Today’s post is all for the boys!  I’m so excited to share with you the two patterns that I tested for Made for Mermaids: the Dylan Tees.  Wahoo!

They are the counterpart to the Vivienne that I posted yesterday.  And I love that M4M is bringing some love to the boys.  Because I seriously love sewing for Louis and Bennett and I feel that the Y Chromosome is greatly underrepresented in the pattern world.  Kudos to Team Mermaid for making it happen for us!

It’s surprisingly difficult to find fabrics for men.  Bennett tends to like solid prints, sturdier fabrics, and things without drape or “cling” to them.  So he basically likes the exact opposite type of fabric that I prefer.  I ended up using a basic gold interlock for the side panel, and some delightful navy/white striped ribbed rayon-spandex for the main bodice piece.

Bennett is seriously not a fan of stripes, but if you make a WVU shirt…you don’t really hear much from him about it.

The side panels really don’t make assembly that much longer on this top.  It’s still a basic tee in it’s form, so it goes together really quickly.  I love that M4M includes cut lines for short, regular and tall length shirts too!  Bennett is a pretty average in height for men, but he gets all of his height in his torso.  Most store-bought shirts are practically belly shirts on him.  So being able to make him a top that is the perfect length for his build is just the best.

I, of course, didn’t make any shirts in the long sleeve length like I’d hoped to do.  Time got away from me, but I do plan to do so in the future.  Bennett likes to pretend that I never sew for him, and then went though his closet the other day for some “spring cleaning” and found a TON of tops I’ve sewn special for him.  I love making him things!  It’s just more of a challenge for me to fit it into his low key style.

This wasn’t the final version of the Men’s Dylan pattern, in case you were looking at his neckline closely.  The final was raised a bit in the back and brought in a little on the sides.  So it’s more of a classic fit, and the neck opening isn’t quite as wide.

I sure to love it on my Mountain Man!

Now onto the boy’s version!  I’ve actually made a bunch of these for Louis already, I just only managed to photograph one of them.  I love the side panel for Lou, because he lets me play with louder fabric combos and it’s fun to mix them in somewhere other than sleeves for a raglan.

Louis also isn’t as picky about his fabric types.  I can use fabrics with more blends to them, and they are okay with drape and Louis actually likes “stretchy” shirts more.  So it’s pretty easy to make this kiddo happy with new clothes.

Plus he’s just crazy adorable.  And I’m kind of smitten with him.  So….Mommy goggles, what?

I wanted to make sure to get coordinating items sewn up for all three of us…what better color combos to choose than WEST VIRGINIA gold + blue!?!?!  I found that gold/blue floral and then all three of these pieces just fell into place.

If there’s one thing all of my crazy sewing does, it’s that I get a lot of nice photos of the three of us…without even needing to pay a photographer to make it happen!  Bonus!

Here are some links!

Patterns: Mama Vivienne by Made for Mermaids | Girl’s Vivienne HERE | Boy’s Dylan HERE | Men’s Dylan HERE
Fabric: Blue/White Striped Rayon Blend | Gold Interlock | Blue Tie-Dye | Gold Floral Ponte

**Both West Virginia designs will (soon!) be available at Thread & Grain.

**As always, you’ll find some affiliate links scattered within my post, which means I receive a small amount of compensation if you end up purchasing something I’ve recommended.  Thanks for helping to feed my sewing habits!