Pants on the Ground, Pants on the Ground....

We all know that pants are optional--nay, discouraged, in this household, but sometimes we find that they are necessary-- i.e. trips to the grocery store (or the mailbox, I guess), IKEA (although, honestly they strike me as the kind of business who could embrace our school of thought), visiting Daddy at work (gotta keep up appearances).  When we do wear pants, we tend to have a hard time keeping them up (everyone except Daddy).  Mom's muffin top is always popping out, and the boys are both so skinny that their pants can't even be held up with the help of a belt because the smallest we can find are still so big they leave a leather tail too long to be tucked in anywhere without being uncomfortable.

The obvious solution?  (Aside from eating a sandwich, which Rowan vehemently refuses to do.)  Suspenders!!  They're freaking adorable, and they're super adjustable.  Also, they're freaking adorable.  Suspenders, however, are surprisingly difficult to come by.  In any size, let alone the size I need.  Oh yeah, and although suspenders are cute in and of themselves, the most widely available styles are......lame?  Tacky?  Yeah, I guess tacky.

So I figure I should just make a pair.

CUTE, right?!  I'm so pleased with how they turned out!!  All I did was crochet the straps with some wool yarn, drew up some ideas for how I would attach them to Rowan's pants, cut up an old leather bag that I thrifted a while back, and BUSTED out my sewing machine (for the first time since I bought it!) and assembled!!

I just found a bunch of pictures online to go off of.  Originally, I was going to get some suspender hardware

for the project, but ultimately I decided that I could work with what I had on hand, which was buttons.  I came up with this:

The straps are going to be adjustable, but I have to figure out how to use my stupid snap fastener that I got online before I can completely finish the project.  I was going to to button holes on the straps (that slide through that slit and up the back) but I thought snaps would be cooler.  Anybody know how to use one of those things?  

Anyway, I can't wait till they're done so Rowan can wear them!

P.s.  I am IN LOVE with my sewing machine!!  I got some high quality thread for it (since I read that cheap thread use has lead to machine problems for most people who own this machine) and it works like a dream!!  It's so easy to set up, it's quiet and smooth and it sewed through multiple layers of leather and crochet fabric like it was nothing.  Seriously, I'm in love.