Striped pajamas.

I snuck a few minutes in here and there tonight before bed to knock out a quick pair of pajamas for Sam.  I cut this pair and another out last week, which made it even faster.  

Last week I made this pair as a test run, I used the Peekaboo Alex and Anna winter pajamas in size 2t knowing they were a very snug fit.  I liked the bottoms, but not the top.  The top gaped a ton at the neck (not noticeable in the picture, but very in real life) and didn't like that the sleeve cap was basically flat.  I decided to go with my stand-by Oliver and S School bus tee in a size 2T for the real one, and as expected liked it much better.

I used some Riley Blake knit that I have been hoarding, and they turned out just like I wanted.

Lots of basics.

Still playing lots of catch up here, I need to or else I wont remember the details as I have been slacking with adding size tags- oops!  

I have been really (surprisingly) enjoying making my kids basics.  The Oliver + S School bus tee has been getting so much use lately.

One of Ben's friends posted on facebook about going with his wife to a Taylor Swift concert, but don't worry, he wasn't loosing his indie cred.  He put this on a shirt and posted it.  I loved the graphic, and he was kind enough to share his source.  So I used some transfer paper and Abby picked the color she wanted.  This is one happy chickie, this shirt gets so much wear.  She was excited that it also struck up a conversation between her teacher and student teacher, apparently they both approved.

She measures in to a 10 in this pattern, but I have been making her 12 (as this one is), longer wear isn't a bad thing.

Sammy is wearing an 18 month here, also with his 12 month Lullaby pants from last year, and they are still big enough he will get quite a bit more wear from them.

I had a vision in my head of an outfit for Jack.  Since it was a new to me pattern, I decided to work out the kinks in a smaller size, luckily.  This is the Peekaboo pattern Great Outdoors Vest.  Sigh, it needs work.  The pattern didn't even line up at the front and back bottom, and the instructions aren't great.  Luckily I didn't want a zipper because I would have pulled all my hair out.  The batting I chose was too thick.  It only addresses choosing batting by saying the thicker, the puffier.  Which is true, but it didn't even cross my mind at how hard it would be to feed through my machine, even with a walking foot.  The pockets don't have a placement mark, just general directions of approximately where to place them.

Glad I didn't make my real one the first go.  On the bright side, my new machine takes topstitching thread like a boss.  Here I come Field Trip Cargos!

So for the second one.  This is the fabric I want to make Jack one in, I am going to break my no matching self-imposed rule.

These vests are both a 2t as per what Sam's chest measured.  I evened out the pattern pieces and instead of folding the arm holes under and sewing together like the first one, I used bias tape turned to the inside to finish.  Much better.

I made this one after seeing the post for the monochrome project.  I had this planned already, it just bumped it up my list.  Happily, these are another pair of Lullaby Layette pants from last year.

Another size 18 month with slightly lengthened sleeves, and if you're interested in the faux sleeve look, I did a tutorial for them.

This is a size 7 with 8 length, and quite a bit of length added to the sleeves.  I guess my kids have super long arms?

It is made from the very last bit of fabric that I also used for one of his favorite shirts from a few years back.

Size 7 + length.  I ordered him this minecraft panel and made the mistake of telling him I did.  He asked me every day (literally) for over a month if it had arrived.

I colorblocked the tee as the panel wasn't big enough for the whole front, he chose the shade of blue (and the fact that it was blue) on his own.  He wore it to bed and then to school this morning, I think he may have been a leeetle excited.

 I made Jack a pair of mini hudson pants, size 7 with 8 length.   He still wears his size 6's all the time, but they are getting a little short and tight.  I used french terry that is just dreamy, that was his first remark 'they are so soft, mom!'.  I could live in this stuff.  In fact, I have some things planned for me in other colorways.

And he decided his lion shirt isn't that bad after all.  That's usually his game, he hates things at first, then likes them and eventually loves them.

One more delicious french terry item.  I made Sam a hoodie using the School Bus tee.  I sized up to a 3t width, 18 month length and added cuffs, a hem band and a hood.  I did a tutorial, if you're so inclined.

Mermaids.

My friend who orders from me from time to time requested mermaid suits.  We talked over the specifics, and I was quite excited because I was already planning on making some for my girls and now I had an excuse.  I wanted to try the pattern first and work out all the kinks before I move on to the ones I am selling. 

The pattern I used was the Santa Monica Sweetheart Tankini both pieces in size 4.  Georgia's top probably could have been a 3, she is pretty thin in the chest, the bottoms fit well though.  I wanted the suits to be interchangeable, though they will likely stick with 'theirs'.

They were so funny, when I showed them the suits they started giggling uncontrollably.  Then ripped off their clothes as soon as I gave the go-ahead and spent the afternoon pretending to be mermaids.  They just got out of the mermaid bathtub and Iz asked if she could sleep in her suit.  I call that a success.

Elizabeth picked pink from my swim stash, she wanted yellow but settled when the only yellow I had was a mustard.  She didn't think it was yellow, ha! 

I used the purple my friend picked for Georgia's, purple is her favorite color and I wanted to get a feel for the fabric.  Turns out, the pink was excellent to work with and the purple wont hold a press.

The purple is super hard to photograph and get the true color.

 I didn't like the way the binding was told to do in the instructions, so I did my own thing.  Also why I wanted to try the suit first.  I basically treated it like bias tape, which is why it would be great if it could hold a press.

Overall, I am really happy with the look and am glad I took the time to work out the kinks.

Happy Buns Britches.

A little bit ago I tested the Happy Buns Britches.   It was funny, because I had within a few days prior been looking for a pattern for something like them. 

I tested the size 6 month, and this one was actually my third pair.  I couldn't resist giving him a fox bum, which is why I was trying to find a pattern like this in the first place.

I love the way they fit, they are super comfy and have a yoga waistband so nothing digging in to his glorious rolly polly tummy.

I also made him a matching Lap Tee, size 9 months, but it looks a little like a bad tracksuit together for me.  He only wore it together once for the finished pictures.  But he has worn each one separately quite a bit.

These were my second ones, both the brown and gray are a ponte knit, not a ton of stretch, but a little heavier weight which is nice for the cooler weather.  The bum panel came from a long hoarded small amount of yardage left from a shirt I made for Jack waaay back when I started sewing- look at how little he was!! I still have enough left over to make Sammy a shirt this summer.

I love my little chunky monkey.

For my nephew.

I made my nephew a birthday and Christmas gift this year, he just turned one, so he doesn't know that I didn't give him a toy, ha! 

I made him a few pairs of the Lil' Papoose Moccasins, my first pair was as the pattern was written, the second pair was with mods to make them look more like the crazy expensive and super trendy kind.

These are both the 12 month size and fit perfectly.

I actually made them way back when I made Sam a pair.  Sam got a little use out of them, but I see Cooper wearing his all the time.  But C is a walker, so that makes sense, ha!

C's dad is a huge motorcycle fan, so when I saw this print I knew I had Christmas figured out.  In fact, most of his baby shower gifts I made were motorcycle themed.

I used the Oliver + S Bedtime Story pajamas in a size 18 month, just extending the pants a little to omit the contrasting cuff.  I also kind of guessed on the size, he is still wearing his 12m After School pants so I figure even if they don't fit now, they will soon.

Again with a 12 month set of Lil' papoose moccs, though I ordered this on fabric.com and didn't realize it would have a fuzzy backing.  I don't know if it will wear off or not, I guess he will be my guinea pig, but it was an experiment anyways as I threw this on an order I was already making from there.   P.S. the pajamas and shoes aren't meant to be worn at the same time, though they do coordinate:)

A little sewing.

Oh, these two just crack me up.

I have been working on a few items for a friend and they have just been dying over the "Chwismas reindeews!".  Today when I hung the dresses (more on them in a minute) to snap a few shots of they just lost it when I said for the millionth time that the dresses weren't for them.  Since I managed to overestimate the amount of fabric I needed I ended up with enough to make them each a skirt.  While George wasn't thrilled it wasn't a dress, she loves her new skirt, and I love that these only took an hour.  Score.

I wanted to do an accent color on the skirts, but I wanted to have them ready for a Christmas party tonight which meant having them match any random shirts that happened to be clean.  Elizabeth is making a fashion faux pas, or is she?  I have started seeing brown and black paired together lately.  But, she refuses to wear any other pair of shoes lately, so that's what she gets.

It was pretty cloudy today, so the colors are a little off, but the reds are a pretty 'true' primary red, not too dark or bright and they actually do match perfectly to each other.

I used the Oliver + S School Bus Tee as a base and added the neck ruffle and skirt based of a picture my friend picked out.  These are size 5 and 18 month.

She also wanted a baby gift based on a picture she found.  I used the Lullaby line bodysuit from Peekaboo patterns and the baby go-to leggings, both 3 month.  I was (am) a little worried about the trim because there is absolutely no stretch so I made the head opening slightly bigger.

If those dresses and skirts didn't put you in the Christmas mood, I bet my utterly adorable baby will, ha!  Time for a million (or so it seems) Christmas parties!

The Frozen crew.

The twinsies decided really early on they just *had* to be Elsa + Anna for Halloween, like I am sure many, many other girls will also be.  They couldn't be talked out of it and insisted Jack be Olaf, well, Jack wasn't interested so Sam stepped up and took one for the team.  

Since I didn't want to be like every other under 10yo girl, I decided to do more of an 'inspired by' set of costumes. 

He looks thrilled, right? HA! He really doesn't mind the costume, he just didn't like them holding him.

I used the free tutorial/pattern for Olaf found on the Peek-a-boo pattern blog, it was super easy to follow.

I bought a hat and hand sewed the face on.  The eyes are felt, the nose is fleece and the hair is pipe cleaners.

Under his costume is his football onesie.  It's looking like it will be a warm one, but if it gets too cold I have a pair of pants to add.

Next, my little Anna.  How lucky am I that they each picked one and didn't fight over Elsa.

True story, I have never seen Frozen.  I had to google the characters, ha!  The kids watch it at their grandparent's house, but I am thinking we might need to get it for Christmas.

The dress was inspired by this one in the O+S flickr group.

The dress is the Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress, size 4 minus the darts.  The sleeves are from the Library Dress, the skirt was lengthened with added width and the front was painted on.

For the cape I used the School Bus Tee as a base.

She loves it soooo much.  It was a little tricky because she didn't want to stand still once she realized it had a great twirl factor.

I tried a new brand of paint this time and am really hoping it holds up, I can see this one getting a lot of wear, they wore them for most of the afternoon though I made them take the dresses off to eat.  We have 4 Halloween parties starting Friday, hopefully nothing too bad happens to them before Halloween!

On to Elsa, though if you only say 'Elsa' to George she corrects you and says she's 'Elsa the snow queen'.

I was inspired by this one in the flickr group.

I used the Oliver + S Hide + Seek dress, size 3 with length.

The cape is just a 1 yard piece of fabric sewn to a ribbon, heat sealed on the bottom with selvages left on to not need to seal them.

There is currently glitter all.over.my.house.

I did french seams throughout, though this fabric was a beast to press.  No matter the heat setting I couldn't get it to hold, not the best choice for french seams.

She is very happy with it and declared 'My dreams came true when you made me my Elsa the snow queen dress!'.  That makes it all worth it, right?

They spent the afternoon playing out scenes and singing all the songs, each only singing their characters lines, of course.

Happy Halloween!

Are you ready for some football?

We are! 

I have been meaning to make this for Sam for a few months now (oops!), and finally had the excuse to bump it to the top as it will be used under Sam's Halloween costume.  I am knee deep in Halloween this week, but there is an end in sight. We have an annual Halloween party this Friday, since I could see I wasn't going to make it in time I bought Jack's costume, much to his dismay.  He really wanted me to make it, but once he tried the RTW one on he was happy.

So, the onesie.  The pattern is the Peek-a-boo pattern Lullaby Line bodysuit with a bit of fleece applique.  I super over bought for his costume, so I used the fleece instead of a white knit, we'll see how it washes up.  I went based off his weight, which put him in the 9 month.  I thought that seemed really big being he is only just wearing 6 month RTW, but this fits pretty well which makes me wonder if it runs small.

I used some girlcharlee knit, I have had better luck with their solid knits than the printed, a lot of the prints seem to fade fast.  I still need to make him a pair of brown pants but my serger decided to act up and come unthreaded and no matter how hard I try or how many different ways I do it I can't seem to make it work.  I can rethread it, but once I try to sew it all goes down the crapper.  Sigh.

Next, I need to finish up the sleeve for Elizabeth's costume and make the cape, then I can finally clean my house, ha!

Procrastinating.

Do you ever avoid sewing things you "have" to sew?  I do, all.the.time.  It is a really bad habit.  I should be finishing this stack of skinny jeans or Halloween costumes but instead I made an outfit for Sam, that he doesn't even really fit in yet (both items are 6m).  Once I get an idea in my head I will obsess over it until I do it (unless I have to do it^^).  

I see all over pinterest little boys in leggings, and I wanted to see how I felt about them on Sam so I made a pair of O+S Playtime leggings.  I decided to do a fabric that wasn't decidedly boy, so that if I hated the look I could pass them on to a little girl.  I don't *hate* them, but I am still undecided.  Let me back up, though, this all started when I wanted to figure out how to alter the Lil' Papoose Moccasins to look more like the super out of my budget moccasins that are popular now.  So I picked up some pleather to try out before I invest in some legit leather and played around until I got it, then I made a pair for my nephew too, who unlike Sam, actually wears shoes.  And if I went that far, why not make a shirt too?  I used the School bus Tee for that.

I never thought I would be one to make shoes, but I can see these becoming a new addiction, and a new go-to baby gift.  I made one 0-3 size first and it was a little tight, as was sort of expected being he is 3 months now and has fabulously chubby everything.  So then I made the 3-6 and there is plenty of room.  I know making shoes for someone who doesn't come close to needing them is a little ridiculous, but what is life without a little whimsy?

I made the leggings in a 12m width around the legs, but 6m in the waist thinking it would be a little looser, but again- super chubby everything.  They are growing on me.

The shirt doesn't fit yet, but I figured it probably wouldn't.  I need to stop my brain from wanting to make 2 or 3 more right this minute.  But this little grumpy guy is helping me stay away from the machine too much.  He goes through spurts, a few days he will be so happy and can be left in the swing or on a blanket and other days he needs to be constantly held.  Sigh, guess I should finish my "have to" pile the next time he has a good day.

For the lake.

I have managed to sneak in an itty bitty amount of sewing time since Sam was born, first up was a new swim suit for Abby.  She and Jack were headed to Lake Powell and I wanted her to have a rash vest for a little more sun protection (Jack has a purchased one).

I wanted to use the Field Trip top, but I didn't have time to make more than one if it came out too big, so I used the Peekaboo Pattern Hang Ten and for the bottoms the Coney Island.  I made the CI last year and she wears that one all.the.time. It is starting to wear out and the bottoms are getting too small.  I made the size 8 for both pieces, I think they fit well, but she says she got a rash the first day from the bottoms being too big and the way they rode up when jumping in.  Who knows, I wasn't there and never saw the rash.

I am also working my way through 2 Hide-and-seek tops (and have been for over a week) that we are both excited about, if we manage to make it out of the three week growth spurt alive...

Onesie.

It's a boy!! I am a day shy of half way and we just found out today our final count will be 3-2, Abby is especially excited as she wont be sharing a room "with a screaming baby".  Here's to hoping he isn't a screamer!  Jack is super excited to have a brother to teach how to be a boy and share his toys (really, share?).  

I guess it's time for a name change on the blog!  

So being the weirdo excited mom that I am, I came home immediately after the appointment and made him his first little onesie!  I used the peekaboo patterns bodysuit pattern, I definitely recommend this one, it was such a quick and satisfying sew (though I haven't yet added the snaps).  I made the three month size that should fit from about 8-12 pounds, my babies are crazy big so that should be about right for his first few months (possibly just the first month?).   Consider baby boy sewing added to "the list"!

Disney inspired.

I have a friend with two adorable little girls who hires me to sew for them from time to time (here and here).  This time she wanted things to wear to Disneyland.  She found a few things on pinterest she liked, and when I posted Abby's top she requested one similar, but Disney inspired, of course. 

 

 



These two pieces were inspired by this outfit.  (All pieces I made are 6 month and 5T).  The tops are the Rosalie Ruffle Tee minus the ruffles, bottoms are the Cutie Pie  bottoms.  I don't love how the neckband is attached per the pattern so I did my own thing on these two.

I am so excited about the way these turned out!  Ariel will be impressed, I think;)  These are the Sweetheart Halter and I had an easier sew than the last time I used this pattern. 

And last but not least, Snow White, inspired by this shirt.  These two are also the Rosalie tee, all knits were girlcharlee, I love the selection of solids they have had recently! 

These were all my last week nap-time projects.  This week I need to work on some items for my sister-in-law's baby shower, though I haven't narrowed anything down yet- for sure the Lotta Jansdotter snuggler, a couple of t-shirts with motorcycling graphics (dad's a huge fan), and ... don't know what else!  What ever I have time for/catches my attention I suppose. 

A birthday gift.

Ben's best friend's little boy is turning one later this month, so I decided to make him an outfit!  His mom (the baby's) said he is nearly in 18 month clothing, so that is what I went with.  I know, I know, I should go by measurements and I normally do, but he lives a few hundred miles away.  Anyway, on to the outfit! 

 

Oh, I am pretty sure people I know in real life don't actually read my blog, but if you do, and you know I am talking about you and don't want to see it early- go away ;)

 

 



 

I used the hangout hoodie and the field trip pants and top.  Added a cute little fox and a painted airplane (his bday party is airplane themed).

The hoodie.  Oh dear.  Everything was going great until I got to the placket.  The instructions were just so confusing, so I ended up doing... something... and made it "work"  which is frustrating because it is a gift.  I don't like to have oopsie moments when giving things away.  Ottobre has a hoodie this issue that I will make for the older kids, but they didn't have one in the 18m range. 

The fox is fleece with button eyes.  I lined the hoodie so not to have a yucky seam running down the middle, but then the way you sew on the binding you are left with a seam anyways, blah.

I used some Martha Stewart metallic paint, but it looks glittery instead!  Hopefully not too girly. 

The pants pockets and waistband are lined with a fun print and I added a jeans button to the front.  I did a button hole underneath  but I didn't make it long enough so you can't actually see it, oh well!

And if my cute little girl were a guy, this is what she would wear:) I am a little nervous being he is just turning one and she just turned two, will it be waaay too big??

I want to make this identical outfit for Jack, but he refuses to wear red pants.  Though, he has told me may times he wont wear something I made and he always ends up wearing it eventually.   He has nearly outgrown his other two pairs of FTCs so he will be needing more for school.  Gasp!  I nearly have another one in school!

So after making the hoodie, Jack said he wanted a fox hoodie too. I was lazy and didn't take the time to make him a jacket, plus he will only wear jackets with zippers.  There are pros and cons to both ways,

con- it is harder to sew the applique on
pro- you aren't making an entire hoodie

 

 

Cute, eh?  I used the same size fox for both hoodies.  I just free handed him, it took a few tries to get him just right, but I like the way he is now. 

 



 

 

 

Jack loves him and can't wait for colder weather (still 100f + here!).