I’ve been on the hunt for a boys sewing pattern that uses woven fabric so I’m giving the Classic Oxford from Peek-a-Boo Patterns a whirl. I’m sewing it up in this fabulous Haunted Hill fabric, just perfect for Halloween parties.
Classic Oxford Button Up Shirt Sewing Pattern
I’ve got loads of woven fabrics which is great for sewing my Little Miss lots of dresses but it leaves my Little Dude feeling left out. I wanted to make him matching outfits but I’ve been really struggling to find sewing patterns for boys clothes that require woven fabrics.
I’m so glad I invested in the Classic Oxford from Peek-A-Boo patterns, now my kids can have adorable matching outfits!
I love Peek-A-Boo Pattern’s! I’ve got quite a selection now.
I signed up to their mailing list and regularly get emailed discounts off new and old patterns. When you find a sewing pattern designer you like do take the time to sign up for their mailing list and Facebook pages – they will generally make it worth your while. Here’s a link to the Peek-A-Boo Pattern’s Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/peekaboopatternshop. Check out the featured section for free patterns as well as a discount off any pattern.
Every Peek-A-Boo pattern I’ve tried so far has been very straightforward to sew. They are easy to print and the instructions are super clear. They don’t generally include more than one of two fiddley details. I generally complete a Paak-A-Boo pattern with zero swearing but they are still interesting enough to be just the right level of challenging. Perfect for making kids clothes quickly enough to keep up with their growth spurts.
Digital Sewing Patterns
Digital sewing patterns are fantastic for kids clothes because you just print the size you want, no tracing or messing about trying to preserve the larger sizes of the pattern for using as your child grows.
They generally come with loads of different options and a wider size range than traditional paper sewing patterns. Most of the digital sewing patterns I own go all the way up to the teenage years.
For me one of the huge benefits of using digital sewing patterns over their paper counterparts is space. I can keep as many digital patterns as I like on a tiny hard drive taking up hardly any space in my sewing room. My traditional paper sewing patterns have to squeeze into a box on a shelf. I don’t feel guilty keeping that digital pattern that I’ll probably never find the time to use because it doesn’t take up any resources in my home. That paper dress pattern on the other hand – that has to justify the space it takes up.
Sewing Fabric
I’m sewing with this fabulous Haunted Hill cotton fabric from Clothworks. It’s 100% cotton and lovely quality, just right for a party shirt for my Little Dude.
Sewing Thread
I use Coats Moon Thread for all of my sewing projects. It’s a fantastic all rounder great for machine sewing, hand sewing, quilting and top stitching. Best of all it’s fantastic value. I use it for literally everything!
There’s lot’s of colours to choose from in my Etsy shop and value variety packs too.
Sewing Notions
I’ve picked out the buttons from my inherited button stash. I’m including a link to the closest one’s I could find from my favourite haberdashery supplier.
Sewing the Classic Oxford Shirt
Peek-A-Boo Patterns are usually quite simple so I was a bit intimidated by how complex all the pattern pieces looked. I’m not one to be put off so I’ve taken my time and paid close attention tot he pattern instructions.
Contrary to my usual slap and dash approach I’ve carefully measured the front placket.
I love how neat the yoke makes the inside of the shirt. Only the sleeve and side seams are exposed. It’s a bit of a faff but the result looks so professional!
The sleeve placket is pretty complicated. I think I’ve marked it in the wrong way round. My printer is playing up and some of the pattern markings are missing from my printout. I think I’ve sewn the placket onto the pleat markings. The end result is that the placket is on the wrong side of the wrist.
I’ve managed to make it work and got a functional cuff out of it so I’m not going to worry about unpicking anything. No one will notice.
Like the yoke the sleeve cuff leaves all the row edges neatly hidden. I’ve clipped the corners of the cuffs, this wasn’t in the instructions which surprised me.
The button holes are tricky to place mostly because I can’t use my Frixion markers to mark my button holes on the dark fabric. If you’ve not tried Pilot Frixion markers for sewing yet, I highly recommend you pick yourself one up and give them a go. They’re a gel type pen with heat erasable ink. So you can get a really accurate line that disappears as soon as you put an iron over it. The only downside is that they don’t show up on dark fabric.
I’m in love with the hem. It’s a beautifully curved hem which makes the shirt look really professional. To get the hem neat the pattern instructs to tack a line of stitching an even distance from the raw edge them press along that line. The raw edge is folded to the inside and neatly hidden by the hem stitching. Beautiful!
I’m really proud of my first sew of the Classic Oxford. Whilst it was more involved that I anticipated and I did make a lot of mistakes, I’m looking forward to sewing this pattern again in the future.
Take a Look at Some More Peek-A-Boo Patterns Sewing Projects
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my sewing adventures with the Classic Oxford from Peek-A-Boo Patterns.
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The Great British Sewing Bee is back for 2026!
Patrick and Esmé are back for another series of The Great British Sewing Bee! The new season starts on Tuesday 14th July on BBC One at 8pm!
To celebrate the return of our favourite sewing show, Minerva are offering 20% off all fabric for the whole run of the series! This includes fabrics inspired by the show, Minerva Exclusive prints, Core Range essentials, ex-designer deadstock and much more.
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- Offer ends Wednesday 30th September
A Little Bit About Me . . .
Hi there! Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner of the interweb. I’m Bridie.
I’m a busy mum to two small humans, two guinea pigs and a bouncing bundle of border collie puppy. We live in not so sunny Lancashire in the north of England.
I’m a very frugal crafter so I sew with a lot of free patterns, repurposed fabrics and thrifty hacks. I’m always on the look out for deals and ways to cut the cost of sewing.
I’ll show you all the best ways to craft on a tight budget so you can still create a life you love.
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