriting it.