Honey Yellow Bee Hoodie and Shorts

 

I can see why one of the Pantone colors of the year is a bright sunny yellow.  It's one of those colors that reminds you of growing things and summer.  

So when I saw this labeled parts of a bee panel, I just had to buy it to make a fun summer outfit for my grandson.

When I began to lay out my pattern, I knew that I wanted the labeled bee to be the focus of my garment. Positioning the bee drawing can be a little tricky, as I wanted the bee illustration to be in a particular spot in the finished garment. To achieve that , I cut my pattern piece out of a semi-transparent tracing fabric so I could lay it on top of the panel and see it's position. I know this seems like a lot of extra work, but it has saved me so many times from making a cutting error, that I think it is worth it. 

 In order to get most of the labels to fit, I ended up having to widen the front piece. If I didn't widen it, even part of the wing would have been cut off. 

I added a pocket to this curved section of the top. 

Adding details to garments makes them special.  On the waistband, I added an applique of a bee hive.

Using my sewing machine straight stitch, I tried to create a bee flight pattern of the two hearts. At the end of the flight pattern,I stitched on a larger bee that was printed in the selvage edge of my fabric.  

This is the back of the knee-length shorts I made to go along with the shirt.  My grandson loves comfortable elastic waist shorts. 

 I like this design because of deep pockets that are just right to store those valuable finds (like shiny rocks) children seem to find while playing outside.

Smiles,

Deborah