One more KCW project!

I finished this outfit Sunday, the last day of KCW and am just getting around to posting.  I've had VBS all this week, playing games with preschoolers has been fun, but not good for keeping up with things at home!

I used the same Ottobre pattern that I used with the gray and black tee from earlier in the week. It was easy to just make the same pattern.  I used a recycled tee for the red fabric but the orange strip is new.  It was nice to have the hems for the sleeves, although these also got miss cut so two old red shirts were "harmed" in the making of this new shirt! :)  Other than that I am really happy with it!

For the shorts I just could not resist Dana's new Kid Shorts pattern, I mean $6 for shorts for both kids and in sizes 12 months to 10 years?  Plus all the different finishes, there was just no way!! :)  It was definitely worth it!  I hope to make a couple more pairs and will be turning them into pants for Carter this fall.  I love the pockets and I really should have made them flat front but was too lazy, you don't really notice it and it saved me a little time.  I also left off back pockets mainly for speed sake too, I do wish I'd thrown them on but I could always fiddle and put them on later.    

The peek of red you see on the pockets was some red robot fabric for the lining that I added just because I didn't was to make plain chambray shorts! You don't notice it, but I know it's there!

 Here's hoping to a more successful fall KCW!  If you want to check out all the great summer projects made head on over!
Until next time! :)

KCW day 4...too many irons in the fire!

My KCW started off in a terrible fashion!  First I probably didn't have time to join in this week, but really missed not doing it in the spring so I decided to sign up regardless!  I have been meaning to sew a couple more outfits for Carter all summer and thought that KCW would help me do it!  And it has, but it's been less that pleasant.  I decided to recycle tees to make the first shirt.  Which is good...except I haven't sewn recently where I needed to worry about saving pre-made hems and messed up cutting not once but twice. Good thing I had extra shirts!  I do like preserving existing hems because it does same time but not when you mis-cut!!  I also sewed the back of the shirt backwards so them hem is switch around, luckily you don't notice it.  I mean really...sometimes I wonder what else could go wrong!

The pattern for the tee was from the Ottobre autumn 2012 issue.  The pattern has long sleeves so I used another tee of his to decide where to cut for the short sleeve.  It was an easy pattern just 3 pieces.  I have another one to share later this week once I get the shorts made to go with it.

Speaking of shorts I used the same free pattern from Caila Made that I used with these cat shorts to make these lovely orange gingham ones.  I did lengthen the pattern by an inch in hopes he can wear them next summer too. And I raised the rise of the waist a bit too since I thought my first pair was a bit low rise for me.  I added back pockets to since I like that addition to basic shorts.

We will be celebrating Carter's second birthday this weekend and my house is a mess and I've got a cake to make so hopefully I can get my other outfit for him done.  I also have an Anywhere dress cut out that I would like to get finished too!  Summer seems to be flying by with kid activities and lots of pool time (especially this week with all our heat!)  I am looking forward to sewing more once school starts back up!

Oh...one other very fun note!  I ran into Vanessa from V and Co on Tuesday at JoAnn's in town!  I follow her blog and love her latest fabric line.  Of course I went right up and introduced myself and she was of course very lovely and nice!  It was a fun treat, especially as I was just coming from spending an hour in a half at the DMV renewing my drivers license!   Until next time, happy sewing!

T-shirts and the Tinny pattern winner!!

**The winner of the Tinny pattern is Nicole!  Congratulations!  I'll pass your e-mail address onto An.

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I'm guessing your kids wear a lot of t-shirts.  Mine do, anyway.  And while I buy many of them I am finding that making them gives me warm fuzzy feelings! :)  You see I've figured out that I sew mainly as an expression of love.  I love my kids and seeing them in handmade clothes makes my heart happy.  Also t-shirts are a quick sew and that is also a big plus.  I use Rae's skinny tee as the base for most of my tee's.  My only big change is that I always make the neck binding bigger, because for me when cut as per the pattern the neck opening is too tight (at least for my kids heads), but otherwise it is perfect.

 I recently tried another pattern for tees and was really happy with the result!  I bought the book Growing Up Sew Liberated mainly for the envelope tee pattern mainly which I wrote about here.  And actually that t-shirt fits this summer, so when questioning sizing in that book, make the smaller one! :)

 The Crossover tee is another great pattern from the book!  I omitted the bottom band to make it more daytime wear and less pajama like.  The fabric is from Girl Charlee and part of their exclusive Vintage Revival collection, and it's just lovely!  Girl Charlee is a great place to hunt for knit fabric and at great prices too! This bird print just looks like summer to me!

The crossover tee only goes to size 5 but it is a generous pattern.  Peyton doesn't wear a 5 in commercial clothing anymore but I just added a little over an inch in length and it fits great. Here is a little action shot, badminton, her newly discovered sport! :)

Carter also got a new tee recently.  My Grandma has turned over some of her kids fabric stash to me and this cute print matched perfectly with a pair of green pants that needed a top! I used the Skinny tee pattern for the shirt and it fits my skinny boy perfectly.  He's really into vehicles and likes to points out the red trucks on the tee, so he's a fan!

Sewing for my kids is really such a joy and seeing them play in handmade clothes is the best feeling!  Have a happy Tuesday!

Yeah...I'm a slacker!

You may or may not have noticed that I totally missed sewing this past week during KCW!  Did you participate in KCW?  :(  Well let me clarify that, I sewed a lot just not for my kids.  I agreed to participating in a craft fair last Saturday and I knew when I signed up that it would probably fall around KCW but I figured I'd just get my craft fair stuff sewn ahead of time.  Yeah right!!  I spent last week making doll, tooth fairy pillows, cute headbands and big hair bows and some crinkle baby toys.  And to really rub some salt in the wound about not sewing for KCW the sale was not particularly successful! Bummer, but how do you know?  I think people are thinking about being outside at this time of the year instead of attending a craft fair, maybe??

However I did frequent the flickr pool to try and keep up with all the amazing things in there! There were so many great clothes made this past week!  I just had to pick a few of my favorite to share!

First is this amazing fox peasant dress by Jess of Craftiness is not Optional. I almost want to make the exact same dress. Is that okay? :)
Next is an amazing lace tee from Homemade by Jill.  So simple, and those ever popular bubble pocket shorts that I didn't even know I wanted till KCW!
Finally is this amazing geranium top and bubble pocket shorts by LGB studio.  I love that print, I've been eyeing some of those great Notting Hill fabrics even before seeing this!

In this group first are some great Parsley pants, I love the tuxedo stripe!  Then some lovely Parsley shorts also from Homemade by Jill.  Next how awesome is this lovey owl shirt I love the snaps?!  Rounding my favorites is a fun self drafted dress, I love the piping at the waist!

I am hoping to spend some quality time with my machines very soon! I have a long list but I'll mention the big items I want to whip up.  First a dress based on the Geranium Dress, I can't use Rae's pattern since it only goes to size 5 and Peyton needs a 7. I have a Simplicity pattern that I want to play with.  If anyone has other suggests PLEASE let me know!  I also want to make some Parsley Pants, well probably shorts since someday it will stay warm here!  Also some raglan tee's for both kids, I haven't decided on a pattern for those yet.  And now that I've seen all the amazing bubble pocket shorts I might need to try them too!  So many pattern to sew and fabric to buy and yet so little time it seems! :)  

KCWC day 6 and 7....yes....Another pair of Sandbox pants

I have completed my first KCWC.  I have certainly gotten some much needed clothes sewing done for my kids.  I pretty much stuck to dress/church clothes.  I haven't been very impressed with fancier kids clothes recently and am so happy with what I've made!

 Today I have yet another pair of Sandbox pants, I was going to use another pattern but the last pair turned out so well, I just took the quick route!  I think it is funny how fabric can really change a pattern.  I would never think these pants were made with this pattern.  The fabric I used was from Hancock's and was a stretch twill with a nice tiny hounds-tooth pattern.  I squeaked by with 1/2 yard and with the sale price these pants cost about $2.50!  

He looks like a little man in these pants and I just am thrilled with them.  I think they might be my favorite project of the week!

The shirt is a flashback skinny tee I also made this week.  I like the color and it feels so soft, but I used a ribbed knit that was too thin and so the cuffs are baggy.  I may cut them off and then do a 2" cuff with a different ribbing if they keep bothering me. :)  Those tiny things tend to drive me nuts!!  

I am so glad I spent the week sewing for my kids and got most of my list accomplished.  I am planning to do a round up next week of my favorite from the flickr pool!  See you then!

KCWC Day 5...Sandbox pants and shirt

Today I have something for my little man!  I really liked my first try at O+S Sandbox pants I made recently, but knew they needed some tweaking for my picky self! :)   I think my mistake the first time was overall making them too big.  This time I sized them down to make the 6-12 month width wise and the 12-18 month length wise to best fit my skinny boy.  I am much happier with the fit this time!

The pants are corduroy and have a cotton waist band with a flat front.  The pockets are lined with the same fabric.  The shirt is from Growing Up Sew Liberated and is the envelope tee.  I have also made this before.  I tried to fix the neckline so it wasn't quite so large as in my first shirt.  I did improve it some, but I am still not super happy with this pattern.  I love the look of lap style shirts on little ones, but don't like when they seem baggy.  I think I'll go back to Dana's 90 minute shirt if I do this style of shirt again.

The hat is upcycled from an old sweater.  I just measure his head and then winged it from there.  I think it turned out pretty good.  At least it covers his ears!  

He is a tough guy to photography right now, I basically just chase him around the yard snapping pictures. :)

 One more picture! I love the blue shirt with his blue eyes.  I am looking forward to lots of wear with both these pieces.

 This has been an interesting week.  I haven't managed to make as much progress as I thought I could.  I've discovered during this week that while I LOVE sewing, I like to do it when I feel like it, not when I have to! My other realization is that I mostly like to sew at nap time and then relax most evening.  I'll have one most outfit for the little guy to post this week.  Thanks for visiting!

Monkey Pants and craft fair sewing

Fall has gotten off to a busy start around here!  I've been planning to share this outfit for awhile.  The pattern for the pants has been on my "To Sew" list since around the time Carter was born.  The pattern is from the second One Yard Wonder book.  In the book they call them Monkey Leggings but, I think they're pants. It is a very EASY pattern, only 3 pieces and is a quick sew.  I only made one adjustment.  I felt the waist was too high and took it down about 2" which I thought seemed like more natural  fit.  I also made the 6-12 month size which was plenty big for my 13 month old.  

For the shirt I used the flashback skinny tee pattern.  I've used the pattern a few time and have been very pleased with it.  It fits my skinny guy well!  The idea for the outfit came together when I saw this cute monkey fabric at Banberry Place.  Immediately I thought this would be the perfect fabric for trying out the pants pattern.  That is often times how I work.  I catalog patterns that I like and when I see the perfect fabric then I am set! What guides you, the sewing pattern or the fabric?    

  

My husband told me these are pajamas, but I plan on him wearing these during the day.  :)  We like comfort around here! Especially for lounging and watching TV! (I wish he'd watch a little TV to give me a break!  He just likes the remote.)

Which bring me to craft fair sewing.  My favorite part of sewing is trying something new and using fun fabric.  I like to sewing in single units, but once a year I do a craft fair through my husbands work, and it is that time of year!  What I love about doing a craft fair is, well the little bit of extra income first and foremost.  However, I do love the "game", figuring out what people want to buy and what fabrics to choose.  What I don't like is sewing in quantity.  Making 15-20 of something is a bit to repetitious for me, what gets me thorough is the fabric! :)  Do you sew any for money?  I'll share a bit more about what I am making as the fair gets closer.  All the mass sewing leaves me with less time to create all the ideas floating around in my head, but I am planning to do KCWC this year for the first time. Usually I just drool over all the great things everyone makes.  

Here is a look at the back.  That is most of the pictures I get of Carter these days.  He is constantly on the go.  In this instance, the backside was perfect! :)  

 Thanks for visiting, I am so glad your here!

Sandbox Pants

These pants have been sewn for slightly over a month but I've been waited to post them till Carter was walking.  I think kids just look a bit better in clothes once they are walking, but I'll miss the crawling days.  For me, crawling is just so darn cute!!  He just started walking 90% of the time right before turning 13 months.  Neither of my kids have been early walkers.  When did your little ones start walking?  

Okay, on with the pants.  After seeing some great Oliver + S Sandbox pants in the flickr pool, I decided I needed the pattern and NEEDED to make a pair!  I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to use for fabric but then I came across some chambray that my grandmother had sent me with some baby sewing patterns this summer.  I liked the weight for late summer and early fall and settled on it.  The acorn fabric is Squirrels and Nuts by David Walker.  I had it in my stash and thought it went well and seemed nice and boyish.  I just love woodland animals for some reason, strange or no?

I choose to not add the drawstring and make them flat front instead.  I prefer them that way.

This is another fabulous Oliver + S pattern the directions were easy to follow and I learned a bit 

too! 

Taking pictures of my new walker was a bit of a challenge!  He took off every time I tried to snap a picture.  Here is a look at the back, the pockets are quite cute.

My only problems was that, once again I overestimated his waist.  I know he is skinny but he's just crazy slim.  I think I should have sewn the waist at the 6-12 mo size rather than the 18-24 mo that he needs in the length!  So they are a bit baggy, just like the shirt.  Hopefully he'll have a growth spurt or he'll just get to wear them for a long time! :)

I am already planning to sew this pattern again, in corduroy, with some size tweaking! :) 

Birthday T-shirt

My little guy is turning one next week and I wanted to make him a shirt to wear for his party but didn't want it to scream "wearable only on your birthday".  Luckily I received a BabyCenter e-mail with different shirts you could buy at various places and this shirt was in their round up.  I fell in love immediately and, of course, pinned it! :)

What I like most is how nice and basic the design is, wearable long after the cake is eaten! :)  I originally planned to just buy a navy t-shirt and go the easy route, but I couldn't find a plain navy shirt in his size anywhere, and I couldn't find any navy fabric in town that was the right shade either! In the end I bought a XL men's shirt at Target used that.   I have been planning to buy Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern and this seemed like a good reason, and I used that.   Let me just say the pattern is fantastic!  Very easy to follow and makes a very professional looking t-shirt. I will be getting plenty of use from this pattern!  

I pricked out the neckband and reused that so I only needed the shirt which I got for $5.  The orange fabric was some scrap Robert Kaufman Laguna Knit.  I used freezer paper (which if you haven't done before, try it) to make the stencil for the lettering, only using one application of paint.  I wanted it to look a bit faded.  It did get slightly off-centered but I kind of like it and you don't notice it when he's wearing it.  This was an easy naptime project which turned out just as I envisioned.  Don't you love when that happens?

It's been a fun first year and I'm looking forward to all the fun things to come...walking, talking, more playing with big sister, and of course more trouble! :)

Simple Linen Shorts

Sometime simple sewing is best, especially when it is for boys I think.  For some reason I like boy stuff, at least for my little guy, to be lots of solid colors or very simple patterns.  Anyway, he has been lacking in shorts this summer and I decided to sew a couple pair of linen shorts for him.

I just drew my pattern from already existing shorts he had and went from there.  That takes some confidence and I am still nervous when I sew that way, luckily these worked out! :)  Here are the two pattern pieces you need to make shorts.  I would say these are a 12-18 month size.  The shorts I used as a pattern were an 18 month Carter's pair, but I took in the waist since I have a skinny guy.

I chose linen because it seemed cool and I happened to be at Hancock's when they had it 50% off!  For shorts this size I only got 1/3 of a yard, I was trying to be cheap.  I really could have used a half yard as I just squeaked by with enough.   Linen shrinks a fair amount and I did pre-wash it.

The blue shorts were first and their waist is a bit small and I decided the were a tad to short.  With the khaki pair I added a 1/2 to 1" in the elastic for the waist and added a bit to the length.  I do like them more but both pairs are wearable and cute. 

I added a size tag very similar to the ones that No big dill has a tutorial for.  I'm just loving having a size tag, I'll continue for sure!

Here they are paired with a shirt I made following Made's 90 minute tee tutorial.  I'll have to show more of those shirts sometime I just love that tutorial!

One more picture!  Here they are with the envelope tee from Growing up Sew Liberated, I reviewed it here. And after having him wear it today I decided it does fit, I just want to tweak the neck next time.  

                             I can't believe he is almost one!  Where has the year gone?  Happy Friday!

Envelope Tee Review

I recently purchased Growing up Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee.  This is a fun book with some good clothing patterns and some play/dress up things too.  I was anxious to try this pattern out and it turned out great.  I made the 18-24 mo. size thinking it would be a bit big for my 10 month old guy.  (He's 31" and 21 lbs) Unfortunately it was way too big for him.  I am guessing he could wear the 6-12 month size and just lengthen the pattern a bit.  I do always err larger than smaller when first making something.  They can always wear it later rather than never! :)  The fabric was from Hancock's Fabric.  I think there might be enough left to make one in the correct size for him.  :)  I'll be making more of these for sure, easy and cute!