Kids Clothes Week - Summer 2013 |This is Wiss

So, it's Day 4 of Kids Clothes Week (over halfway through) and I am impressed, as always, by the photos of all the beautiful clothes being made out there. Check out the galleries on the blog and on Pinterest, and if you're making clothes this week then don't forget to upload your pictures to show us all what you've been up to.

As I said earlier, I've not got any time this week to sew - boo :( but by happy coincidence I was busy sewing clothes for Wiss last week - yay! :)

In the past I have made shorts and trousers for Wiss using Dana's Basic Kid Pants tutorial, but as he got bigger and older I wanted a pattern that was a bit more detailed and perhaps tailored. Boys clothing is often less interesting than girls to sew so I was looking for some cool little twists.

(NB since then Dana has actually updated her patterns and has run a whole series of blog posts all about shorts.)

After lots of searching I discovered Blank Slate Patterns - very modern clothes for kids. I bought the Clean Slate Pants as a digital download so was able to get sewing straight away. There are loads of variations within this pattern - shorts, capris or trousers; elasticated waist or zip fly; no pockets, side pockets, patch pockets or even welt back pockets.

I am often disappointed that I am not able to use some of the gorgeous printed cottons that I have in my fabric stash for boys clothes; they are usually too thin, or too patterned. But I have been able to be a little creative on the pockets of these shorts, as you can see!

The denim shorts are actually made from an old pair of my husband's jeans. I love upcycling and repurposing clothes that would otherwise go in the bin and using 'preloved' jeans means that the denim is wonderfully soft.

The Clean Slate shorts do take a little longer to sew than the Basic Pants but I think the extra details are worth it. I've been able to make a pair of shorts in about 2 and a half hours which fits nicely into an evening - and they are very addictive to make! I've already got some more shorts and trousers cut out from striped seersucker cotton, ready to sew when I have some time.

And to go with all the new shorts, I needed to make some t-shirts. I've had Sewing for Boys for some time but hadn't got round to making anything from it - until now. The Raw-Edged Raglan T-shirt is a wonderful, simple pattern and it lends itself perfectly to upcycling old t-shirts. I've made a few of these shirts, both long and short sleeved, and although the design is to have the raw seam on the outside (perfect for very little people as there are no rough inside seams) I have made a couple with the seam inside with no complaints from Wiss.