Sew Thankful

Today is my stop on the Sew Thankful Blog Tour being hosted by Sewing by Ti. I always enjoy when I get to participate in fun blog tours, and I have been looking forward to this one ever since I signed up. One of the best ways to lift your spirit is to take a moment, stop, and think about what you are thankful for. I will be reviewing the two Greenstyle Men’s boxers patterns in this post, so keep reading (or skip to that part) to get to the juicy details.

I am SEW grateful for sewing. It as an amazing hobby that is so fun. It has introduced me to people I would have never met without it. My wonderful, amazing friend Aimee whom I absolutely treasure came into my life from a fabric destash group on Facebook! I planned to get photos with her for this post and talk all about how I feel she is one of my biggest cheerleaders. Seriously, she has been around me in the sad times and the great times, the boring times and the exciting times. Sadly, we did not get finished with what we had planned to make in time for this tour (how did November sneak up on us so fast!). Don’t worry, though, I am sure we will get to do another pattern test together soon and get to take photos for it.  Here is one of my favorite photos with her that we took this past summer for a pattern test. You can read her post for this tour here.

Since I didn’t get to take photos with Aimee for this blogpost, I went back to the drawing board to think about who else I am thankful for that I could relate to my sewing. Then, I remembered the multiple times my husband has asked for boxers recently. I told him I would make him a few more pairs if he would model them and let me tell you guys about the patterns I use for his boxers. He reluctantly agreed because I think he knew he would get a lot more and quicker if he modeled! Haha! I am so glad he agreed and hope it encourages you to make some for your husband, brother, or father (or yourself if you are a guy reading this)!

I am so thankful for my husband. He is one of my biggest supporters of my hobby of sewing, blogging, pattern testing, fabric collecting, and everything crafty I do or buy. He knows how much I enjoy creating and does everything he can to make sure I have time to do it. He cleans up after dinner, plays ball with the kids, and bathes my little ones in the evening if I want get away to the office to sew something or write up a blogpost. If I have a pattern test with an upcoming deadline, he will take all the kids on a walk or to the gym. He is always asking me what my schedule is like and letting me know when I have overcommitted myself, and he wants more time with me. He is my best friend and has been for 16 years (we have been married for 12 of those!).

He does look at me like I am crazy sometimes …. I have learned to never tell him I am going fabric shopping while sitting in the office where all my fabric is stored. He looks around at the shelves full of fabric and then looks at me like I am an addict. His jaw literally almost drops. Haha! He says that Aimee and I need to get together and do more sewing and less shopping! I do learn something from her almost every time I sew with her, so that is not such a bad idea.

Sewing Men’s Boxers

For this post, I used two different boxer patterns for my husband: the Greenstyle Walbrook and the Greenstyle 400 Oak Street. For both patterns, you measure the part of the waist where the waistband is at, not the natural waist. The 400 Oak Street fits waists from 28 to 48 inches, and the Walbrooks fit waist measurements from 28 to 50 inches

Let’s start with talking about the 400 Oak Street. The 400 Oak Street boxer pattern is a looser fitting boxer pattern drafted to work in almost any fabric you want to wear as undies. Use knit or woven. Use an old t shirt, quilting cotton, cotton lycra, jersey, bamboo… You get the point. As long as it is soft, breathes well, and feels nice next to the skin, you are good! I made my husband 2 pairs of the 400 Oak Street boxers for this blogpost. The top pair is in a charcoal cotton lycra, and the mustard pair is in quilters cotton.  I made the XL for the mustard pair, and I sized down to a large for the knit pair *BUT I used the XL waist elastic on both pairs.*

The 400 Oak Street has only two pattern pieces: a front and a back. The back is cut on the fold and does not have a seam. The front has a functioning fly. I added a button closure to keep things together. The pattern also includes a side vent for woven fabric. I did not use the side vent on the knit boxers. The instructions include exposed elastic or enclosed elastic.

Now, let’s talk about the Walbrooks. I have made several pairs of these for my son (I blogged about those here). The Walbrook Boxer Briefs are a fitted boxer brief that are meant for cotton lycra knit fabric. The men’s Walbrooks pattern is a fitted boxer with a gusset between the legs and a fly that can be functioning or not functioning. The pattern has two lengths: a shorter length and long length. I made the longer length for my husband.

For the Walbrook pattern you will need to cut out 3 pieces: (1) a pattern piece for the main body that is cut on the fold so there is no butt seam, (2) a pattern piece for a gusset for the long length boxers or you cut out the gusset for the short length boxers, and (3) a pattern piece for a functioning fly or for the nonfunctioning fly. The pattern also includes a fourth pattern piece for the binding for the functioning fly. The fly and gusset can be made out of contrasting fabric, which is great to use up fabric scraps.

I asked him which pair was his favorite, and he told me that he loved them all. I love that on the 400 Oak Street that I can use pretty much any soft fabric, and I love how nice his butt looks in the Walbrooks. The 400 Oak Street are really easy to construct since there are only two pattern pieces, but I also love how the Walbrooks are great for scrap busting and offer 2 lengths in the pattern. What I love about both of them is that they are both very inexpensive patterns and can be sewn pretty quickly!

My husband was so appreciative to have some soft new comfortable boxers. I love how grateful he was for them, so maybe I should sew for him more often!

Resources

• The Walbrook Boxer Pattern for Men is only $6! (the boys version is$5 and can be found here)
• The 400 Oak Street Boxer Pattern for Men is also only $6.
• I used 1 1/4 inch lightweight underwear elastic that I found at Joann on all 3 pairs. This was my first time working with this elastic and I really liked how comfortable it felt. The other pairs that I have made him before this post had soft exposed elastic.
• The mustard fabric with deer on it is Anna Maria Horner dowry lineage fabric.
• The blue knit fabric is Art Gallery Knit Nightfall Aura Fletchings Blue.

Visit all the other wonderful blogs on this thankful tour and see what they are thankful for too! Here is the schedule:

Week of November 6th:

6: Sewing By Ti, 7: That’s Sew Lily, 8: Elli and Nels, 9: Jot Designs

Week of November 11th:

11: The Sewing Scientist, 12: Sweet Mama Life, 13: Big Fly Notions, 14: Manning the Machine, 15: Stitched by Jennie, 16: My Heart Will Sew On, 17: Sew 4 Five

Week of November 18th:

18: The Fairy Dust Bin, 19: Kathys Kwilts and More, 20: Sewing with D, 21: My Sewing Roots, 23: Tenille’s Thread, 24: The Bear and the Pea Atelier

Week of November 25th:

25: Sewing By Ti, 26: Vicky Myers’ Creations, 27: MNW Sews, 29:Auschick

Thanks so much for reading! I hope I have inspired you. You may follow me on Instagram or receive updates by liking my page on Facebook. If you want to take a look into the things that inspire me, you can follow me on Pinterest. You may also follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Disclosures: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. There is no cost to you.  Any and all opinions expressed are my own.