Toddler Summer Shortalls

     A special little man that we know is having a birthday soon. I don't have a whole lot of experience sewing for boys, but I really wanted to come up with something that I could do for him. The result is these little shortalls. Of course I had to test my product on my little lady first, hence the pink version.

      They probably could have stood a good ironing before snapping pictures. Eh, you get the point. The back has elastic for easy fitting.

     I didn't use a pattern so you can take these directions and draft them for any size kiddo you like. These two are both 2T size. First off, grab a pair of shorts that fit your intended victim. Trace them on your fabric, making sure you have at least an inch at the bottom for a hem. As you can see, I added a bit extra length to the inseam. Both my little girl and the little boy who these were intended for, are cloth diapered, that means extra fluffy bums that need a little more room.

     Those two pieces are just your front pieces. To cut the back two pieces, trace what you have, but add six inches to the width. This is for the elastic in the back. Also add at least an inch to the top for an elastic casing.

     For the girl pant legs, the extra width at the bottom was fine, because I used elastic around the hem. Boys can't have ruffles, so I cut the back section a little different. I angled the back down starting about two inches from the top. This way the leg portion is the same width as the front piece.

     Next cut the front "bib" piece. It needs to be the length of the total front of your shorts. The height needs to be the distance starting at the waist and ending slightly higher than the arm pits. For these it was 13inches long and 6 inches high.

     This picture is actually wrong. I did the boy one right, but forgot to take a picture of it. You want the top to look like a half circle with a straight edge at the top...no corners.  For this size the straight edge was 6inches. You need to cut two of these.
     The straps are 20inches long and 2inches wide. Cut four.

     If you want cuffs like the boy one has you'll need to cut out those as well. Start by sewing the curved portion of the shorts together, front to front and back to back. Open up your pieces and sew the leg portion, front to back and front to back. It will look very strange as the back piece is so large, but it will work out just fine. Don't sew up the sides just yet.

     Sew the bib pieces right sides together, but leave the bottom open so you can flip it right sides out.

     Sew the bib to the front of the shorts.
     Next sew the straps right sides together, flip inside out and top stitch.

     Sew a casing along the top of the back of the shorts. Sew the straps to the very tippy top of the casing on either side of the center seam. Make sure you still have room to get your elastic through.

     Thread the elastic through the casing and sew down the ends to secure.

     Now your front and back pieces should look in proportion.

     Turn inside out and sew up the sides to connect front and back. Now you have this.

     For the boy's, the legs didn't come out quite even at the bottom because of how I angle cut them. It isn't a problem though, just trim them straight.

     Finish off your bottom hem as you desire. For the girl version, I hemmed and then sewed one line of elastic thread around the edge. For the boy version, I added a cuff.
     Finishing the straps also depends on your preference. For the girl's I sewed them on and then sewed on a button. (Although, if you do that, you won't need all 20inches of strap length) For the boy's I used mettle overall hooks and left them adjustable.
     Nothing could be more comfy and cute for summer!

     Oh and by the way, I used a sheet to make the boy's. Don't get too rapped around having to go the fabric store for cute fabric. I always check the clearance isle in department stores for sheets and pillowcases. They come in the funnest prints sometimes, and you can get a lot of material for not that much money.

Linking to:
Sew Much Ado
Someday Crafts
Tea Rose Home
the Freckled Laundry
Tatertots and Jello
The Girl Creative