Let’s Hear It For the Boys! We love sewing for kids, and there’s plenty of good sewing around here for boys and girls, but we thought it would be fun to have a mini season this summer that just featured boy looks! We’ve gathered six of our past designers to go head to head, two designers each week, for a total of three rounds.
The theme for each week is the same: “Copy That Look.” Our designers will show you their inspiration and then their re-creation. It’s always fun to make, “I can make that,” a reality.
Public votes will be the only determining factor each week for who comes out on top, and we’ll be sending all of our designers home with an amazing prize, because they deserve it!
Sponsor Shoutout
We could not do what we do here at Project Run & Play, which is bring the sewing community together around children’s fashion, and amplify the creativity of hundreds of talented designers, and anyone who sews along (that could be you!), without some amazingly generous sponsors. We want you to know that the companies you see supporting the events we host are worthy small businesses that we would love to support, and for you to support as well!
Click their logos to check out their websites, and maybe find some new fabrics you need for your next project.
Thank you to Fibers to Fabric and Nature’s Fabrics for sponsoring this week.
Our two designers this week are:
Elisabeth Breckley from Season 28 and Uma Subramanian from Season 27. They are here to go head to head with their best boy look! Spoiler alert: they both have the most adorable models! Check out their amazing work, and cast your vote at the bottom of the post.
Elisabeth – Indigo Inspiration
For my outfit I really wanted to rely on repurposed fabric instead of buying new, to challenge myself to use what I had. I also wanted to sew with woven fabric, and my woven stash is getting smaller and not very exciting. So I found an old shower curtain my husband had previously asked if I wanted to save (of course!). It was 100% cotton and very soft, but a boring beige and white bulky stripe.
I decided to work with it anyway and made a simple earthy tunic shirt with back snap placket and bloomer style shorts for my six month old. In looking for dye inspiration, I decided to go with a natural indigo dye using the shibori dyeing technique. This is where you sew a line of stitching where you want the fabric to remain undyed, gather it and then remove after dyeing. I also aimed for an ombre effect with subsequent progressive dyeing intervals. I had never done any of this before but gave it a shot. Turns out I love the result and it’s quite similar to my inspiration!
Uma – Pokemon Dreams
How do you recreate a look when following the original inspiration to a T just doesn’t feel authentic—unless you add your own spin? I had to start from scratch: What should I make? Who or what am I drawing inspiration from?
Lately, our home has been taken over by all things dragons and Pokémon—especially Charizard. (Though, I was quickly corrected by my 7-year-old: “Charizard isn’t actually a dragon, Mom!”)
Our day-to-day style tends to lean heavily into neutrals. My 7-year-old doesn’t usually have strong fashion opinions—most days, he’ll wear whatever’s comfy. Definitely not “Insta-ready.”
But this is Project Run and Play, and I wanted to truly center his style (not mine), and most importantly, focus on play in everything I created for him.
One of his birthday wish-list items this year was a Charmander (with wings!) stuffed toy. I decided to take it a step further and make a backpack—one that could carry his Nintendo and all his game cards. I used some beach towels I had saved from a past project to create this Charmander-inspired backpack. It’s already a favorite—taken to a cousin’s sleepover and now proudly living on his bed.
With the “play” aspect handled, I sat him down and asked him to define his style. No hesitation: “Long mesh Gap shorts and a loose tee.” So I got to work. Using a free pattern from Life Sew Savory, I drafted the shorts, adding a triangle hem and an inner liner for a sporty touch. Then, using the Park Tee pattern from Lowland Kids, I made the oversized T-shirt he wanted.
No outfit in Northern California is complete without a jacket, so I started with PAB’s Happy Camper pattern. I had no separating zippers on hand ( silent cry for Joanns ), so I opted for magnetic buttons (in my stash) instead. To bring everything together, I appliquéd a dragon to the front—adding one last playful detail.
This whole project has brought me so much joy—just playing, experimenting, and seeing fashion through the eyes of my 7-year-old
These are two incredibly special makes! Now you have a very difficult decision. You may only vote once and the poll will close on Thursday, 6/5/2025 at 8:00pm EST.