Made my son an Indy shirt

TheMechanic · Post by **TheMechanic** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:44 pm

Hello,
My son's 7th birthday is coming up soon and since he's a big Indy fan I've been getting him some gear. He 's getting the hat, a sound effects whip, a Raiders journal, maproom brush, MK VII satchel with shoulder strap, magnifying glass etc. etc.

The only thing missing was a shirt. I looked high and low for a suitable shirt. Even trying to find a kids safari shirt was next to impossible.

Then I stumbled across a Boy Scout shirt. It was khaki, it had epaulettes and chest pockets. Good base to start from.

Once I got the shirt I went to the fabric store and lucked out. I found an almost identical fabric made of the same poly cotton blend. $2.00 got me more than I needed.

I also got some new buttons while I was there.

First I had to make the strips of material that go down the front of the shirt. I made them 1 1/4" wide, folded over the edges and ironed a nice sharp crease in them.

Next I removed the pockets and pocket flaps. I cut down and re-shaped the pockets to be square with a flat bottom. The pockets were originally long and had a pointed bottom.

I stitched strips onto the pockets while they were off the shirt so that when put back on they are fully functional.

I positioned the strips where I wanted them to go, folded the bottom under and sewed it on. When I got to the shoulder seam, I opened it up, tucked the strip inside and sewed it all back together.

Next I positioned the chest pockets, lined everything up and sewed those on. I even went so far as to add the pen slot on the pocket flap.

I added some extra stitch details to the button placket and removed some stitching from the epaulettes as well to give it a more SA look.

It looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside. It came out even better than I expected.

So here it is. I liked it so much that I made him 2 of them. Now I need to make myself one!

Post by **Holt** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:55 pm

hehe..

thats just to cool.hehe

great work

and congratulations with your sons b-day

bests
Holt

Cowboy · Post by **Cowboy** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 9:06 pm

You are too cool man! Way to go and what a great job to boot!

scot2525 · Post by **scot2525** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 9:37 pm

You are " The Man" !! That shirt is fantatastic.

My 5 year old son caught me showing this to my wife and now for almost an hour we have heard, "I need a Indy shirt like that one! That's a cool Indy shirt! PLEEEAAAASE!!"

Indybantha Jones · Post by **Indybantha Jones** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 9:41 pm

That looks awesome!, nice work.

Indiana G · Post by **Indiana G** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:47 am

ha ha! that's awesome jared! good work

TheMechanic · Post by **TheMechanic** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:23 am

Thanks man. I really think he'll really like it. I'll have to get some pictures of him after he's all suited up.

kiltie · Post by **kiltie** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:32 am

That is so cool for so many reasons. It makes sewing seem ( seam? ) like the most manly, fatherly thing any fella could do.

Photoss · Post by **Photoss** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:39 am

Awesome! I would've loved one of those when I was younger!

Mulceber · Post by **Mulceber** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:59 am

awesome work, Mech! I remember when I was a scout, I really thought our uniform shirts would make a great Raiders shirt...shame it was short-sleeved. :junior: -M

TheMechanic · Post by **TheMechanic** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 10:52 am

Thanks for the kind words. There's alot of ways I could have cut corners on this shirt. I could have sewn the pleats right through the pockets but I took the pockets off, sewed the pleats on, re-shaped them and then put them back on. The pockets are fully funtional and not just decorative. I even put the pen slot on the pocket flap.

It doesn't really matter, he'll never use the pockets or even know the difference, but I will. If I was going to do an Indy shirt, I was going to go all the way and do it the right way.

It's all worth it.

Cowboy · Post by **Cowboy** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:54 pm

kiltie wrote:That is so cool for so many reasons. It makes sewing seem ( seam? ) like the most manly, fatherly thing any fella could do.

HA HA HA HA..... (off the record, I learned how to sew back in grade school when I had to remove the non SA buttons off of the military khaki shirts and sew on the correct ones)

Very cool. I would like to order on in a size 8

TheMechanic · Post by **TheMechanic** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:26 pm

That's the size of the shirts I did, boys 8. They'll be a little big on him but he'll be able to wear them for a year or 2.

Cowboy · Post by **Cowboy** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:30 pm

TheMechanic wrote:That's the size of the shirts I did, boys 8. They'll be a little big on him but he'll be able to wear them for a year or 2.

How long is the lead time?

TheMechanic · Post by **TheMechanic** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:38 pm

The problem is finding the Boy Scout shirts. Most shirts that small are for Cub Scouts and they are navy blue.

I hear new shirts ordered through the Boy Scout suppliers are around $35.00.

I got a deal on Ebay, I bought the last 2 this guy had for $16.00 each brand new.

Cowboy · Post by **Cowboy** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:43 pm

TheMechanic wrote:The problem is finding the Boy Scout shirts. Most shirts that small are for Cub Scouts and they are navy blue.

I hear new shirts ordered through the Boy Scout suppliers are around $35.00.

I got a deal on Ebay, I bought the last 2 this guy had for $16.00 each brand new.

oh,

so you won't make me one.....even if I begged?

myamoebafriend · Post by **myamoebafriend** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:19 pm

You're the man

TheMechanic · Post by **TheMechanic** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 10:58 pm

Cowboy, I'm just saying that if I found a shirt it would be upwards of $30.00 plus about 3 hours of labor plus a few bucks in materials.