man-bag

It is part of my son's "outfit" to shove a bunch of cars in his pockets each day. Unfortunately he just can't fit them ALL into his pockets, so I thought I'd make him a bag to carry them around in (this also helps avoid the fits being thrown because he can't physically carry 10+ cars in his arms at the same time!)

I used (sort of) the bag from Bend The Rules Sewing (the one with the apples), but made longer straps and different dimensions. . . so basically I just made it up as I went - but I had sewn the Amy Karol one before, which was helpful.

I used the "wrong side" of some denim fabric I had on hand and lined it (and appliqued) with some canvas-y type fabric from Walmart. The straps are just the two strips of fabric sewn together with the edges raw.I tried to make the bag as manly as I could (w/o spending hours and hours making it).

My husband is embarrassed when Carson carries around his "purse" full of cars.

birthday shirts only the mom cares about

Isn't that so true?! What three year old can get excited about getting clothes for his birthday?? Oh well, I had a fun time making them...

Freezer paper stenciled (which I've found an new love for. I hated doing it at first, but discovered that if I cut the image with those tiny finger nail scissors, it's much easier than using a razor. That might just be me...)
My personal fave. He runs around the house "roaring" at his sister with his "scary pider shirt". Only, she's not scared and roars and chases him back. . .
I cut the hemmed edges of the sleeves and bottom to make them roll. (Above two shirts are "remakes" of shirts I saw in Mini Boden).
This freezer paper stencil was totally inspired by this brilliant tutorial I saw over at Made during her (and Rae's) boy month. If you are at all interested in taking your images (or ones found off the internet) and then converting them to larger images to freezer paper stencil, you must read the tutorial. It's awesome! I'm going to try the Lincoln image as soon as I can figure out how to make it smaller. I'm thinking of putting four Lincoln heads on the shirt and paint it sort of Andy Warhol like.

patriotic

Hope all you locals had a fun 4th of July. It doesn't seem like a true holiday without a celebratory outfit does it? Here our ours:
With the leftover fabric from this shirt, I figured I try making a Pillowcase dress for Anna using the free tutorial/pattern by Habitual. It was easy to make, but I have to admit to not following any of the directions, so maybe that's not a fair assessment of the pattern.

For the boy

It's reverse applique Alabama Chanin style (thread ends on the outside). Once I finished it I thought I should have done a tutorial, but here's another one if you really are interested. I TAPE my fabric to the inside with masking tape instead of pinning though.

speaking of skirts

This past weekend we went to a birthday party - petting zoo and pony rides - totally fun. I made this little shirt and hair clip for the birthday girl.I originally was going to put two sea horses on the shirt, but decided on one. I had already cut the second one out, so went to Anna's closet and found a white tank top.It's always fun having a matching skirt, so I made a skirt yesterday from the Lazy Days Skirt pattern (free!) from Oliver +S. If you are a beginning sewer this is the skirt for you! It's the easiest thing I've ever sewn. Really. The ribbon hem was so fun to do that I'm tempted to hem everything I ever have to hem again that way (but reverse so the ribbon is on the inside). Seriously.

I added the rick rack and velvet ribbon just for fun. Maybe I'll add some to the shirt too...

more

Dog: Scroll down and find here.
Cupcake: I just drew this. It's a little lopsided.
Fish: saw in a Boden magazine last year. They always have great ideas to use.

birthday stuff

Two years ago today I woke up in the middle of the night with contractions - 5 weeks early and 3 hours away from the hospital. But we made it! And now he gets to wear this fun little shirt for his birthday that I made him (well, I appliqued the 2 on at least).

I saw this fabric at a local quilt store and knew I had to do something fun with it. Birthday banners are the best! They make everything so festive. I made a template out of card board for the triangles. I experimented with a few methods, but decided the best way for me was to sandwich felt in between the two triangles (so there is fabric on the front and back). The edges are raw. I prefer the felt in the middle because it makes the triangle a little more substantial. The triangles are 6" by 8". I could post a pdf for the template if anyone is interested.
Last of all - jumbo Space cupcakes - get it? Earth, Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, Outer space. Mars! I forgot the Red Planet - oh! That would have been so easy too! duh! I'm not a crafty cooking/baking person, but I have to admit, I though myself very clever with these. A few years ago I bought a Cake Decorating Delux kit from Williams Sonoma for a steal (only $10!). There is everything you could want to decorate cakes and cookies in that kit! Sugar sprinkles and food coloring in every color you could ever want - even brown. It was fun figuring out how to make the cupcakes look space-y. My sister told me I have to much time on my hands ; )

Happy Birthday (baby) C!

"balentines" gifts

My 4 1/2 year old used to say "balentines day". She doesn't anymore, but I miss the way she used to mispronounce certain words. Oh well... part of getting older.

If you haven't tried applique on a shirt - you gotta do it. It's seriously addictive.I just used a shirt that was all ready in her closet. I cut the arms and the bottom of the shirt to make the edge roll a little. If you're looking for cheap t-shirts to applique on Walmart (I know, boo... hiss...) has them for only $3.50, and they're pretty cute actually. I like to use the Steam-A-Steam to appllique with on most things so the edges don't fray as much. I embroidered A+D on the trunk of the tree (Anna + Daddy). Fun.
I may still make a shirt for Carson, but am not sure... boys are tricky for Valentines Day. I thought this (hearts cars) was a cute idea - not so obviously Valentines. I bought the tie pattern here, although you can get it free for bigger sizes here (you have to scroll through all their free patterns to find it). I probably could have figured out how to make it smaller, but sometimes, it's nice to have someone else think for you. The ties are so easy and fun to make and only take 30 minutes or so. This may become our new birthday gift for all our little boyfriends at church.

Happy Birthday T

My goal has been to try and sew a Christmas gift a day to try and get everything done by the time we travel for Christmas. This past weekend I finished all of the stuff for my in-laws. 3 gifts down 4 to go PLUS the stuff I'm making for my daughter (doll clothes for her new doll from Santa, and I'm thinking of making this art case tutorial - I think it'll be great for church).

In the meantime I made these dish towels for Tracy for her birthday. They were easy and fun to make. I just bought some white towels from Restoration Hardware, patched one and did applique on the other.
Happy Birthday Tracy! I can't wait until next year for your 30th birthday party (yes - she's already planning it).

fall sewing:: shirts

I'm having a hard time making shirts for the Fall that are long sleeved. It's just so hot here right now! (and will be hot for another month or so). I figure that anything I make can be worn on top of a long sleeved t-shirt, so it still counts as part of my "Fall Sewing" series.

As you can see, Anna is very serious about her role as "model". This shirt is my favorite. It is also some little elf's favorite too as I CANNOT FIND IT anywhere! I have searched high and low and it is no where to be found. I even remember where I last saw it -in my front room on a hanger. Oh well. . . as it turns out, I have 5 more yards of the apple and pear fabric so I guess I could make another one. You can find the pattern here if you're interested. They also have it in size 8-14 too. This will be cute with a long sleeved T underneath I think. And made longer into a dress.
When I was first trying this on Anna she told me, "It's kinda ugly" so I let her pick out a fabric to do the ruffle and the binding at the neck in. I also had to tell her how cool it would be to match Aunt Jenni because she has a skirt made out of the same fabric. I think she's convinced. Well. She wore it today and didn't cry, so I'll count go ahead and count that as okay. I have to admit that I'm not totally crazy about it either though. It's OK. I really like the pleats in the neck though and I think it would be a cute dress. And I wouldn't add the ruffle. Or lengthen the arms. I should just stick to the pattern. . .


This shirt is made from the same pattern as her birthday dress. There was all sorts of learning that happened here! I tried my hand at shirring. There are loads of tutorials online if you're interested. It's very very easy. You should give it a try. I shirred the front and also the arms to give it a little wavy ruffle. I also hand sewed the facing to the inside because sewing it (like in the instructions) didn't look nice on the corduroy fabric. The neck on this one is a little wide, but I think it will be cute with a long sleeved mock turtle neck underneath.

BTW - Anna does NOT like this one either. She wanted a flower instead of a whale. I told her that the blue is like the ocean and the whale is swimming in it. She doesn't care. Isn't she sweet?
Since she doesn't like anything I make for her, I let her choose the fabric. I gave her 3 different choices of combos here (otherwise we'd have apple flannel paired with rainbow whale flannel). I thought it turned out cute - and she likes it too. You can find the pattern here. The nice thing is that it goes up to size 8 and also has a short sleeved version. There are lots of options to make the same shirt but a few different ways. I shirred the arms to give them a bell-like look. I really want to buy this hat pattern designed by the same people, but I can predict that Anna will definitely refuse to wear it!

Fun stuff. Anna really is a good sport about it all. I am learning a lot, and my real goal is to learn and make mistakes on her clothes so that by the time she refuses to wear anything I make her I'll be good enough to make more of my own clothes.

Appli-crazy

I admit it. I'm addicted. I'm appli-crazy. It all started out with circles and joy, but has now morphed into larger more complicated patches. I love it though. It's a great way to turn a $3.00 shirt into something a little more boutique looking. Plus, I think it's something I can "sew" for my son without him looking like he's wearing a homemade-looking (or "girlie" looking if you ask my husband) outfit.

The butterfly is one of Sandi Henderson's free patterns (also made with her fabric). I hand embroidered the antenna (which looks obvious as they aren't very symmetrical).



I love the octopus. It's very mini boden looking. You should request their catalog. They have tons of inspiring ideas for this kind of stuff. As you'll soon find out - I'm not really very creative. I get all of my designs from free tutorials and images online. This octopus came from a Sew Mama Sew tutorial found here. It was tricky and too a while to sew around the edges, but I like how it turned out. I need to paint some eye on it or something.

I just bought a few more long sleeved t-shirts for my son so. . . more to come! And maybe a little tutorial on how to do it (or at least the way I do it).