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.

A New Shirt

 

Dolman sleeves are my new favorite.

I'm currently working on perfecting a pattern for a cute cotton tee with Dolman sleeves. I've worked up the first sample and I really like it. It definitely needs a few tweaks, but the look is what I was hoping for! The best part? The whole thing takes about 1 yard of a main fabric and about 1/4 a yard of a contrast fabric! How's that for a stash-buster?

Thrifting Recap

Thrifting was a ton of fun yesterday, but not quite a smashing success. My niece managed to score a great haul by finding 2 band tee shirts, a lace blouse, a brand new "Pink" hoodie, and a black tank top, all for $22. I was not having the same luck. It was a combination of nothing really speaking to me and Boo having a toddler tantrum.

Why was he having a tantrum? Because he is two and he found the toy to end all toys in Savers. And he wanted it. He found a Corvette that was "Boo sized", as he put it. I have to be honest. I was tempted. It worked. It was only $19.99. It was adorable. I kind of wanted it myself. It was the sort of thing that every kids yearns for and most parents can't afford. It was sitting right on front of us, and I wanted to buy it too.

Sadly, reason kicked in and we had to walk away. First of all, it was too big for my car. Second, we had no place to drive it. We live on a busy side street and our driveway is short and sloped. Third, money is tight this month and the car was just unnecessary. I'm keeping my eyes peeled though. If I see another one, reason may not win.

As for my own finds, I got a great tin. That was a fun find. It was .99 and in great condition. It's going into my studio to store buttons.

 I also found a gorgeous Tuscan platter with a great floral design in some really bold colors. I didn't purchase it because it was cracked but I made sure to get a lot of photos to add to my inspiration boards. I'd love to make this into a fabric!

That's it for this trip. Hopefully we'll make it back again on Friday for a second round. We only made it through half the store!