I wasn't sure what to expect going into this Sewing For Men week but I'm so happy about the outcome! Monday's button up shirt, Tuesday's bike jersey, Wednesday's reversible pajama pants and Thursday's zip fly shorts were all so fun!

Thank you to those of you who added things to the flickr pool! There aren't many but I hope you keep adding things when you make them! I'll be featuring them from time to time and I'm thinking we're going to need another Sew For Men week in the fall! 

Here is some more sewing for men inspiration to get you excited.

This Simplicity 5581 by Threadsofgray looks like a great starter pattern.

Feather's Flights shows us how to shorten a sleeve on a button up shirt. Probably a more practical sewing project for most people.

Running with Scissors made a Negroni shirt for her husband. 

Feather's Flights shares 6 steps for altering a men's suit.

Today we have the wonderful Rachael from Imagine Gnats joining us for Sewing For Men! Thanks Rachael!

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hello, train to crazy readers! rachael here, and i’m so happy to be sharing my sewing for men project: after-dinner pants! you might know them as pajamas, but doesn’t after-dinner pants sound so much fancier? and we’re all about fancy in the gnats household… as long as it’s comfy, that is, and preferably handmade. you can check out more of our handmade antics on my blog, imagine gnats .

it’s been a while since i sewed up something for my husband, Nick (affectionately known as mr. gnats), and i’ve never actually sewn a garment for him. for last father’s day, i made him a sturdy apron from duck cloth with some help from our littlest girlie (you can check that out here). i’ve made him this nook cover, there was an echino messenger bag before that, and some roll-up tote bags.

Today's Sewing For Men contributor is Carolyn from Fake It While You Make It! She's sharing this awesome cycling jersey she sewed. Wow.

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First of all, I'd like to thank Andrea for inviting me to be part of this series.  I am constantly amazed by the fact that someone else would want to hear me babble on about my sewing projects.  So thank you, Andrea!  And I can't wait to see what the other ladies have made!

Of all the things that I've made over the last decade or so (and there have probably been hundreds), I've made only three things specifically for my husband. I blame this on the fact that I was probably a bit put off when Ben accidentally destroyed the very first thing that I made for him – a knit hat made out of some ridiculously expensive Italian merino yarn that he accidentally threw in in the washing machine thereby shrinking it up to about the size of a yarmulke.  Needless to say it was years before I made him something again and when I finally got around to it I was much smarter.  

I'm very excited for this week. We're kicking of a special Sewing for MEN series. Four bloggers sewing for our husbands. If you google "sew for men" or search on Pinterest you won't find much. So we're going to create content! We're sewing for men. And we want you to join us. Read on…

This week's posts so far:

Our lovely contributors this week:

Kicking of the week on Monday is Melissa! She blogs at Melly Sews and is an amazing pattern designer. You can see all her designs at her store, Blank Slate Patterns. If you haven't had the privilege of sewing one of Melissa's patterns then let me tell you, they are very good. You'll never be sorry you purchased one. She thinks of every detail! 

These are 4 of her patterns. The green dress is the Little Bow Pleat dress. The little boy is in the Trendy Tuxedo Pants and Shirt as well as the Blank Slate Blazer. The purple dress is the Tiny Bubbles dress. With Easter coming you'll want to snap these up! How do I know she does impecable work? Because you can buy any of these at Go To Patterns and I don't allow bad patterns in my shop!!

Melissa's blog is FULL of wonderful inspiration. She also is great about sharing free tutorials and patterns. I'm not sure how she gets it all done!! Some of my favorite tutorials:

• Color Blocked Draped Shirt for women (with free pattern)
• Gatsby Hat (with free pattern)– Is anyone else super excited about the movie??? I cannot wait!
• How to Dye Fabric– She dyed the fabric in those dresses above. Aren't they gorgeous??
• Twin Needle Tips– I have to say, there is really only one thing that makes me run screaming into the other room when it comes to sewing. And that is twin needles. This is a must read post.

Melissa drafted a men's button down shirt for her husband and I CAN'T wait to share it with you am so glad I could share it with you. She's AMAZING! Thanks for being a part of this series, Melissa! If you don't already follow her blog please go do so. You might also want to follow her on Pinterest.

 

Next up is Carolyn from Fake It While You Make It. She sews a lot for her two adorable daughters and herself. I pretty much drool over everything Carolyn makes. They're all perfect and I always love her fabric choices. But it was THIS shirt that earns her a gold star in my book. And that post earns her husband the Blogger Husband of the Decade award. I hope you clicked over to see it. If you didn't. Go see it now. It's here. In case you missed it.

Now, wipe the tears from your eyes. What did you think?

And she knits.

(your ovaries just did a little flutter didn't they?)

And she quilts.

On Tuesday Carolyn will be showing off showed off the cycling jersey she made for her husband. Say what?? That's right. You won't want to miss this! If you haven't added Carolyn's blog to your blog reader yet go ahead and do that. You'll be happy you did. And follow her on Pinterest too while you're at it.

 

Wednesday we have the prolific and always hilarious, Rachael, from Imagine Gnats. Rachael made men's "after dinner pants" for this series. Definitely go see. You've most likely seen Rachael's sewing around the web. She's now famous for her Raccoon movement. We had a bit of a discussion last year about how fun it would be to start a new trend and I'm pretty sure Rachael has single handed-ly done it. These raccoon elbow patches are probably my favorite. Rachael sews a lot for herself, home and her adorable girls but she's also really active in the sewing community. She's a guest and contributor everywhere and is currently hosting the Covert Robin gift exchange. There's still a couple days to sign up if you are interested!

She has tons of free tutorials but this Madeleine Bag is one of my favorites. Simple and lovely.

A handful of my favorite projects on Imagine Gnats:

• The Cathedral Window Remix quilt block tutorial. If you quilt you'll want to see this.
• Dottie Dino– a taggie softie that is just perfect for any baby. You'll want to make a few as gifts.
• Her first cross stitch pattern– Is there anything she doesn't do??
• When I met Rachael at Sewing Summit she was wearing THIS Washi Dress. It's the best Washi I've seen yet.

If you aren't following Imagine Gnats yet, please go do so! You can also follow her on Pinterest.

 

Thursday I'll be sharing! I haven't started yet but I'm making some shorts. Let's all say a quick prayer that they go well. I work best under pressure but this is cutting it a little close!

How about you?? Will you take the Sewing For Men challenge and make something this week?? I'd love if you'd join us! You're not behind, considering I haven't started yet. Sew it up then write a blog post or email me a photo and I'll feature it on Friday!

UPDATE: I've started a Sew for Men Flickr group! If you'd like, join the group and add photos of anything you've sewn for a man so we can all get inspiration! Find the Sew for Men Flickr group here.