CHRISTEPHI

If you have a daughter between the ages of 8 and 12, you may have noticed that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find appropriate clothing for her.  My 8-year-old is most definitely still a little girl.  She is not a small adult.  I would prefer her to dress like a little girl in clothes that provide appropriate coverage and allow for the freedom of movement needed for active play.  Toward that end I spent a weekend sewing up some sweet summer play dresses for Miss M. This is the Flower Hexagon dress from Ottobre 3/2013 (pattern #16).  I made it of some beautiful vintage cotton printed with roses in size 128, but cut the length to 146 because Ottobre dresses tend to run a bit too short for my tastes.  It has hidden pockets in the side seams! The second dress I made is also from Ottobre.  This is 3/2013 #13, the Hollywood Cerise dress.  I didn't have enough of the fun paisley patchwork print to manage the whole dress, so I scr...

It was dark and rainy all day today.  Great weather for sewing…not so good for taking pictures though!  You can see the shorts I made Miss M yesterday in action here.  She complained about them being too poofy, but she did say they're comfortable. I hope she'll wear them…she's a tough one to please! Today I made the "Seesaw" ruffle sleeve top from Ottobre 3/2012 (#17, size 110).  Miss M doesn't like the length.  She feels like it's too short and constantly pulling it down.  It actually does fit her well, but I'll probably make it a bit longer next time to suit her. I didn't bother finishing the flutter sleeve edges.  I just left them raw.  I also didn't use clear elastic for the gathering of the fluttery bits…just regular old basting stitches.  I've never had very good luck with clear elastic for anything other than stabilizing a shoulder seam. And here's a modeled shot of Little Guy's striped tank top.  Aaaand…I ju...

Last night after I saw how cute the mesh tank top turned out, I went ahead and cut out another tank from the same striped jersey I used for my maxi dress . It's the same pattern as the mesh tank top (Ottobre 1/2013 #15).  I cut the back as one piece instead of having it yoked. I also cut the lower edge straight along a stripe instead of curved.  The neck and armholes are self-bound. Today I made a pair of banded shorts for Miss M.  The original pattern has ruffles on the bum, but I was afraid that would be too babyish for Miss M, so I left them off.  The band is fully interfaced quilting cotton and the main fabric is a lightweight twill with tiny white polka dots. The pattern is Ottobre 3/2008 #3 in size 110. I couldn't get actual modeled shots today and tomorrow is supposed to be stormy, so no promises on getting any soon. My plan tomorrow is to sew a little flutter sleeve top for Miss M and maybe a pair of sweat shorts for Little Guy.

While this shirt is neither very springy nor very practical (save for the hottest of hot days in summer), it is a big hit with Little Guy! The pattern is the "Victor" mesh tank top from Ottobre 1/2013 #15 (in size 98).  I have another cut out from more practical material, but I really had fun making this one out of mesh fabric from JoAnn and a scrap from an old t-shirt for the yellow bit.  The ribbing is also from JoAnn. Little Guy thinks it makes him look tough…wouldn't you agree? He's too much of a sweetheart to look tough for long though!  I love his little compact bod! :-) Tomorrow's project…a pair of shorts for Miss M!

Precocious little Miss M has been growing like a weed!  Several pairs of pants she could wear at the beginning of fall are now quite short on her.  You know what that means, right?  Time to sew! I already had the Superstretch jeggings (Ottobre 4/2011 #3) in size 116 traced and some denim knit material on hand, so I whipped up a pair (over the course of two days) of new jeggings for her.  She's not quite ready for a size 116, but since she just keeps on growing, I'm not concerned. I also made her a pair of legwarmers from some fun sport weight yarn my mom gave me.  I used an easy pattern from Tangled Happy .  Since the pattern was written to fit size 7/8, I sized down a little by making my initial chain 37 and continuing for a total of 35 rounds.  I also swapped out the pink satin ribbons shown here for some yellow grosgrain ribbon because it stays tied better. Miss M loves them!  And they make a wonderful addition to her w...

My first choice for a costume for Miss M would have been Merida, the new Disney princess from Brave. I want to make her gorgeous dark green dress!  Alas, Miss M wanted to be Rapunzel, so pink and purple it had to be.  And once she had decided on Rapunzel, it was only natural her little brother wanted to be Flynn Rider (a.k.a. Eugene Fitzherbert). I picked up the Rapunzel pattern ( Simplicity 2065 ) when it was on sale for 99 cents.  I've had enough experience with Simplicity patterns to expect them to run insanely wide, so although my daughter wears size 6 in ready-to-wear clothes, I made her a size 4 in width (and a 6 in bodice length, but 4 in skirt length).  I lengthened the bodice for two reasons: 1) the dress in the movie is longer waisted and 2) it means she'll be able to wear it longer!  Even so, it's a wee big big around on her.  Room to grow! I found the directions to be sparse and sometimes just plain strange.  A fully lined bodice...

Day three of KCWC !  Today I worked on a little outfit for a wee friend who is celebrating his third birthday this Saturday.  He's the fourth of five brothers, so I wanted to make him something extra special just for him, to celebrate his uniqueness! I used two Ottobre patterns: the "Morris" necktie (3/2009, #22) and the "Ashley" slipover vest (6/2007, #22).  They both went together like a dream!  The tie is made of a slightly heavier quilting cotton and lined with light weight bleached muslin.  The vest is soft velour and rib knit.  Happy birthday, little James!

Day two of KCWC !  Yesterday I finished both pairs of penguin pajamas before going to bed (at midnight!), but I didn't get pictures of them until this morning. I used penguin printed thermal knit and ribbing (dark red for Miss M, and black for Little Guy including the sleeves).  I only had two yards of the thermal knit, so I was pleased to squeeze both pairs from it! I made sizes 104 and 116, a little too big on purpose!!  And I fully intend on passing down the larger pair to Little Guy when Miss M outgrows them! Today I made two pairs of fleece pajama pants -- making absolutely no effort to match the plaid! -- from 2 yards of polar fleece I got at JoAnn a couple years ago.  They are the Simo sweat pants pattern from Ottobre (4/2008, #27), but with no cuff. I also made another pair of thermal knit pajamas (same pattern as the penguin ones) for Little Guy.  I only had one yard of the star print thermal, so no matchy-matchy this time.  Unfortuna...

I wasn't going to participate in the Kids Clothing Week Challenge this time. Partially because last time it was a bit of a disaster, and partially because I have so many other projects that need finishing that I really don't need to be starting new projects. But it just so happened that I (finally) got my sewing area cleaned up and re-organized so that it's now available for immediate use. AND, we just had our first freeze of the season, which means it is time to pack away the rest of the kids summer clothes and bring out all their cool weather clothes. They've got enough hand-me-downs to suffice, except for pajamas. So I decided to make them some pj's this week and whaddya know, it's KCWC this week! I got a tiny bit of a head start Saturday night by cutting out a pair of fleece pj pants for each of them. Last night I traced the proper sizes of the Night Owl shirt and Stripy Legs pants from Ottobre 6/2009. Today I cut out three pairs of pajama...

Today's hour came in 5-10 minute snatches throughout the day.  A whole hour to sit down and do something I want without interruption sounds divine!  I didn't make as much progress as I'd hoped, but I did manage to: add seam allowances to the patterns I traced yesterday, pick out suitable fabric, and launder the fabric. The floral flannel and orange stretch terry are for Miss M's swimming cover-up and the plaid flannel and red stretch terry are for the Little Mister (with some tan flannel thrown in for good measure).  The flannels are from Black Friday at JoAnn a couple years ago and the terry cloths were in a box of knits I got at an estate sale last year.  It's nice to use up some of my stash!

One hour?  Not exactly.  More like 40 minutes.  Forty very interrupted minutes!  Still, I managed to trace the popular Hilda-Tilda pattern from Ottobre 6/2007 (#27) in two sizes!  I didn't get to add the seam allowances yet. Neither of my kids need much in the way of clothes.  They could each use a pair of shorts, but they're set in the t-shirt and jeans department.  So I decided to start with swimming cover-ups.  His and hers.  Pretty much exactly like LiEr at Ikatbag  just did  (great timing!) only I'll be using Ottobre pattern pieces.  And making a few changes  a la  LiEr since I like how she did the lined hood and the neck slit in front. I don't have fabric picked out yet.  I have plenty of options for Miss M, but I'm limited on my choices for Little Guy. I guess I'll have to decide tomorrow! It'd be nice if the postman would deliver the new issue of...

Toy Story 3 is very popular in our house. In fact, during the day on the weekdays it's on more often than not.  Little Guy will sit still and watch it long enough to fall asleep (which is why I put it on at naptime so often!).  He loves Buzz, in fact, he calls the whole movie "Buzz," but Miss M loves Jessie.  Wow, does she ever love Jessie! When her grandma and auntie got tickets to go to Toy Story 3 on Ice this weekend, Miss M was over the moon!  She has a Jessie Halloween costume, but it's nothing more than a one-piece printed pajama-like suit and she's already outgrowing it.  She's been asking for a "real" Jessie suit and this seemed like the perfect excuse to sew her one! I used materials I had on hand -- white cotton toweling, yellow quilting cotton, red piping (vintage), red ribbon, and a bit of white felt. Only the buttons were purchased specifically for this purpose.  I used Ottobre 6/2007 #19, the "Ollie" shirt.  The front...

I've done so much sewing for Miss M and hardly any for Little Guy. I decided to rectify that. He has plenty of t-shirts that fit right now, but he's short on pants, so I decided to make him a pair or two. I've never done a fly zipper, so I decided to try one.  It turned out pretty well, considering! I made the "Alma corduroy pants" (Ottobre 4/2008, #6).  I cut up a pair of women's pants and used twill tape that had been in the lower leg of the original pants instead of cutting new belt loops.  The waistband is a bit of blue chambray I had left over from another project.  I made size 68 to fit Little Guy's waist.  I think the pattern is meant to be full-length pants, but it turned out to be more like long shorts. But I knew that because I measured the outseam and inseam before I started! This is his "I'm not so sure I'm ready to be awake" look.  Can you believe how big he's getting? I never ...

It looks like I finished this up just in time for Miss M to enjoy today's beautiful spring weather!  I joined Sandra at Sugar Cubes and Spice Cake for a sew-a-long (although I fell behind working on a quilt for the kids' room instead).  The sew-a-long was helpful and loads of fun! I really enjoy seeing other people's execution of the same pattern. Being the overachiever that I am, I decided to do two simultaneously. Hubby picked out the butterfly fabric from my stash (I purchased it at Tall Mouse  when Miss M was less than a year old!).  The yellow gingham was a high thread-count men's shirt. I had to do some creative cutting to get all the pieces cut out.  I'll tell you a secret: the underside of the collar is pieced together since I couldn't quite fit everything! The pattern is from Ottobre 1/2010, #15.  I made the yellow one exactly as directed, and the only things I changed on the other one was lengthening it to just below the knee...

When we were at Hobby Lobby and Hubby bought Dora fabric for Miss M, he also bought a yard of Cars fabric for Little Guy.  Right away Hubby said they should be made into pants.  After finishing the Dora dress , I looked through my Ottobre magazines for a suitable pants pattern.  I settled on the "Kaarna" lined pants from Ottobre 6/2009, only without any frills at all: no pockets, no drawstring, no yoke, no mock fly. And put together in such a way that they can be completely reversible.   One side is Cars fabric, the other black polar fleece. The waistband is black ribbing with elastic in it since I didn't make a drawstring.  I made size 74 which is a bit long for Little Guy yet, but I figured that way he can wear them for a good long time (and I can use the pattern again later without having to re-trace it!).

This one was cut out before Christmas! I finished it some time in January, and finally got it photographed now that it's February.  I prefer Miss M to wear long dresses for modesty's sake.  She is, after all, a very active little girl.  To that end, I added 2 inches to each of the skirt panels.  I also added an inch to the length of the sleeve because my girl has freakishly long arms just like her mother. The pattern is the Snow Flakes dress (Ottobre 6/2010, #7), size 86. (Incidentally, did anyone notice that the pattern only goes up to size 86, but in the magazine it lists size 92 as well?)  In the magazine it is pictured on an infant, so I was curious to see how it would look on a bigger girl.  I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's darling and I love how it fits Miss M, but on the other hand, adding 4 inches total length did unbalance the design a bit.  In future, I might add the length by adding a ruffle or eyelet to the...

A Friday evening out on the town. Hubby, two munchkins, and me. Where do we spend our leisure time? Hobby Lobby, of course! Miss M spied some Dora the Explorer fabric and insisted, "Mama, we need this!"  I politely ignored her. I'm quite adept at it. She tends to talk nonstop most of the day, so I'm a pro at tuning it out. Hubby, on the other hand, is wrapped around her little finger and quite easily caved in and bought her a yard of Dora fabric.  I asked her what she wanted out of it and she promptly said she wanted a dress. I shuttered inwardly.  Most of the garments made of character prints are rather garish and umm...generally repulsive.  Still, I vowed to do my best.  I used the Jänönheinä tunic from Ottobre 4/2010 as my base pattern since it was already traced off. I added a 9-inch ruffle about 1 1/2 times the width of the bottom edge of the tunic and lengthened the button band to make the tunic into a long dress. I needed something to balance the h...

Hubby asked me to make gifts for the two first-time mamas who work in his department. Both are having boys, so I settled on a cheerful bunting or coverall or snowsuit...whatever you want to call it. I used the "Corduroy baby coverall" pattern from Ottobre 6/2007 (#10, size 62).  I followed the pattern for the most part, with just a few minor changes -- like snaps instead of buttons up the front, and making the bird an applique rather than a 3D stuffed critter.  Oh, and I made the pacifier tether with a snap on the end rather than one big loop that could prove to be a strangulation hazard. The shell is soft baby wale corduroy I picked out at JoAnn specifically for this project.  The lining is organic cotton sweater knit from Fabric.com that I had leftover from some clothes I made for Miss M.  I ended up using every last bit of it!  It's very, very soft and snuggly!  I got the blue, red, and orange ribbons at Hobby Lobby, using  scrap of the...

 Monday was the deadline for my Fall SWAP .  Um...I'm not quite done. (And I'm not quite sure how I started this post Monday and now it's suddenly Friday, but that's a different story).  I did, however, make more good progress before the deadline went flying by! I made a second Puolukka bodysuit (Ottobre 6/2009, #1), this time of organic cotton baby rib knit from Fabric.com.  It's delicious!  I am going to have to order some in other colors to make myself undershirts for winter.  It's so soft and comfy!  Again, this is for Miss M to wear under dresses and with skirts this fall and winter.  It'll look especially nice with the Vadelma pinafore dress that isn't quite done (and therefore not pictured here). The Dolly dress (Ottobre 6/2008 #6) is darling, albeit a wee bit too short for a "dress."  But that's alright, I prefer Miss M to wear leggings in the fall and winter anyway, so no harm done.  It's funny though...Miss M is 8...

For some reason, I was unable to find time to sew a single stitch for several weeks.  (Ever wonder how time gets away from you so quickly?)  But once I got started, things progressed quickly!  I have five of my SWAP garments done. I sat down and did both pairs of Vilkas velour pants (Ottobre 4/2008, #2) in one evening.  One pair is chocolate brown stretch velvet I got from Chez Ami last year (remember this skirt ?) and the other pair is from organic cotton sweatshirt knit I got from Fabric.com.  When it first arrived in the mail, it was a little brighter than I had anticipated and looked like a construction zone or hunter's vest, but Hubby picked it out of the pile and repeatedly told me how much he liked it, so I opted to keep it instead of exchanging it. Next I made the Puolukka bodysuit (Ottobre 6/2009, #1).  It may seem a bit strange to make a "baby" garment for my nearly-four-year-old daughter, but in addition to being warm, I thought it would a...