Puppet Show for winter.

The Size 5 project continues.

When I started talking with Sarvi about this, it was back in November and she suggested I show how the Puppet Show could be made to wear for winter.  Well, now that it is February and it was 70f outside today, I realized I really should have made this months ago because I love the look.

I have always shied away from shorts for winter, so this was fun to think out of the box.

I made a size 4 for both the top and the shorts, but lengthened the top to a 5.

I used a crisp white shirting from Jo-Ann for the top and this Robert Kaufman fabric for the shorts.

I just love the look of this top and am kicking myself for not making it a bunch more, I will definitely be making more of these.  I am dying to compliment Justine's solid linen version, I have a nice teal I had set aside for a Cinema Dress but never got around to, I think it would be perfect.

Puppet Show Shorts.

We are to the point in our weather we can wear bare arms or legs during the day, so now is as good a time as any to start on a summer wardrobe. 

I pulled out a cute twill  I bought last year that I meant to use for Abby's shorts, but she didn't like it and I didn't have much sewing time being I just had a baby.  Izzy is obsessed with polka dots, so I knew she would love these.

They are the Oliver + S Puppet Show Shorts in a size 4, I probably could have been just fine making a three, but this way they will (hopefully) last all the way through summer.   I am sure they will drown George, ha!

It was pretty hard to get her to stand still, she loves hamming it up for the camera.

I love this pattern so much, those little gathers around the legs kill me dead.

Once I showed her the pockets she was SO excited and wouldn't take her hands out.

It's turning out to be a pretty productive sewing week for me, which is pretty rare as of late.  My house isn't too messy (no more than usual) and the kids are all happy and fed, so a tiny bit of balance.
Jack and Sam could use some new tops, so I think that will be next on my always growing, never ending list of makes.

Polka dot shorts.

Girlfriends need some new shorts, and what better short pattern to start with than the Oliver + S Puppet Show Shorts?  I have made them lots before and just love the look of them. 

Girls measured in to a 2T (Izzy) and 18M (George), so I went with 2T so they could both wear them.

I used a lightweight twill from Jo-Ann I picked up last season, they love their "polka ots shorts".

They are both recently obsessed with pockets.  They wont put anything in there except their hands, but they walk around most of the day with their hands stuffed in them. 

I am guessing because they are 2T they are still sized for diapers, which finally the girls are no longer in!  So we get a droopy bum, but that's a-okay!  I also have 2 pairs cut in denim waiting in the to-sew pile, but first a Hide and Seek top for Abby.

Mickey and Minnie.

Ah, it's that time of year again, the time when I put off the making of the costumes until the last.possible.second.  I had intentions of starting them on Thursday and easily finishing them in time for the annual Halloween party on Monday.  Well, that didn't quite happen.  Between family things and being unable to move my right arm (at all) for two days (no idea how that happened) I ended up making three pieces of costume Sunday and Monday.  So I finished about two hours before the party which is better than last year's , that was 30 minutes before, ha! 

 

 

 

I am finding it pretty impossible to take the girls photos together lately.  Usually I can get at least George to look at the camera, but not today!

 



 

 

Though they are pretty cute, so I wont complain too much.

 

 



 

 

But look!  Here's one... that George is out of focus in, sigh. 

 

Oh well. 

 



 

 

Okay, so the deets on the patterns; For Mickey aka Georgia I used the Oliver and S Sailboat Skirt size 2T with a slightly stretchy, slightly shiny bottom weight from Jo-ann's.  I was going to make the pants, but shortened, then I figured why not make something she can wear more after Halloween?  Chances are she still would have fit in the shorts next year since she still fits her 6m (!!!) Sailboat pants, so after the festivities are over I will switch out those big white buttons for four of something.

 

Izzy is wearing the Oliver + S Puppet Show Dress size 3T.  She was asleep when I chose her size so the 3T is a little big, but growing room is never a bad thing since she can also wear this one after Halloween, though it will always look like Minnie Mouse to me, ha!

I also made Abby a 2+2 skirt for her costume, more on that later since the few photos I got of her didn't quite turn out as we were in a hurry to get to the party. 

Playing with dye, again.

As soon as I saw this dress I knew I had to copy it.  I just happened to pick up some gauze from Jo-ann that day, and some RIT dye to make my own coral since I haven't been able to find anything locally, so I got to work immediately!

 

 

 

I actually had planned to make this top to go with the eyelet shorts from the other day, but then after I dyed the gauze I realized it went perfectly with some linen I had also picked up that day so I made another pair of Puppet Show Shorts size 12 month to go with the top. 


And I also hopped on the Washi tape trend, it is so much easier than moving my pictures off the wall or clearing off the coat hooks every time!  Plus, pick your plum had it for really cheap one day:)

It was a kind of hard color to capture.  I really like the look of it on her, perfectly summery.

It is quite long right now, but I figure she'll get lots of wear from it now and by the end of summer George can take over.

It was a very blustery day.  Luckily (?) it was a hot wind, so perfectly fine for a strappy top and cute shorts.

See? Not bothered at all by the wind:)

Shorts + Tank.



I was in Target the other day and stopped by their kids clothing section to see if anything caught my eye, and so much did!  So there I stood snapping pictures like crazy with my camera phone in the middle of the baby section... wait, doesn't everyone do that?  Come on, fess up!  HA! So I saw these super cute eyelet shorts in the exact eyelet I had seen at Jo-Ann's earlier (and also with Karen's Washi dress) and knew I just had to make something similar. 

 

 



I used the Oliver + S Puppet Show Shorts and made size 12 month, Izzy measured in to the 12m and George in the 6m, but they are a little tight on Iz.  I know, I know, white shorts for a 1 year old (or two one year olds) are just not that great of an idea.  I figure they can be bleached or even dyed eventually if they get too yucky. 

Also I used the scrap I had left from my jump rope dress to make the toddler swing tank free pattern from True Bias.  If I were to make the tank again, I would make the back opening a little longer as it is a little tough to get on Elizabeth, it is fine for George but she is smaller:)

These pictures just don't do the shorts justice...

And a red button for the back.

She kept crouching down like this, ha!

This face is just so Georgia, she pulls it all the time.

Aren't her pigtails just the cutest?  Although they make her look older :(

A little show.

I started this puppet show a month or so back, before my serger left for the doctor.  I put off finishing it until my baby returned since I had only put one sleeve in and I wanted a consistent look... even on the inside:)

 

I had a little trouble with this one, but a coke and a step away helped clear my head enough to figure it out.  Being I had put it off for so long I apparently forgot to add interfacing to the back placket.  Oops. I ended up ripping through two of the holes and they were pretty unfixable.  So one I just sewed together since it was the second to last and wont affect dressing, the other I put some fray check and hoping it wont fray too much. 

 



 

 

 

This is size 18m, and is quite roomy on Izzy even though she measured in to that size.  But so long as the button holes hold up that just means it will get lots of wear, right?

 



 



 

I am undecided on the color of button I used for the sleeves but I remembered seeing this pin (which I apparently didn't repin...) and thought it was in interesting way to sew on the buttons, so why not try it out now?

 



 

 

And white down the back, because I didn't have enough of the pink.

 

 



 

 

Pretty cute, no?

 



 

 

Does anyone else have problems with the collar popping up?  Every time she moved her shoulders it would pop back up... I used lightweight interfacing and Kona, didn't think it was too heavy.

 

 

Yesterday when I took the girl's legging pictures they sat next to each other so nice.  I put Iz up on the toy box and she kept patting the lid next to her, so I put George up there too and attempted to get a good shot of the two of them... Here is part of the fun that followed:

 

 

 

 

There was a lot of goofing off. 

 



 

 

She wouldn't keep her fingers out of her mouth, which interested Georgia...

 



 

 

Who just had to try it out herself,

So I told them "no no, hands down".

 



 

 

Elizabeth listened, folding her arms, while Georgia gave me what we lovingly refer to as "mad face",

 

 





 

 

But she soon turned that frown upside down.

 



 

In the end I just had to use the magic of photoshop and swap one of their heads, because let's face it, anyone with twins would know this would never actually happen without a little magic...

In love.

Oh, I am in love, and I want everyone to know it! I was at a local book and fabric shop (odd combination) this weekend and picked up some fabric that I was oh so excited to use.  So I asked some friends what color combinations they thought would go with my prints and they had some great input.  It has been a rainy mucky day so the pictures were taken inside and don't translate quite as nice as they should.  Especially the aqua and mustard one, it looks more yellow than mustard in the picture, but it is not.  When I saw the prints they just scream Ice Cream blouse at me.  I have seen many Ice Cream tops paired with Puppet Show Shorts and I knew that was the way I wanted to go. 

 



 

Both tops are 12m, lengthened for longer wear. 

The shorts are both 6m.  George wears the 3-6m size in these as I recently found out and Izzy is in the 6m, but I decided to make them flat front with button elastic hoping they will still fit Georgia next spring. 

As I was blog hopping the other night I ran across these shorts and loved the lace on the pockets.  I wanted something more dainty, but this is what I had in my stash and so that is what I went with.  I also used some grey linen and brown linen-look from Joann's.  I definitely prefer the linen, but they didn't have dark brown in anything but the linen-look.

I had just made the Classic Picnic shorts and had those instructions on my mind, so I knew I needed to interface the front section of the waistband, then I figured out where the side seam of the shorts would be and added a button hole on each side then put elastic in the back.

One thing that I love (one of the many) with Oliver and S patterns are the hem facings.  There isn't one on the blouse, but I drafted my own.  I love, love the look that it gives.

And two matching buttons.

Now, what to make next... ?

Win!

Three posts in one day?! I am on a roll! Or... the kids went to bed early tonight and I finally decided to catch up on blogging my projects...

After yesterday's attempt I knew I just had to make another pair of Puppet Shorts ASAP.  I always liked the design, but after I made them, I LOVED the design.  So I grabbed some darker denim as I used up all of the particular denim.  It is a nice, light weight stretch denim.  I made the 3-6m size this time and tried them on Elizabeth first.  Ummmm... she has thunder thighs and I couldn't pull them up. heehee.  So I put them on George and they fit great, other than I could take the elastic in just a little bit since I left it bigger thinking Izzy might wear them too.  I kept pulling them up on Georgia, but I left the casing open just in case I needed to adjust, so that will be easy peasy!

Sorry about the splotchy lighting, but my giant trees kind of do that, and George wont stand still in a shady spot like the big kids, ha!

So Izzy needs a pair in 6m soon, but I think I will sew something else first so I don't burn myself out on the pattern.  But I can't make any promises:)

Fail.

Ah, I was so excited for these shorts.  The Puppet Show  by Oliver and S was one of their first patterns I purchased when I discovered them earlier this year.  I finally got around to making them when I realized the twins had outgrown all their shorts and only had pants and dresses left. Every now and then ya just need a pair of shorts!  Silly me, I just went with the size I normally make for them in O+S without checking the measurements. FAIL. I made two in 12 m, turns out George isn't even on the chart for this pattern!! I meausred her waist today and it is 16"... tiny, I know! She must have lost weight since she started walking because her waist was 17" before. And Izzy measures in to the 3-6 m sizes. Sigh. Totally my fault.  I was looking at the shorts as I was sewing them, thinking they might be a little big, when I got to the leg binding I thought really big.  I put them on George and they went to below her knees.  Luckily for me, I have a niece who has a birthday next month and I am thinking one will fit her just fine. The other will likely fit at least Georgia next year!!

But all that aside, I truly love these shorts. As always with O+S they had clear instructions, great pattern, and a cute end product.  Aside from one question I had on the leg binding, but of course Nicole had a picture that cleared up my problem. I am thinking I will have to make another few pairs (one at a time though, to check sizing this time!!).  I just can't get over those pockets!!

So here they are, in all their glory, the one in the back will get elastic next year... when they will hopefully fit.  At this rate, that seems pretty likely!