Toddler Boxer Briefs How-To

I can be somewhat cheap thrifty.  Hence the start of the following tutorial:  Toddler Boxer Briefs.  This is for ~ 4T size although I'm sure you could easily adjust as necessary.

Materials:
1 t-shirt your husband refuses to wear.  (free)
17" of 1" elastic.  ($1.39 for 2.5yds at walmart.)
My really cool pattern  (download at the bottom of the page)


Step 1:  Print pattern.  Tape together at dotted lines.

Step 2:  Iron t-shirt flat.  Pin large pattern piece to it and cut it out.  This should give you two large pieces.  And then cut out 1 cod piece.  (I used the sleeve)  By positioning the pattern right you can get 2-3 pairs of undies out of a L shirt.

Step 3:  Fold Side B up 1/2" and sew with a wide zig-zag.  This will be your leg openings.

Step 4:  Sew Side C together with 1/4" seams.  (wrong sides together) It should look like the photo to your right when done.

Step 5:  Sew the cod piece (*hehe, snicker, snicker.  I mean, really, who can say cod piece with out laughing...)  to the curved part of Side A.  Notice you do not sew the straight 1 1/2" that are by the legs.  Do this on both sides.  When you are finished you should have a tube of fabric.

Step 6:  Lay it down like the above right photo.  And sew the front and back u-shape together.  Clip the corners a little so it looks good when turned right side out. (It should look like a pair of undies by now)

 Step 7:  Now is where it gets a little tricky. Measure your elastic by stretching it around your little man's waist at a comfortable tightness.  Then sew it into a circle.  (It should be about 16-18")  Place it inside the undies and pin it on the back seam, halfway up the elastic.  Make a mark at the halfway point of the elastic and pin this to the front midline.  Then pin each side halfway in between that.




Step 8:  Sew in the elastic with a zig-zag stitch.  Use your right hand to stretch the fabric and elastic while using your left hand to hold it down and feed it through.  (Your left hand should be right in front of the sewing machine foot, but I needed it to take the picture so this is what ya get..)  Try to get the elastic evenly spread out between the 4 pinned quadrants.  And don't worry, this will be completely hidden.

It might be easier to use 30 pins but that takes too long for me and I always stab myself.



Step 9:  Almost done!!!!  Turn the undies inside out.  Fold down the elastic twice so it's completely hidden.  Use your right hand to stretch the fabric and elastic together and your left hand should be holding the leg part of the undies and pulling a little to the left to keep the fabric from getting bunched up.  (I promise, it's easier then it sounds.)  Then sew a straight stitch just a little left of the middle of your elastic.  Then do a second straight stitch about 1/8" from the bottom of the elastic.  This keeps it from rolling or bunching and it looks cool:)

Step 10:  Admire your work and then coerce your toddler into trying them on.









Your all done!!  This was my first how-to so please leave some feedback on how I can make my directions easier to understand:)  Or any advice on how to improve upon them.  Thanks!

PATTERN PIECES
https://sites.google.com/site/dannerblossom/files

(PS:  My husband would be soooooo impressed.  In order to attach those pattern pieces I had to design them on a computer program I've never used, then create a website in which to upload them so I could link them to this...Whewww.  That is super impressive if you know how computer illiterate I am!)