Drapey Shirt

I made a shirt. With knits. Again. I think i am a glutten for punishment. I am DARN set on figuring out this whole knits thing. I think i need to get seam stabilizers BUT that is beside the point.

I followed a Mccalls pattern and when i was done it was about 2 sizes TOO big. Yikes! It looked terrible. So i started pinning, and sewing and cutting and this is what i came up with.

Still not perfect. A little to big in the neckline which makes the sleeves fall off, but for what i started with? It's amazing! I am pretty happy with it, though i plan to draft a pattern from an existing shirt i own to see if i like it better. Then back to Halloween costumes..... i just had leaving something not perfect. *though i really am not a perfectionist* i just want to figure out this whole "sewing with knits" thing.

So here is my creation. It reminds me of a shirt i saw at Anthro not too long ago. Excuse the pictures, i wanted to take them quick because hubby had a football game and i knew we'd be out past sun down.

Twirly (Waves) Skirt Revisited

So I am officially re-naming the twirly skirt the WAVES skirt. teehee. Get it? WAVES and winks? Much more appropriate.

I finally decided after wearing it for a few hours today that it was too short. Tisk. So i set out to fix it without making it look too "i-made-a-skirt-too-short-and-need-to-fix-it." I'm really happy with it and i feel like i succeeded. I only added about 2" but man oh man what a difference it made!

I really like the lace detail. I i still love the waves. It seriously is one of my favorite skirts! And now i am modest (even when picking up the babies) :o)...

P.S. I had a major flop of a time with the Tee for Two pattern today. I will try again though. I just need a heavier weighted knit!

Pajama Pants

The other day i was reading Ashley at Make It Love It's post about baby leggings. While she said they are "boy or girl" I couldn't see past the pink and yellow to think of a boy. Until i was sitting with my son, putting on his pajamas, and i realized, these are the exact same pants! So i decided to make some of my own... and just a little differently...since i have a whole bunch of knit laying around that was meant for some other not done project :)

They are perfect for playing outside....

And of course wonderful for going to bed... (or just being boys in bed)....

I added a ribbed knit cuff instead of just sewing heming it. And honestly i didn't read the tutorial. She just inspired me when i realized that they were the same! That is how the boy's pajama's are and i liked it that way. Below is my tutorial for how i did mine. As you notice, I made them fairly large. I hate making things just right and two weeks later realizing they have outgrown them. AND with cloth diaper bums, they need LOTS of extra room! (my two year old still wears a diaper at night).

Soooooooo easy.... i am going to have to make another pair. OOO and i bought the pattern for Dapper Dillingers AND the Tee for Two. So excited! Coming soon... along with Halloween costumes... Oh so much to sew! :)

Lucy VanPelt Costume

Can you guess who i am being for Halloween?.... If the title didn't clue you in....

I'm Lucy VanPelt from the Peanuts gang. I was totally nervous to make the costume, but i think it turned out pretty well (it is only a costume!). I made it in one sitting, and it was done completely free handed without a pattern. Scary!

My darts are too high (only second time with darts... i have learned lots) and it's a little off in places, but i am so happy with it! The fabric is a dreadful polyester poplin i got from fabric.com. Yuck. It smells, it feels weird, and it makes me yearn for cotton or bamboo or rayon. BUT it was less than $4 a yard. So i will take it!

I'm super super excited about it and i can't wait to break into the boys fabric for their costumes!!!! YAY!

*i used to HATE Halloween and now i am obsessed. I don't like the scary stuff, but i LOVE the happy stuff! It's so fun with kids! This year will be our FIRST year TRICK-OR-TREATING! I can't wait!

Leaves Are Falling Skirt

I made a new skirt! I am finally making a good dent in the fabric my mom gave to me for Christmas this last year. I loved this fabric and originally it was supposed to be a dress, but i thought the print was a bit too much for a dress. But i love the skirt.

It's just a big flowy Maxi skirt. I love wearing it. It is super comfy. I made a lining for it also, and an elastic waist so it really is just like a pajama skirt! It was my first time ever really working with knits, so i have a HUGE learning curve. My machine doesn't like them much, but my serger was a miracle worker! :o)

....and tomorrow is my birthday! woohoo! i'm *almost* 25 years old. A quarter of a century....

Cottage Skirt

I made another skirt. It almost was a complete disaster. I accidentally cut into my skirt while sergering (the woes of sergers) but i was able to fix and and you would never know. I think it look really good. Just a nice casual happy skirt. The fabric is my Riley Blake, I believe. I cannot remember the collection for sure. It was part of the mass amount of fabric my momma bought for me for my Christmas. I cannot tell you know that we are on a budget how nice having all that fabric is because otherwise, i would have *almost* nothing to sew. One more immediately planned skirt to go!

It's just a simple tier skirt with pintucks on top and an elastic waist back. It's a little big, but i am really making it for a maternity-ish/post-maternity/fat skirt. No, i am not pregnant. Trying, but not pregnant. I just can't stand to make all these clothes that won't fit me in *hopefully* a few months and will then only fit me again for a few months a year later!

The pictures aren't as crisp as normal because they are taken from an iPhone. We hiked 30 minutes up a super steep hill only to realize--the battery to the camera was in the wall. Darn it! Oh well, Nick had his camera and saved the day!

Halloweens Past

With Halloween rapidly approaching I have been doing lots of planning for this year's Halloween! I am super excited about what I have come up with! I love having a family theme! So we will have one yet again. I will reveal it soon... just not QUITE yet. Let's see if you will be able to guess :o)

I also realized I have never posted my pictures of my last two year's worth of Halloween pictures! So here goes...

Nick (my husband)'s favorite book as a child was "Where the Wild Things Are" so I knew once i started sewing that Hayden's first Halloween he HAD to be the main Wild Thing. Since i was pretty knew to sewing it's a bit rough, but i was (and am!) so insanely proud of how it turned out. The onesie is made of two fabrics i sewed together. Then embroidered. The pants are a pair of Carter's stretchy pants covered in rows of gray triangles. I also appliqued WILD THING on the front. The head band is a crocheted fur yarn with stuffed horns attached and on the socks i put little claws. He was totally a hit and looked SOOOOO cute!

Then last Halloween, we had TWO little monsters and I really wanted to do a family theme. So i wracked my brain and after a trip to Joanns and seeing this pattern I knew what I was going to make the Tanner Family Circus. So i made Hayden and Elephant, Eldon a lion, Nick the Ringleader, and I was a gypsy (i am afraid of clowns so our circus wasn't allowed to have any clowns).  I LOVED the way the costumes turned out. I even won $40 at the Base Kid's Halloween Party. That was pretty awesome!.

I also HAD to make the boys Halloween shirts (and romper) for the little boys. I was pretty excited about Halloween last year. This year i am going to make a tie for Eldon and a bowtie for Hayden. (H is obsessed with bowties). So these are their little shirts!

Little Boy Short

Yesterday was our baby's birthday! So i figured here is the tutorial for his birthday shorts... and the other two pairs i have made! To see the original go here. Happy Birthday Eldie!!! We Love You!

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I made another pair of super cute Hayden shorts!!I love these shorts. Really love them. They are so simple to make and if you left out the pockets, they would be about 3 steps! Really easy. The pockets are a bit confusing at first, but once you figure them out they are a breeze {and super cute}. I love the Twill material! Really quality! He's darling!

Are you ready to make some super cute shorts? I know there seems like a million steps, but i wanted to make it SO understandable! It's really easy! Promise! You will need:

• about 3/4 yard main fabric for 3T
• fat quarter lining fabric
• 1 1/4 inch elastic
• (and normal sewing supplies)

1. Trace shorts-front, back, pockets {Or print out mine}
2. Cut out pieces. Set aside. {I like to keep them with their label on top-especially the short front and back. It can be confusing}
3. Take pocket pieces {all 6} separate one lining with two tops.

4. Iron top pieces over about 3/8 inch.
5. Place piece on top of lining and pin.
6. Edge stitch as close to the edge as you can {without missing the fabric, of course}
7. Trim Edges of shorts so the wlining and main fabrics match
8. Fold shorts so the “wrong” sides and facing {the two pure lining sides}
9. Pin and sew ½ from the bottom side {we are doing a French seam}
10. Now turn “inside out” {turn the opposite way} so that the two main fabric pieces on each pocket are facing each other. Iron and pin the bottom.  Sew 3/8" from the bottom {encasing seam allowance}{honestly, you don’t need to pin . Look at the bottom once you have turned it inside out. You see the ½ of fabric that is darker and about 3 times as thick. That is what you need to encase. Sew along this}

11. Set pockets aside.
12. Grab the front main pieces. Sew up the center of these pieces. Repeat for back pieces.
13. Press the seam to one side and stitch about ¼ inch from the center seam down the short piece.
14. Grab your pockets. This will be the hardest part of the tutorial. Take the front piece of the pocket and place it on the front of the short.
15. Now take the piece that is NOT touching the short and pin it. Sew about 3 inches.
16. Clip the top and bottom of the stitching pocket.

17. Flip around {creating a French seam} and sew about 3/8” in from the edge encasing the raw edges.
18. Now the next two steps are helper steps:
1. First, straighten up the front piece and pin your pockets in place This way they won’t move around when you are sewing the bottom pieces of your shorts.
2. Next, take your pockets and stitch a satin stitch at the top of the opening of the pocket and the bottom of the opening. This will keep the two pieces of the pocket together sturdily AND make it easier to sew with.
19. Now pin together the lower leg opening. Sew or Serge.

20. Next, match up the front and back sides of the shorts. Make sure to line up the back side of the pocket with the back. Sew down the two sides seams making sure to miss your pocket.
21. Check to make sure you didn’t accidently stitch the pocket. Serge Short.
22. Iron the seam allowance the opposite way of the pocket. Stitch ¼” from the seam.
23. Now to hem the short. Fold the fabric over 1/4" then again 1/2". Edge stitch along the INSIDE of the short. This guarantees you hit the inside and make a nice clean hem.
24. Now to the waistband. Fold the fabric over 1/2 inch. Then fold again 1 3/4". You might have to trim a little length of the top depending on how long your top piece was. You need you waistband to hit at the top of your pockets, so you sew them in as you sew the waistband.

25. Edge stitch along the inside of the waistband leaving approx 2" for the elastic.
26. Cut elastic to desired length (measure around child or pre-exisiting short). Stick a safety pin through the end of the elastic and thread through casing.
27. Overlap ends of elastic and zigzag together (zigzag has some give--making it better suited to elastic)
28. Sew casing shut.

29. No one wants their elastic to move around too much and if you look at most of your boy's professional shorts you will see a chainstitch running through the waistband. If you have a coverhem machine use that, but if not i will teach you how to make it LOOK like you did.
30. Grab your short. Change your stitch length to 5.0mm (the longest on my machine).
31. Using your foot as a guide, stitch 1/2 inch from the top of the short through the waistband. As you continue through the short, stretch the elastic and waistband fabric so there are no gathers. Go all the way around the short.
32. Repeat ever 1/2 inch until you have completed the waistband!
33. Cut your threads and TA-DA! You are done! Look at those awesome shorts you made! Put them on your babies and... as always... take WAY too many pictures!!



I really want to make a million more!!!

Swirly Skirt

For Christmas last year my parents bought me mainly fabric and sewing books. Up until now, i had not touched the fabric my mom and dad had bought me. But now i have. And i made a skirt. Yay! I am very excited! I really like it. I mixed two patterns very roughly together (Vogue 8560 & McCall 5631).

The skirt was the Vogue and the waistband was VERY roughly the McCall. The skirt was supposed to have a hem band, but when put on it hit right at the knee and ruined the flow of the skirt. So i took it off. It made the skirt a little bit too short for me (i'm 5'10") but i still really like it. For the waistband i increased the size and added elastic to the back. I wanted it to be able to fit maternity since my husband and i are yet again ttc and i already have a closet full of skirts i can't wear.

I added embroidery in a wave-swirly pattern along both the front and back of the skirt. I really like how it turned out. I am a firm believer in that embellishments make the outfit. So yay! I have two more skirts to make and a shirt too. I am excited to be sewing for myself, but it is definitely more nerve wracking than sewing for my kids. They are easy (and they aren't picky)!

Looking at it again i'm starting to wonder... should i length it? Maybe a-laMake It Love It?
hmmmm.......

Baby Hammy Dress Update

So, i decided that the little dress needed a pair of bloomers because every little dress needs something to cover a diaper right? :) I used Made's Perfect Diaper Cover Tutorial. One of the easiest project i have ever done! Wow! It whipped right out and before i knew it i had the perfect companion to the dress. 

I also added a little pink boy because no girl can have too much pink OR too many bows. (yes, i just said that. Pre-boys i was the most anti-pink person ever! Now... ooooooo i can't wait!!)

Birthday Outfit

I looooove sewing kid's clothes. Little boys' clothes are no exception! I haven't sewn any in a while and i forgot how cute and versatile sewing for boys can be. I just have so many ideas!!

So my beautiful little 11 month old turns 1 next month and i can hardly believe it. My husband and i decided to start a new tradition to make buying gifts easier and help us from getting out of hand. For each birthday you get:

Something you want,

Something you need, 

Something homemade, 

And something to read.

I read about it on a blog somewhere in a comment section and i thought it was a fabulous idea for keeping holidays in check. I am working on the "poem" for Christmas and Easter, but they are a bit away still!

So for my baby boy his something homemade is his new little outfit. I made the shorts and shirt. The tunic is the Charlie's tunic pattern by MadebyRae. It's such a darling pattern! The facings are made from Alexander Henry's "2d Zoo." It's one of my fabric fabrics of all time. I love the big buttons and just love the outfit all around. The shorts are a seersucker from Joann and they even have pockets. I am working on a tutorial for them, but i need to make another pair to work through the instructions.

Anyways, i LOVE the outfit. I can hardly believe my little Eldie is going to be 1 but i am so happy for him too!