I've long had a soft spot for Eli Monster patterns, but I've never made any of the boys patterns that they sell. So this has now changed!



I was given a choice of patterns to sew up, mostly girls, with just one boy pattern, the Kamp Shirt. I figured my boy was long overdue another shirt, the one I made him earlier in the year has been outgrown.



He's super picky, and finding a fabric he likes is virtually impossible, so I tried a different tactic. His dad had cleaned out his wardrobe and had a pile of shirts that either didn't fit, or he wasn't going to wear again. So I gave my boy the choice of all the discarded shirts. He was very happy to pick a vibrant Hawaiian print (taking after his Dad in so many ways!!). Excuse his face!



As I was upcycling, I had to think about which elements of the grown up shirt I wanted to keep. I figured that the button plackets and hems were important, and placed my pattern pieces (minus placket and hem allowance) accordingly. Lining up the front piece it became clear that the pocket was in the way, so I unpicked it to re-position on the new shirt. I carefully cut the main front and back pieces first. Then I cut the existing sleeves from the shirt right at the seam line to give myself the maximum fabric possible. I lined up my pattern pieces on the big sleeves and cut them out maintaining their sleeve hem.



From the shirt fabric bits that were left, I cut one collar stand, one collar and one back yoke. I then needed to find a complimentary fabric to cut the other of each these pieces. I used some blue polycotton left over from the Alice in Wonderland outfit. It's nice and soft, and I know that is big deal for my son, to not have scratchy/itchy seams/clothes.



The shirt came together really easily and quickly (I like not having to make button plackets, button holes and hems!). The instructions were clearly illustrated with pictures, which always helps, especially for the burrito method of sewing the back yoke.



I blame tiredness for pinning my sleeves back to front, and then posting up pictures in the group saying the pattern was wrong! What I hadn't done was look at my pattern notches closely enough, and pinned the sleeves front to back and vice versa. I'm pleased to say that once I realised my mistake, the sleeves and notches lined up beautifully ;)



And now for the tricky bit. Summer seems to have left us, rather quickly. It's now a bit on the cold side, and taking photos was a chore. My boy was such a trooper though and managed to be chilly for a bit, so long as he could put back on his jacket straight afterwards!



You can get your Kamp shirt pattern from the Eli Monster website.

The fun part (shamelessly stolen from Seams Normal)

Between the 16th and 23rd of September all patterns used for this blog tour can be purchased with reduction. You only pay $7 for the following patterns* (no coupon code needed): The Speeltijd Shorts, The Kinderschürze Pinafore, The Picknick Dress, The Schatje Skirt and The Kamp Shirt..

And to finish I would like to give an overview of the other blog tour participants coming up in the following days.
15 September: Seams Normal
15 september: A random knack
16 september: Threadistry
17 september: Frullemieke and myself
18 september: Big Fly notions and Soveryjo
19 september: A siwsiw thing, Mother from girl and boy and Marieke Falderieke

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*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*