My First Sew Along

How super is this?! While I'm no stranger to Knit-Alongs, this is my very first time participating in a Sew-Along and I'm really, really, excited.

The stash raid and some notions from the store.

When Melissa of Melly Sews and Blank Slate Patterns announced her Coastal Cargos Sew-Along last week, I decided to take the plunge and join in. I've been eying the pattern for those adorable cargo pants for a while and it seemed the perfect reason to bump them to the top of my queue. I downloaded the pattern, joined the Blank Slate Patterns Facebook Group, and raided my stash.

The pattern calls for a bottomweight type fabric so I chose a springy green cotton woven with a small amount of heft out of my stash. I also grabbed the zipper and the thread from stash.

Isn't it a cute print?!

I wanted a fun contrast print for pockets, linings, and homemade bias tape, so I went to the fabric store and found a great cotton print in the children's section. It's got all of Boo's favorite colors! I also think it will make great bias tape because the print is small, but large enough that it will look color blocked. We'll see if I'm right, but I have high hopes.

Cutting out pattern pieces...

So far I've printed the pattern, pieced it together, and cut out all of the pieces. I'm about to start making bias tape in preparation for the Sew-Along to start today.

Woohoo!

The Cutest Boy Pants Ever

I tried to get a good picture of Boo modeling his new pants, but just like a good two year old, he wasn't having it. This is the best I've got!

  
I am on a quest to make my son Boo's preschool wardrobe. I want him to have cute clothes, interesting clothes, comfortable clothes, well made clothes, clothes that allow him to run and play. I don't want him to have cheap clothes that will fall apart, clothes with logos on them, clothes that say "Daddy's Lil' Sport" or other goofy sayings. I want clothes in colors other than blue, green, brown, and black. Unfortunately, that sort of children's clothing is only available at posh boutiques that our current budget will not allow. Even if it did, I couldn't grasp spending that sort of money on clothes that would be outgrown so quickly at his age. 

I plan to do some shopping for him at Target for the basics like undies and socks and some shopping at our local Saver's (I LOVE THRIFT SHOPS!) for jeans and and a jacket but I have a list of about a dozen items that I want to sew myself to add some pop into his wardrobe and express his already vibrant almost-3-year-old style. He will be starting his very first day of school in just over a month so I'm sewing up a storm.

Front View

Rear View

My latest project is a pair of adorable little capri pants. I used a Burda Kids pattern from my stash, number 9793, view B. I had a remnant of grey cotton twill that I purchased at Joann's a long, long time ago that I wanted to use, but it was a tad too small to lay out the entire pattern on to. Never fear! I pulled out a fun two-tone grey cotton remnant from my stash and used that to make the rear patch pockets and to line the front pockets. Perfect!

The pants were quite easy to make. It was my first time using this Burda pattern, and like usual, those Germans can really write a pattern. It was simple and clear to follow with the exception of the fiddly bits at the fly. Luckily I have made a lot of pants in the past (Back in the day, I made 19 pairs of overalls in one week for Disney!) so it wasn't a problem to figure it out on my own. I still think these were quite easy.

Such Cute Contrast!

I really like the details on these. They are elastic waist pants but they have a fake fly so they look a little more polished. The elastic drawstrings at the bottom hems look sporty and fun on a little boy. My favorite it my my contrast pockets though. They take the pants from standard boy pants to stylish and different.

Drawstring Cuff Detail

Rear Pocket Detail

And what shall he wear with them? A stack of multi-colored tees! I made three tees and embellished them with fun appliques. I think they look great and will be fun to wear with his new grey capri pants.

Super Fun Tees!

Castles and Dragons Tee Shirt

Well, the third time WAS the charm!

The body of the tee shirt is a jersey knit printed with adorable castles and dragons that was reclaimed from a thrifted baby blanket I purchased at Savers for $2.00. The back of the blanket is a solid white jersey knit with a cool embroidered castle on it. I think it will be used as a pocket patch on a later tee shirt.

The sleeves were cut from an old navy blue polo shirt of mine that I only wore a few times. The shirt fit me all funny after I accidentally threw it in the dryer one day so I'm glad I was able to finally find a good use for it. I also used the navy blue fabric to bind the collar.

I think this time it all worked! I used Burda 9614 again, only this time with long sleeves. I thought the shirt would have greater visual appeal if the sleeves provided a greater contrast to the large expanse of white.

Boo loves his new shirt and I do too. It's been added to his back-to-school clothes pile (is it back-to school if it's the first day of preschool?) and he can't wait to wear it.

I can't wait to get back to Savers and hunt for more baby blankets. The prints are great, the price is right, and there is a LOT of fabric in each. I still have the whole back of the first blanket PLUS a very long piece of light blue knit binding that I saved when I took the blanket apart. I'm sure that will come in handy one day too.

My next project is up in the air. It's either a pair of  The Madeleine Mini Bloomers from Colette in a pink and brown stripe cotton for me or it's a pair of Number 9 Trousers from Shwin Designs in a grey twill from Boo's back-to-school pile. I've also got a baby shower to attend this weekend and I've got to whip something up as present...so many ideas, so little time!

The Tee Shirt Failure...And A Second Try

Well, I attempted my first tee shirt for Boo. It went together quick and easy and looked great...until I got to the neckline. Somehow I botched it BIG TIME.

See the wonky neckline?

I serged the binding before I sewed it on...and then I serged it after I stitched it to the neckline. I thought I was being smart and securing it well. What I really did was turn it into a stiff, wonky mess. I put the shirt on Boo and the collar was practically 3-D, standing up off of his chest. It was bad. Luckily my little boy is the sweetest toddler ever. He told me it was beautiful and he insisted on wearing it to bed.

Fail!

After seeing my epic failure and doing a few hours of internet research while eating a comforting bowl of chocolate ice cream, I came up with a new plan to tackle necklines on tee shirts. I tried again. This time I took a bright blue tee shirt from the thrifted pile to use as the fabric.

The tee shirt came along nicely. I'm still not thrilled with the neckline but it's 100 times better. I followed a great online tutorial and it came out neat, smooth, stretchy, and attractive. Then I made the mistake of "stitching in the ditch" rather than just plain top-stitching. It looks fine but the perfectionist in me thinks it's too messy looking. I know that no one else but me will ever notice the difference but I still plan to change it for all future shirts.

Since the end result of tee shirt attempt #2 was a plain, boring, but well crafted blue shirt, I decided it needed some embellishment. I stenciled a dark green alligator near the hem in the front and embroidered the outline and some details in a brighter shade of green.

Win!

I'm about to tackle my third tee shirt attempt. Look at this fabric!!! I can't wait to show off my plan for this. Third time is the charm, right?

Dragons and castles!!!

How many tries did it take you to master sewing knit shirts?

A Lovely Satchel

Last week my "gym bag" sprung a leak. And by "gym bag", I mean a reusable grocery store tote bag from Shaw's. A giant hole ripped into the side of it and things would fall out in a trail behind me as I left the locker room. I was annoyed about having to go to the store and replace it. Then I remembered that I sew. Isn't is a great looking bag?

I found a fantastic old pattern in my stash for this giant gaudy beach bag - so I stripped off all the trim and glitz to make it perfect for the gym. I also used a gorgeous piece of decorator fabric that had been in my stash for at least 10 years. I was saving it for "something special" which we all do when we have a piece that we treasure. Well, what better use than a gym bag that I haul around Every Day? I'll get to see it all the time!

The fabric is a pastoral French print with a young woman and lots of flowers and swirls. I love it.

It's way too fancy for the gym and it's way too fancy for the bag I made it into but I love it anyway. It makes a day at gym a little more glamorous. And don't you love the way the swirls and the notched top lined up so nicely?

I lined the bag with a simple blue cotton, stitched in a pocket and a (wonky) label, and called it wonderful.

As for that wonky label...I really need to figure out a way to make labels for my garments and accessories that look neater. I know I should just get some professionally made with my logo but that's out of the budget for now. Until then, I'm going to experiment with cotton tape and permanent ink stamping, I think. This is getting ridiculous. I need labels as well crafted as my goods.

Boys Need Clothes Too

I've been on a hunt for clothing patterns for boys. Aside from my stash of Burda patterns, that is.

 
My little guy, Boo, will be 3 in September. That means preschool is starting for us in a few weeks! Like a good sewist mother, I'm chomping at the bit to whip up some back-to-school clothes for his first year. Unfortunately, there are very few patterns to be found. For every 100 adorable patterns for a little girl there is 1 single pattern for a little boy. Most of them are boring. Some are just plain ugly. A lot of them use knits.

There are some adorable patterns to be found though. I found some fantastic patterns! Here is a list for reference.

Oliver + S:
Sailboat Top and Pants
Field Trip Cargo Pants and Raglan T-Shirt.

Blank Slate Patterns:
The Beachy Boatneck
The Coastal Cargo Pants
The Prepster Pullover

The Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop:
The Hangout Hoodie
The Varsity Cowl Neck Pullover

Made By Rae:
Parsley Pants
Flashback Skinny Tee
The Charlie Tunic

Heidi and Finn:
Urban Unisex Hoodie

SchwinDesigns:
Submarine Pullover
Maxwell Shirt
NoWhere Man Pants
Number 9 Trousers

Not bad, eh? It's a great list, but it's ALL I found. At least, all I found that was interesting and fun. I'll keep adding to the list if I find more.

Another great find was Ottobre Designs magazine. I need to get my hands on the children's editions of those!

Now, there is a small hurdle. I have little experience sewing with knits. Very little. In all my years of working in costume shops, I never really worked with them. It just never came up. So...clearly I need to get on this. Boo needs cool clothes made by his mom.

I decided to dive right in and I chose a pattern from my stash as a test pattern. Burda, 9614. Cute, simple tee shirts made out of cotton jersey.

I paired the pattern with a simple blue striped knit from my reclaimed tee shirt pile and started cutting. Here's what I've got...

I need to find a neck binding tutorial next. I think I know what to do, but I really want some tips. Wish me luck!

Fabric Grab Bags!

My local Savers often has fabric grab bags for $2 - $4. They weigh about a pound and are stuffed with fabric goodness. Last week I was there (with a 50% off coupon!) and scored two amazing finds.

I got this one for $1.50 (originally $3.00) and I think it was totally a steal. It contained a whole pile of 1 yard cuts of vintage style floral prints. They look very 70's and might just be that old. I wonder if someone planned to make a quilt and finally gave up after 40 years of procrastinating!

The bag, as purchased.

The contents, all laid out!

 

 

 I love these two prints, identical in pattern, but one in green and one in black. I've got about a yard of each and I want to make a little girl's dress out of them. I'm thinking either something prairie style or something Belgian style.
















These two prints are very small and very delicate. If the pieces were larger, I'd be making nightgowns out of them. Since I've only got the 1 yard of each, I'm considering handkerchiefs. I'm also considering saving them and using them as contrast for little tops.














I got a second bag during that trip. It was mostly chuff but there was one incredible gem that I couldn't resist! Look at that yellow polka dot happiness. It's about 2 yards of heavy cotton fabric and I just had to have it. It will become a skirt or a giant tote bag. I haven't decided.

Winner!!!

As for the chuff, well, you win some and you lose some. I'm sure I'll use it eventually. I love grab bags though!!!
 

The chuff.