Post Christmas Mayhem and Preparing for KCW!

So in the end of the Christmas craziness I made 9...no 10 pairs of the hanging dishtowels I posted about in the last post for a lot of different people. They were a great easy gift that I think was very useful for the recipients.







We took the little man to the Trolley Museum for a trolley ride with Santa.

 

Safe to say he loved it. They had a large train table and a large lego town display. He had cookies and hot chocolate after seeing Santa.

The trolley itself was just amazing, all restored and had wicker/woven seats and polished brass and wood everywhere. Very cool.

How about the guy in the last picture photo-bombing??

 

 

Now who is getting ready for KCW (KidsClothesWeek) at the end of the month?

I know I'll never get everything done I hope (wishes and dreams, amiright?) but I have high hopes.

Im getting ready now by prewashing all my fabrics. I'm pretty sure my serger was smoking by the end of serging over 20 yards of fabric. I need to get that thing actually serviced I think. I've never done it before so I don't even know where to take it!

 

I've picked out I think 6-7 patterns too. I know on my list is the recess raglan, another pair of skinny jeans, hipster Henley, nowhere man pants, multiple lazy day pajamas sets, the reversible zippy hoodie pattern and maybe if I get to it some more flannel pajama pants for my little mans Cabbage Patch doll. I made my own pattern for those and with scraps from his lazy days they are pretty

easy to whip up. What is on your list? What are you planning on doing? 

Kids Clothes Week Day#1

So we meet again...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day #1

First up is my version of the Bimaa sweater by LouBee Clothing

 

I'm sure you have seen it all over the blog-o-sphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my version I have added a short sleeve and alternated the green and grey striped fabrics on the hood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I did a bad-ace job on the stripe matching on the inside of the sleeve but the front of the hood where you can actually SEE it I did a umm 

... less than stellar job. Hahaa

 

 

 

This is a great pattern and easy to put together.

I would highly recommend it although this is probably the only version I would sew for my boy.

 

 

 

 The cowl version is totally rockin' and I need to find a girl to sew it for! 

 

 

 

 

Kids Clothes Week Fall 2013

It's that time of year again...

 

and this time I'm better prepared and

 **hopefully**

I'm being more realistic than the last go-round.

 

Last time I had high hopes and thought I could get ALOT more done than was actually possible working my day job and being a mom AND getting a lot of sewing in as well.

 

This time I have hopes of making just 4 things; and I've already prewashed my fabrics and I've already measured the monster and traced my patterns onto exam table paper (like at the Dr's office).

 

My plans are to make the:

 Greenpoint Cardigan by Hey June

Bimaa hoodie by LouBee clothing

Sleepy Robe by Melly Sews

Skinny Jeans by Peek-a-Boo Pattern shop

 

Can ya guess I totally caved and bought the SewFab pattern bundle??

Also FYI- the Melly Sews Sleepy robe is a free download!



The Dinosaur Vest

 When your little man asks you to make something specific...

you do it. 

 (He probably won't be asking me forever)

 



Pattern Description: Children's and Boys' shirt, vest and pants. Shirt has long sleeves, side vents and patch pocket; vest has front zipper closure, patch pockets; pants have elastic waist casing, side seam pockets, cargo pockets and optional elastic at ankle.

Pattern Sizing:Children's sizes XS (3-4) S (5-6) and Boys M (7-8) L (10-12) XL (14-16)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?It looks exactly like the pattern envelope with the exception of my zipper.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Incredibly so.


What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
This pattern was very fast to start to finish which I liked. There really was nothing that I disliked.


Fabric Used:I used some remnant bin fleece from Joann's. The little man picked it out and asked me to make him something with it. I was happy to oblige of course. The little man is very opinionated and even picked out his zipper.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I omitted the front facing and did an exposed zipper.


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?This is so very easy to sew and was very fast. It just takes an afternoon even with the little ones buggin' ya every thirty seconds. I already have plans for a sweatshirt one. 


The little guy loves it! As soon as he put it on he picked up his arms and said 

"RRAWRR"

Simplicity 1923 Review

Pattern Description: This is a toddler's shirt with a stand collar, button front, and cuffed sleeves with a button tab. As well as a 3 button vest

Pattern Sizing:
Size 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes. It was fabulous:)

Were the instructions easy to follow?
 Very. The only hesitation was on the step where you sew up the sides of the vest and lining together.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I loved the the cuffed sleeve and collar with the vest. It is dressy casual. I did not like the finishing on the sleeve though; if you unroll it there is not a actual cuff there. Just a regular hem.

Fabric Used:
 Cotton on vest (inside and out, I made it reversible) as well as a thrifted heavy weight cotton IKEA sheet for the white shirt.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Adjusted the pattern slightly to for the collar. I thought it was a little too large and stood up to high so I trimmed it down some.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I would if the occasion arose. My little man is wearing a 4 now so probably not for him but he has a cousin who is just a couple months old right now and could wear in the future.

I made this outfit for my little man to wear to my brother's wedding last month. It is a casual outdoor wedding and this was perfect for the weather and feel of the wedding.

Here are some shots of my little guy wearing it-

Imke shirt review

Imke shirt

from the book
"Sewing Clothes Kids Love" by Sabine Pollehn and Nancy Langdon
 

Pattern Description: A really versatile t-shirt pattern that you can customize by piecing the sides, adding hood (2 styles), and using different sleeve length/styles.

Pattern Sizing: The book includes sizes 86/92 - 146/152. I made the 4 for my tall 3 year old son, even adding extra length to that. I hear they run small but I'm always cutting larger for him. Also you should note that these patterns from the book do not include seam allowances so if like me you know you need extra in the length you can just add some on really easily.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? It did look like the pictures.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were very easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like how you get a lot of bang for your buck with this book. Lots of different variations on each pattern. The only thing I dislike is, as always, light on the boys patterns. This one however can go either way.

Fabric Used: Cotton jersey; the main blue on this one was made with yardage that I miraculously found at Goodwill and the sleeve and hood I cut from a solid colored tee that I got on clearance.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Other than the length I did not change anything. I chose the normal hood and short sleeved version.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I absolutely would recommend this to others. The little man already has a second shirt (same variation). As you can see from the photos though he was not sitting still for another shoot.

Conclusion: This pattern is great and I have already sewn another item from this book which I will be showing soon. 

I love this book so much and I know y'all will love it too soooo..

stay tuned and you will have the chance to win one.

Kids Clothes Week

Kids Clothes Week kicks off today!

I have a few patterns picked out at the fabrics to go with them--let's see how much I get done. 

It is a challenge for me to sit down and sew for just an hour a day so I like that this gives me a push to do it. Two days a week I work 11 hours a day + drive time home...Maybe I'll have to do 1/2 hour in the morning and 1/2 hour after??

This is my game plan:

McCall's M6502
Two pairs of these pants on the right with the tab sides.

One in dino fabric and the other in a 21 wale camoflage corduroy.

Also from this pattern one tan tee shirt.

McCall's 4220

One style A jacket (the bottom left jacket with a hood)

in the faux shearling I got at for a STEAL a couple of years ago at a black friday sale.

This one I need some awesome wooden (or faux wood) toggles for the closure.

This vintage Simplicity 6863 from 1985 for my niece Azalea.
I want to do the one on the far right with the blue fabric being the top...maybe. It is a seersucker and I might switch it out tomorrow if I find something better at JoAnn's. I have a whopping 4 yards of the lower vintage fabric but I think it is WAY to busy to be both pieces.

I swear I had something VERY similar to this growing up!

Butterick B5585 for my nephew Eric-or as Hunter likes to call him "Baby Eric".

I think the only thing I might need for
this is some snaps.






Think you wanna join??

Go to KidsClothesWeek.com

Vintage Overalls Pattern

So I mentioned this awesome old school pattern I got in my last post.

I finally got my computer back and can post again (BIG sigh of relief).

Pattern Description:

Boys overalls pattern from 1975 or so.

Pattern Sizing:

My pattern is for size 5-6.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes. In all its vintage fabulousness.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Very easy, hardly used them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I love the classic look of these overalls. I like the funky shaped pockets and the trapezoid one on the bib!

 
Fabric Used:


 
 Thrifted 4x denim dress from the Goodwill.



Accented with Michael Miller Bot Camp.




 
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:


The only thing I did different to this pattern was to hack them off at the knee's to make them shorts.



Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

 
I might...I would like to do a straight up engineer set with striped denim but I don't know if I will for sure. Maybe I should just do the engineer hat:)

I love love love the bot camp fabric so much! I used it once when the little man was small for a jon jon.  It was perfect for his first camping trip!

 

Hard to believe this little chubby cheeked guy just turned THREE a few days ago!!

The Death of a Laptop

So sorry about the lack of posting...

My laptop died and I still haven't bought a new one. I have to use the Big Man's laptop in the interim.
The screen went completely black and I've sent it to my baby brother to see if he can revive it from the dead. I sincerely hope that he can!!

Anyhow on to the fun stuff :)

 

I put the sea green quilt upon the rack recently and did a lazy loopy-loopy design. Then when I was pinning the binding to it I realized that I obviously was inspired by something with out realizing it...

I also did up a vintage pattern for the little man that you have to see! 

Another day though, I have not taken pictures of it yet. 

 I used this fabric as an accent that I just LOVE...I think it must be out of print now(it's from 2009?), I can not find it anywhere. Good thing I still have a yard or two!!
It's Michael Miller's Bot Camp.

Simplicity 4760

Pattern Description:

Boys' and Men's Pants and Shirt. This is a basic button down shirt pattern but not a "dressy" shirt.

Pattern Sizing:

Boys S, M, L and Mens S-XL

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

I think so.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

I had no problems following along.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

It is a basic shirt which is just what I wanted. It is for my 3 yr old nephew and I know it will be trashed within a few wears. I did do a few special things to punch it up but nothing that was to crazy.

Fabric Used:

Thrifted Ikea 100% cotton top sheet. $2 bucks for SO much fabric!







Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

 

I did do a fancy seam on the shoulders and down the sides of the shirt. I don't know if it has a name but I folded the seam allowance to each side and stitched about 1/4" away from the seam. I don't think it is a flat felled or french. Anyhow I think it is pretty








Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Yes I still have a bunch of sheet left so I will make one for my little guy as well.







 

I like this little yoke on the shoulders with the seams I did for a little bit of interest. 

On a solid white shirt the detailing is what makes it special.

I specifically made this pattern so that my nephew could wear it with a little bow tie. 

My little guy loves them and has this same bow tie:)

Making a musketeer hat

So as you may know my little guy is being a musketeer / puss in boots.

What you might not know is that it is rediculously hard to find a CHILD'S size musketeer hat. Pirate hats galore but nothing "just right." Having taken all that time making his costume doublet and tabard there was NO WAY he could not have the "right" hat.

So I made one of course and I wanted to share with you how you can make your own as well.

Supplies

One childs pirate hat

One small length of trim or ribbon

One yard of black felt

One piece of a heavy weight interfacing, fusible or not is fine

Elmer's Craft Bond (if interfacing is not fusible)

One large feather

And the basics-pinking scissors, thread and needle, hot glue gun

First take a standard child's pirate hat and cut off the brim. I used my pinking scissors for this.

Trace your hat base and then make a new line a little bit inside that one; about 1/2" smaller.

Trace your felt and interfacing larger than your pattern base. Excuse my pizza pan but it's the only thing I had handy. You can cut your interfacing just a smidge smaller than the felt or if you have any interfacing showing you can just use a sharpie to clean it up after the next steps. LOL

Sandwich your felt and interfacing. Give it a GOOD healthy spray of craft bond between the three layers.

Let dry completely.

Figure out where you want the hat's fold to be, mark it and go just a little to the center of that, place the template there and cut it out.

Slide the brim over the base of the hat and glue in place. 

Did I ever tell you how much I love a hot glue gun?

Stitch on your trim.

Although, I suppose you could hot glue it too! Haahaa

Ribbon could be used too but I thought it made the hat look a little too girly....

and his costume already has lace so I did not want to push it.

Hot glue the feather to the trim and then glue the brim up.

Now you have an official musketeer hat.

Now all that is left is the boot/shoe covers then I will FINALLY be done with little man's costume :)

Ever have one (or two) of those days?

Ugghhh!

So between the regular job and the home/family time I just DO NOT feel like sewing.

I know tomorrow or the next day I'll get back in the swing of things. I have my pattern pieces traced for my undershirt for my Halloween costume ready to go-ready for placement and cutting so I know once I actually sit down I'll knock it out. 

I figured I would share my upcoming projects I wanted to do:) 

Who doesn't need some inspiration?

So the first thing I want to do is these boxer brief's that I found at Sew A Straight Line.  I feel like I say this a lot but it is another FABULOUS blog and you should totally check her out and poke around her blog.

 It never ceases to amaze me the talented bloggers out there

I want to do them in this fabric I got at Jo-Ann Fabrics.

Can I say I just love this fabric-totally "boy" but not baby-boy.

I'll probably make a matching long sleeve tee-shirt with this fabric too. Maybe a raglan sleeve in red? I did one one the motorcycle jacket and I love the retro-esque look:)

I also want to do somethings with thrifted sweaters now that it is getting chillier!

Like these mittens, pillows and wine bags (MAYBE all from the same couple of sweaters??)-

 Now to be honest...These are all pinned things in my Pinterest. It is redic sometimes there trying to chase down what blog or websites images come from. The mittens are some asian (japanese/chinese?) site, the wine bottles are from DIYCrafts which is apparently a invite only place (sorry again!), and the pillows are from schmath blog but it looks like it was inspiration for her too. So no original maker there. I would like to be able to give credit where credit is due but...I can't:(  

Anyhow it is Little Man's bed time and then it is mine!!

Puss in Boots?

So I'm getting there.

The under shirt AKA as the doublet is done.

 

 

Sorry no "action" shots until it is all done and together! The doublet with out the rest is ...

ummm...

a little girly.

BUT it is necessary in the final look to be lace trimmed and puff sleeve-d to the max.

Although it is cute, it is crazy complicated in my opinion. Fully lined and button holes on crepe backed satin just turn out wrinkly no matter what. Unless someone has some awesome top secret tip for me--it does have an interfacing under that area already.

However, when he see's his costume he says  "Puth in Boot". So I'm thinking that I may have to get some cat ears and tail together so he really can be Puss in Boots.

Here's a peek at the tabard (the over jacket thingie)

Also in weekend fun :

AHHMMMAAZING 

Carrot Cake 

with homemade butter cream frosting

I know you are wondering where I got the recipe:) Well it came from this fabulous blog I just discovered called Mom on timeout. You can get this recipe (and the frosting recipe) HERE . 

I opted to do mine in a 9x13 cake pan because I don't have 2 9" round pans. My cake also did not want to come out of the pan. I opted to Ninja up the pecans to sprinkle on the top and only put them on "my half" of the cake. Big man doesn't like nuts...so we wont tell him that there are Ninja-d pecans inside the cake!! 

I'm taking some to work tomorrow so don't worry that I'm actually going to eat half a cake HAHA

We also took the little man to the Apple Fest this weekend. The only thing he cared about was the kettle corn. Even though we had already purchased some he walked up to every.single.vendor. that was selling it.

How stinkin' cute is he wearing these fake glasses?







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