BCWP 2019: The Pink Stink

It’s PINK season! All this week some fabulous bloggers have been sharing their creations and thoughts for Boys Can Wear Pink Season 5. (Hosted by the ever lovely and talented Kelly from Handmade Boy.)

I’ve been privileged to be a part of the tour for the last four years so take a minute to check out Season 2 (oh so tiny Charlie), Season 3 (Boff!) and Season 4 (Pink, mud and sexism).

Whilst I love the chance to hang out with so many talented sewists (sewers? seamstresses? I never can decide which term I prefer…) it makes me more than a little sad that such a blog tour is still needed.

No one would come to a tour entitled ‘Girls Can Wear Pink’ or ‘Boys Can Wear Dinosaurs’ because it’s what’s expected of them. Just take a stroll through any high street clothing shop; you may occasionally find a hint of faded salmon in the boy section or a sparkly dino on a dress, but society still has very definite pigeonholes for boys and girls and any deviation is, at best, looked upon with confusion, and at worst, ridiculed and scorned.

Jack got to the final of a maths competition at school last week. He was allowed to pick one of his teacher’s special stickers. He chose a unicorn. Everyone laughed. This week he got to the final again and chose a triceratops. No one laughed. Why? Both are four legged creatures with big stabby things on their heads. Why is one acceptable for boys and the other not?


A friend once told me her husband wouldn’t let her boys have a Skye toy because it was pink. All the rest of the Pups from that most annoying of TV shows, but not the pink one. Because they’re boys.

It feels overwhelming at times, but we can each do our little bit to change a big bad world. Keep offering both boys and girls ALL the colours. Model inclusive ways of speaking (no ‘man up’ or ‘catch like a girl’). And most importantly, encourage them to be loving and accepting of all.

So, to get back to the sewing. I have a small confession. I ran out of time to make the outfits I had planned. The boys had picks out some stunning Hawaiian prints from Bugweeds and had intended to make them matching-not-matching shirts (their favourite thing right now). But, as I so often do, I put more on my to-do list than I had hours for.

So instead I’m sharing some photos from my latest pattern release. Now take note, these were not sewn specifically for BCWP. They just happen to include pink because they looked good with what I was making. Which is kind of my point. Pink shouldn’t be a big deal. It shouldn’t be a deal at all. It’s a colour, not a lifestyle choice.

Both boys are wearing Sundowner Sweatshirts. Jack has the piped hood option and Charlie the pockets (POCKETS!). This pattern has curved side seams, a high low hem, and a super casual fit perfect for throwing on sandy bodies after a long day at the beach. It is however, cold and rainy in England right now so thank the good Lord for Center Parcs and all their tropical planting otherwise the photos would have been a lot greyer!

The fleece I used here was a gift from a new (to me) designer Christelle Heyns.

So go, pick the colours you like best for each situation. Or even better get your kids to pick. Don’t let society’s expectations limit any of you in any way. Our kids will change the world, so it’s important we do our very best to raise awesome human beings. 

Don’t forget to check out all the other stops on the tour!


Monday: Wild & Wanderful