We are in full countdown mode…less than a month until we leave for Disney.
As you can imagine, we are all pretty excited. It really is the most magical place on earth. We went two years ago for the first time as a family and loved the time we got to spend together and the memories we made.
For me personally, I struggle to have lots of fun with my kids on a day to day basis. It’s something I’m working on. It’s hard even on regular vacations, I’m having to watch them all the time, discipline them, think about what to feed them…mom stuff. When we were at Disney, it was like I just got to let all that go. I got to be a fun mom and not think about food, schedules or discipline and just delight in my kids, dance with them, splash them and enjoy them.
On our last trip our daughter was just over a year old, and doesn’t really remember much. It was an all boy trip. We rode Star Wars and Buzz Lightyear more times than I can count. They fought Darth Vader, danced with Jake, saw stunt shows, dined with Mickey, and didn’t stop once for a character meet and greet.
This time, we will be all about the meet and greets (Sofia, and the princesses of Arendelle are at the top of the list), we will be dining with princesses and reading with Belle. While the boys will have lots of fun and ride lots of roller coasters, this will be a more girl oriented trip (and any tips from moms of girls would be appreciated!).
I like coordinating our family. I’m not psychotic about it, but if I’m packing for a trip, or we are going to an event where there are going to be pictures, there are going to be several outfits that all go together for my kids. Our last Disney trip was no exception.
So as we gear up for this trip, I’ve already started thinking through some outfits. My boys are at that tricky age where they are a little too old for the cutesy stuff (nor has that ever really been my style). Being practical (and pretty cheap) I thought pocket tees would be a cute cool look for them. I found some white tees at Target on sale for $4 each. They actually already had a pocket on them, and for the next set I make I think I will choose them without the pocket, as it made it hard to line up the fabric with the existing pocket. That said, the name of the game is cheap, so whatever you can find. I picked out fabric for the pockets that I knew went with a skirt my daughter already had. I only needed an 1/8 of a yard for all the pockets, and will probably have enough leftover to make a matching bow for my daughter. That was less than $2. I grabbed some black and red felt for $.50 total. So here’s the breakdown of my cost/supplies:
2 white pocket tees- $4 each
1 white tank top that my daughter already had- free
red thread- $2
Felt- $.50
1/8 yard red stripe fabric- $2
hot glue/gun- already had
According to my calculations that puts me at about $12.50 to make three coordinating shirts for Disney. Most of what I saw on Etsy was about $20 for one pocket tee shirt. Call me crazy, but after dropping a couple grand on the trip, I don’t want to turn around and shell out several hundred more dollars getting custom made clothing for my kids to wear one day and not have much use for going forward. This is why we get our craft on.
I made all three of these in one morning with my three year old around. I probably could have kicked all of them out in just over an hour of uninterrupted time. Cheap, and quick…my kind of craft!
First things first, I needed a Mickey Mouse head I could trace. After a quick search on Pinterest (hit my icon above and follow me!), I found this jpeg. For my oldest’s tee, which was a size medium, I reduced it to 55% before printing. My middle son, whose shirt was a small got reduced to 45%. I ended up free handing my daughters because I was too lazy to go down and print again, but I think a 25% would have been good for her size 3 tank top. I traced those on to the red felt and cut them out. For my daughters Minnie Bow, I just kind of free handed it out of the black felt. I hot glued the bow on, because I was too lazy to switch my thread to black for the teeny tiny bow.
After getting my Minnie and Mickey heads all prepped, I cut out my pockets. This was easy for the boys since I just had to trace around the pocket that was already on their shirt. For my daughter, I just used theirs as an outline and made it smaller. If you have one without a pocket, I would highly encourage you to pick your pocket placement with the shirt ON your kids. I would have put it too far center on my daughter if I had not done this. Be sure as you are cutting out the pockets to leave room for seam allowance.
Although I hate the ironing part of sewing, I’m always glad when I take the time to do it. Take your pockets and press down all sides so the front is all neat and ready to be sewn. You only need to fold it over once (as opposed to twice like you do when hemming) since you are sewing it onto the shirt.
Position your pocket on the shirt where you think you want it to go. Grab your Mickey/Minnie and place it as far into the pocket as you would like it. I trimmed off about the bottom half of Mickey/Minnie’s heads to avoid the bulk. Pin your pocket and Minnie/Mickey down.
I started sewing the pocket on first. Once I finished that I moved onto Minnie/Mickey. I went VERY slow on this part, like one stitch at a time, constantly readjusting the needle. You could probably do this by hand just as quick, or even hot glue it (which would make it easy to remove after Disney and use as a regular tee going forward).
I was not seeking perfection…that would have only come from an embroidery machine. I was trying to get good enough with what I could do at home, and I am happy with how it turned out!
My boys will probably wear gray or navy shorts with these, and my daughters skirt can be seen below. I may even be able to convince my husband to let me make him one! You know a man loves you when he’s willing to match with you.
I plan on air drying these shirts when I wash them, and would recommend you do the same. Not only was I too lazy to wash and dry the shirts and fabric prior to starting, I think the felt would shrink and create an awkward lay of the fabric.
Hopefully these directions will help you create just a basic pocket tee, or a Disney inspired one quick and on the cheap!
