Look! It Fits?

Getting clothing to fit Micah has been a chore the last few years. I keep hoping that he'll even out, somehow, and he'll fit into something off the rack, but that hasn't happened yet. I have little hope of it actually happening ever, really. Have you seen anyone with Down syndrome? They're all kind of built the same. It's in their genetic makeup. True story.

Thankfully, Micah didn't grow much this school year. He was actually able to wear the pants and shirts from last school year, and that's kind of a big deal. One always thinks of new, next-size-up clothes at the beginning of the school year, or even at Christmas, but we didn't need any for Micah so we didn't invest. Now, however, he's decided to grow. It happened, literally, over night. I know other parents say "wow, he grew over night!" but I really mean it with Micah. Last week those pants fit him. This week they're bordering on obscene because they're that tight. It's not good.

Micah struggles with his fine motor skills. He's doing so much better in so very many things, because OT at school has done wonders for him, but buttoning or snapping pants hasn't been easy for him. We get him all elastic waist pants for this reason. That was an easier task when he was a smaller child, trust me. Try finding elastic waist jeans in size 14 or 16. They're not cool at that age, and manufacturers know it, so nobody makes them. And the few companies that thumb their noses at the traditions and trends charge a small fortune for their elastic waist denims. That, too, is obscene.

I decided that the only option would be to buy fabric and make him some sweat pants. I did make him one pair a few weeks ago, and they're about the only things that fit him now, so I figured it was high time I made him the other 2 pair I had fabric for. That was one of the to-do things for my afternoon. This afternoon, however, was a fail in a lot of ways. The first pair I cut weren't a pair. Somehow, which will remain a mystery to me the rest of my living days, I cut the fabric wrong and only had enough fabric for one leg to be cut. I scratched my head, and turned my pattern around and around, and tried laying it out again and again, but the fact remained that one leg was cut, I couldn't put the fabric back together, and the whole thing was useless to me. FAIL. So I cut the second pair, got them completely sewn together, ran the elastic through the waistband, and had Micah try them on. The rise was so short that it barely cleared his privates. He looked like one of the gangsters who walk around with their pants riding low and their underwear riding high and bunchy. That, too, was a huge fail.

For crying out loud.

So I had the brilliant idea to just go to Walmart, buy sweat pants, and alter them. The problem is that by the time something is wide enough for Micah's waist, it's far too long in the leg and the crotch hangs halfway to his knees. He'll compensate for the low hanging crotch by pulling the waist band up to his arm pits, and I compensate for the long leg by cutting it off and hemming.

I lucked out and found a pair of sweats that he liked and I liked, and they were on clearance for $5. After trying them on to see how much alteration needed to happen, I realized that Micah grew just enough to actually fit into a pair of pants off the rack. Kind of. I only need to roll the waistband down once and cut the length off the legs, and I'll probably just sew the waistband lower since he won't be able to roll it while at school and will suffer with the hanging crotch/waistband in his armpits syndrome. But really, it's minor things, and this could make life a whole lot easier. And maybe - just maybe - he can actually wear a pair of real jeans, too.

I'm not holding my breath, because shorts season is coming. Right?