KCW Day 4 : Zonen 09 Theo Button Down

How is it Day 4 of Kid's Clothes Week already? Today's offering took a little more than 1 hour a day to sew, but the late night was totally worth it. I've had my eye on the Zonen 09 Theo button down for a while. Somehow Sharon at Zonen 09 has made the short sleeved woven shirt everybody's dad wore in the 70's (my Dad was partial to plaid) look fresh and modern. Little boys in muted floral prints, the exaggerated collar, and those fetching little triangle pieces, somehow make a trite throwback look positively edgy. Call it aspirational sewing, but I wanted a piece of that action. 

Let's be clear, the Zonen 09 Theo Pattern in only available in Dutch, and I don't speak Dutch. I could have bought a pattern in English and just modified it to suit, but what fun would that be? I'm sewing the Theo in Dutch, just to see if I can.

PATTERN: The Zonen 09 Theo is a basic button down shirt with options for long sleeves, short sleeves, an uber 70's collar, and a standard collar. It also comes in a slim and standard fit. It has instructions for clipped corners scattered through out the shirt, or piping across the back. You also have the choice of 3 pocket details, and welt or sewn buttonholes. I bought this pattern because of the corner details (keep reading) and the beautifully slim fit. It's completely different than the I've-eatten-too-much-micky-D's fit you see in department stores. 

FABRIC: I used Liberty London Tana Lawn Betsy in light blue from Fabric.com. I bought it on sale, so naturally its out of stock now. Liberty London's reputation for sturdy softness will not let you down. I chose this particular print because of its passably masculine floral print.  I'm playing up the blues with some Robert Kaufman chambray for the lining pieces (also used here).

DETAILS: Zonen 09 is a genius with subtle, wearable details for boys. Often I think boy centric pattern designs are a bit costumey, or an awkward translation of what daddy wears. But the simple cut corner detail that is all over (or not, your choice) this button down, is just the right amount of fuss for my taste. You may not notice them the first time, but a second look adds to the depth of the design.  I used the Robert Kaufman indigo chambray for all of the corner clips except the shoulder. J has a not so secret love of pink, so I wanted to add a special little snippet of pink just for him. On the shoulder (top right) I used the hot pink linen from the Clover Capris. The red button is vintage, and a tiny bit too big for my taste, but a perfect button would have required a trip to fabric row with 2 kids in 93 degree heat, when we really just wanted to go to the pool.  I put the collar on backwards the first time. Had it completely sewn in when I realized the clipped corner was on the underside. Uffa! Such a tiny thing, but I had to fix it. It is killing me that I sewed right through the triangle at the hem (bottom left). Knucklehead! I should have sewn around it for consistency sake...must go fix.

FIT: Based solely on measurements J was a 122 Slim, which is the equivalent to a 7 slim. Spot on considering he's 7, and slim. I made a muslin for this shirt to make sure nothing was lost in translation before I cut into the sacred Liberty, and to make sure it fit. The 122S fit perfectly, but I want him to be able to wear this labor of love for a while, so I bumped up to a 128S (8 slim). I love the fit. 

ALTERATIONS: Are you kidding me? Alterations? I'm lucky I got a wearable shirt. I didn't change a thing. I've seen a few little girl dress hacks of this pattern in the Zonen 09 Flickr pool, might try that for L. 

I will definitely make this pattern again. When the KCW smoke clears, I might make another in chambray, and then I'll post my tips for the minimum you need to know to cobble this thing together if you don't speak dutch. 

J is wearing the Sunny Day Shorts from a few weeks ago, where I used the same patch pocket detail.

linking up to KCW here.

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And the winner of the Gingercake lunch bag pattern giveaway is JUDITH MARTINEZ! Congratulations Judith, watch your email for more details. Thanks to Virginia at Gingercake for sharing her pattern with us and to everyone who entered. Head on over to the Gingercake store and get your lunch bag pattern while they are on sale.

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