Pattern: The Green Pepper Fleece Hoodie

I made my tweens winter fleece jackets. They’re both around 5’8″ and 140-50 pounds, so we’re into adult patterns for both of them. They both are also athletic, are hard on clothing, and still growing, so I don’t sew for them too often, but made an exception for Christmas-ish jackets.

I used a local Oregon company called The Green Pepper. I don’t think they’re too big, or even very hands-on at this point, but I’ve been wanting to try them out.

The pattern is “Adult” – as in gender-neutral, and I’d say it’s even more neutral than the drawings portray. There’s a lot of ease in that waistline! It’s not at all a fit-line garment, but for our needs, that’s just fine.

I made the boy’s first as he was more immediately in need having lost his new winter coat. already. again. sigh.

The instructions are pretty straight-forward. There’s…what, 14 pieces and 3 zippers for the long-sleeved hoodie? Oh, and the bindings…so 16 pieces, plus 3 zippers and hoodie cord.

The pocket zips are a nice touch, and the pockets are HUGE. They go from the bottom hem, all the way up to the chest yoke. Seriously massive. Both times I inserted the zips the same way, so one zips up to close, and one zips down. Derp. Oh well. That’s what I get for skimming instructions. I don’t even know if the instructions say to flip it, but I keep missing that part.

They have you make a cord channel with the facing around the hood out of a lycra. It works really well.

I made a ‘tag’ on the boy’s version. The inside has a matching tag with his name in Sharpie. He likes to lose things. A lot.

The hood is a 3-piece construction which is nice, but a bit too shallow.

I deepened the hood on the girl’s version, and reinforced the shoulder seams. I almost brought the sides of the hood forward too, but I’m glad I didn’t – for better visibility. Her face is covered, but she can easily see traffic.

As you can see on both versions, there’s no problem fitting their wide shoulders in a Medium size, and lots of room below – which is great for self-conscious tweens.

I used a 3-step zig-zag stitch a lot more on the second version, which I prefer for stability.

Tween-girl had some glow-in-the-dark laces from her grandmother that work perfect for her hoodie strings.

Both fleece purchases and the pattern were bought at Joann’s Fabric – so nothing too exciting to report there.

What do you think about the visible zig-zag? I see it a lot in RTW lately, especially high end swimwear, and I like it, but some people still think it’s a little too….Becky From Home-Ecky?

Overall, I really liked the Green Pepper pattern and I’m happy to support a local, “little guy” company.

The second version took me two afternoons of a few half-hour chunks here and there to cut out and assemble…it gets a little tight there around the hood cord, and I used a cotton knit I had on hand instead of a lycra, so I tacked a few hand-stitches in there to keep it in place.

Overall, that’s pretty good in my book. They only take <2 yards of fabric for the XS-L sizes, so when fleece is on sale, that makes for some inexpensive work. Zippers can add up, but when at Joann’s, that’s when you use the coupons on those, right?

A Different Take on Butterick B5526

Another B5526, but this time I did the ruffle placket and collar. This is my 4th…version. My 3rd will probably never see the light of day….I made a leopard print version, and quickly remembered: I don’t wear animal prints. I look like a Flintstone in animal print. Does. Not. Work. On. Me.

I did not slim down the sleeves as this was already cut out, but the poofier sleeves work with the ruffles on this lightweight, ditzy floral, tiny corduroy I picked up at Jo-Ann’s Fabric last fall.

I only had enough matching buttons for the placket as I put 10 buttons down the front to keep them really close (2.5″ apart) and more fussy/Victorian-y, so I put gray-pearl buttons on the cuffs. Not enough ruffles for the cuffs, so cuffs are standard.

In fact, the whole ruffle thing was done on-the-fly. I didn’t have enough fabric leftover to do the proper swirl-cut bias ruffle, so I just used my ruffle foot on some strips and winged-it.

Whatevs. It works in a pinch and I’ve already worn it a ton.

I think I need a super high waist pencil skirt. Where I need to wear a pencil skirt, I have no idea, but just go with it. Humor me. And ignore my winter-messy yard. I was tired of indoor shots.

I know everyone is channeling 70s right now, but I’m all about 80s. 1985 Desperately Seeking Susan, 1986 Jennifer Grey, Duran Duran & Depeche Mode, Brat Pack. Big fried hair. Mix of boxy and weirdly tight-high neck-Victorian mash up of the 80s. I didn’t like the 50s resurgence that happened, so I’ll skip that part. I look stupid in Wayfarers – much like animal print.

Anyway, back to the shirt. I still want to slim down the back lower armscye there, but that will have to wait. I have other things I want to play with for awhile.

What else – Oh, I bias-faced the hem this time. On the fly as well….which made putting on the button placket kind of funny as I didn’t account for the extra length the bias hem would create, but it worked out fine. The collar stand covered up the gap that was still there after I reduced seam allowance – YAY for Big 4’s giant seam allowances! Also, skipped all interfacing as it’s still corduroy and would have resulted in ridiculously thick bits.

This is a fun shirt and all, and very winter-friendly, but I’m ready for spring sewing already. How about you??

TILLY & THE BUTTONS: Agnes

We need to talk about Agnes. HAHAHA. I have such extreme RBF! I can’t help it!

Seriously, though, Tilly & The Buttons Agnes is a SUPER cute top, right? And if you’re the tiny size with an A-cup, I’m sure it will come out super cute just like on the pattern cover, even if you’re a beginner sewist.

Let’s talk about everyone else though… I bought the pattern during the 20% off Black Friday sale, but it’s been out for a few years. If you’re about to sew this pattern, or you have and you don’t look like the cute girl on the cover, let’s go over it. It has some grading errors, it’s missing some information, and I’m 5’9″-ish, 150 lbs-ish, and in the realm of a 36D – I’m not tiny. So, I’ve made a list of some things I’ve worked out.

1. Elastic markings: The pattern elastic placement on both the bust and the arm is not graded out to larger sizes. If you place the elastic where it says, then your ruching will not go to the seam allowance, and your ruching will start too low.

You need to move the placement in correlation to the size you are cutting.

2. Starting the elastic and the top and stretching down, as per the instructions, will leave you with a flat 1/3″-1/2″ anchor point at the top. Reverse the anchor point FROM the bottom and stretch UP.

Serious grandma boobs happening. The fabric isn’t the best, but also that flat part up top where I anchored the elastic isn’t helping anyone’s boobs, let alone my wide-set D-cups.

3. See that wrinkle on top of my boobs? Normally that indicates I need a full bust adjustment (FBA), however, in the case of the Agnes, the armscye is too long, and the armpits are too low, which also causes that wrinkle. I should take a wedge out of the armscye, but I got lazy/irritated towards the end and just shaved some out some of the pit with my serger. Besides – stretchy fabric should accommodate my bust with my size – so really, on my body, it’s the armscye that is primarily the issue. Looking through Instagram and seeing others’ Agnes tops, I’m not alone. There’s a lot of bust wrinkles across a lot of sizes, and when you see a photo with an arm out stretched, you can see the gap in the armpit. Looking at the last of these green shirt versions, you can see I’ve still got some gap.

4. The direction of stretch on the neckband. This is something I almost didn’t catch because I’ve done so many knit garments, I do a lot of it on autopilot. But going through Instagram and seeing a ton of bagged-out necklines and comments about how they had to remove length in the neckband, I realized a beginner wouldn’t know that you need to reverse the direction of stretch on a neckband.

The neckband is actually graded perfectly IF you know to switch it so the greatest amount of stretch goes the short way, as in image above.

I’ve done my fair share of pattern testing, and I’m mostly disappointed none of the testers caught these issues. This pattern has been out for awhile, but Tilly’s customer base is mostly beginners, and I don’t expect they’d catch these issues, but testers should be experienced enough to go through the steps and pattern pieces with beginners in mind and catch these issues, especially the grading marks.

I also mitered the neckband to make a V at the point of ruching, and did the neckband last, instead of before the ruching as the instructions indicate, but that is a personal preference, so I’m not including that as a fix-it item.

A note about fabrics. I made this top in everything. The top is a cotton/poly sweater knit from Joann’s, the grandma boobs is a poly-something from Mill End, the green/white is a very yummy cotton double-sided knit from Britex, and this monstrosity below is a rayon blend from Girl Charlee – I like getting their weird off-print clearance fabrics for testing:

The pattern works well with various percentages of stretch…the Hawaiian acid trip has the most stretch, then the sweater stripe, then the Grinch green stripe, and last, the grandma metallic gold has the least amount of stretch.

I’m still WAY more in support of indie patterns overall, but this will probably be my last Tilly pattern. I’ve sewn the Miette skirt up a few years ago and wasn’t in love with that one either – so let’s just say they’re not for me. It’s an ok pattern, but for me, it’s no Renfrew. I still wear my stack of Renfrews, including in my last Ginger Jeans post. I’d rather hack the Renfrew to accommodate ruching before I wrestle with the Agnes anymore.

Or maybe there are some other go-to knit shirts out there I need to play with? I understand the Grainline Linden is popular. I might go that route next.

Seamwork Patterns Sydney and Savannah

Sydney & Savannah
Sydney & Savannah

I signed up for Seamwork Magazine the second they opened up the subscription. I have a penchant for Colette Patterns anyway, not necessarily for their style, but more so for the quality product. The Seamwork patterns seems to fall even more into my style preferences, so yay for finally finding a sewing magazine I dig.

RBF
RBF

Please ignore my severe RBF (resting b*tch face.) I seem to have it bad, when in actuality I was fighting with the remote sensor. I’m not denying I have RBF, but it’s always when I’m pensive or trying to trouble shoot.

Anywho, this is a lovely rayon I found at Joann’s fabric store. I just had to have it, and bought it without a project in mind, as I do. Then my friend Betsy decided to throw a birthday party for herself in the secret speakeasy at Circa 33, and I had to come up with something to wear!

The overlay Sydney is perfect. I made a large, although I should have made a medium. I ended up taking in the shoulders and an inch out of the back, with a 1.5″ taken out of the back neck. It kept sliding down. Fairly easy tweaks to make, however, and I wear this all the time now.

back tweak
back tweak

The Savannah is also a bit tweaked. I omitted the lacey top, made double straps, and lengthened about 6 inches to turn it into a summer slip dress-tunic thing.

slip dress
slip dress

Sorry about the bra – it was blessed hot out, and I wasn’t about to fuss with my strapless, or actual pants….

woooo
woooo

I’m too old modest to wear anything this short anymore, but you can see the length I settled on. I used the bias trim from the Sydney to finish the bottom of the Savannah, and it ties it nicely together. I generally wear this with some skinny jeans, but at this point my face was melting off from the heat and the jeans never would have come back off.

Right now, I have a couple Osakas on the cutting table, and bought some knit for an autumn Mesa, I will lengthen as well.

Papercut Ooh La Leggings x2

papercut

I bought this pattern FOREVER AGO with the best of intentions. Like almost a year ago. OMG.

Recently I got side-lined by the doctor. He said I don’t stretch enough (BORING) and that I needed to take 14 days off with icing my Achilles tendon 3x a day and take a buttload of Aleve and wear orthopedic inserts and OMG I don’t like getting old. I got this prognosis during the holiday glutton fest AND had to turn 40 during this! I get it, it beats the alternative. yeah, yeah. I’m not dead. BUT WAHHHH!

What to do but get out the yards and yards of Joann’s dri-fit crap I bought almost a year ago, my Papercut Ooh La Leggings and make myself new clothes for when I can move again – lemons, lemonade and all that. I was going to also make a Vogue pair of leggings, but, uh, that pattern was donated to the dumpster. Very cathartic, BTW, chucking that Vogue mess.

okokok – here’s me in pants tighter than you ever needed to know about! woohoo!

elastic

Belly shot to show I used a 1.25 inch “sport elastic” with the channels you can sew in – it’s called “Stretchrite” and I think I got this 25 yard roll on either Amazon or Dove Trims. I wrapped the top of the waist band by a 1/4 inch, stitched in first channel, wrapped it again, and stitched down….no rolling, no shifting.

side

Side shot. I sewed a medium. I probably could have gone up a size but I’d rather stress the spandex/lycra than have baggy leggings butt. EW.

butt

This gray Joann’s isn’t as see-through as the green (below) but you can still see the tag of my underwear through my pants. They’re not lewd, but they’re not forgiving either. In fact, the pattern really helps, I think. I’m going to look for some better quality now that I know I love the pattern.

Ankle shot – I left the full length of the original pattern. I like the extra fabric to go over my ankles or to tuck in my socks.

ankles

In fact, I’m wearing these green ones right now. I love them.

 

it is easy to be green

These green ones are fun….but I can NOT wear black undies with them. Just that little bit of lighter shade is a little bit see-through.

hellacopters ftw

One must have motivational music to go with motivational pants. I got me and my man Hellacopters t-shirts for Christmas. I’m so romantic.

Recess Raglans For Evah!

SMILEY

When I want to try out some new fabrics, hacks or techniques, there’s nothing better than trying it out on a kid size. It’s cheaper, a smaller loss if it’s horrible/lame/wonky, and oh-so-faster.

I saw this amazing black and white knit along with some basic black jersey both in the remnant bin at Joann’s and have been wanting to hack a hoodie onto the awesome seekatesew Recess Raglan pattern, so it was a natural buy.

I LOVE it. The recess raglan takes maybe 20 minutes to sew up, another 10 or so with the added hood…

HOODIE-BACK

I used this Shwin and Shwin hoodie hack, and doubled it so that the hood is lined. It worked like a DREAM. I want it in my size.

HOODIE-2

Zoë is more princess or action figure inclined, so she did not love putting on my über fashion forward hoodie, but after I got it on her, she was all for it. She’s worn it a few times since and even likes it…even though it’s not princess pink. Win!

ARTISTIC-HOODIE

 It’s a bit snug on her, the raglan is a slim fit and she’s out growing this size 3T I have been using for awhile now, which works in my favor, see…if I make one for me, we won’t be all matchy-matchy. bwahahaha.

action-hoodie

 

Sewing With Knits

Room To Grow
Knit Stash Bust
Knit Stash Bust

I got to spend a nice weekend with my family being mellow and getting a lot of sewing done. I put in a knit order to girlcharlee.com for Alex and bought 3 yards of Briar Rose in Orange Strawberry at Modern Domestic on Friday, so wanted to really get through the girly sewing before Alex’s knits showed up. In addition, there was a little top secret pattern testing thrown in; all-in-all, I was very productive!

I used the same Recess Raglan pattern size and type that I previously used for Hazel again in the Briar Rose.

Hazel Recess Raglan
Hazel Recess Raglan

She has been off at a birthday party so I will have to wait to see if it fits her. I’m a bit concerned…

See, a little note about the Briar Rose jersey knit. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. After prewashing it, I still got a ton of usage out of it (read: good quality, minimal shrinkage.) But it does curl like a pig’s tail. I read this Fresh Lemon’s post about it before I bought it…and my, I feel for her. I have a serger, double needles, etc. and no fear of knits….but if you’re not used to knits, maybe try a cheapie Joann’s knit first. At about $10 a yard, it’s not going to break the bank, but let’s not be frivolous.

Anywho, like I said, at $10 a yard, let’s use it all up. So, I made a few more Recess Raglans in 3T, figuring I’d give Zoe room to grow. I played around with different cuffs and finishing for giggles.

Briar Rose Strawberry Raglan
Briar Rose Strawberry Raglan
Strawberry Bubblegum
Strawberry Bubblegum
Strawberry Ice Cream Raglan
Strawberry Ice Cream Raglan

I may have pushed the limits of knit layer-thickness with Ms. Viking and the double needle…I was playing around with the bubblegum fabric and this happened….

Busted Needle
Busted Needle

Hahaha. Whoopsie. At least it didn’t really break off – I hate fishing around for metal fragments.

I think I picked a good size for Zoe. She’s in the tall and skinny category according to the doc office at 18 months and generally wears a 2T, so these should last a bit.

Room To Grow
Room To Grow
3T on a 2T
3T on a 2T

At this point we had already taken photos of 2 other test pattern outfits, so she was done modeling for me and more into growling and making Frankenstein faces…

Photography Tag
Photography Tag

I am also super excited to say I squeezed out an altered, cap-sleeve Renfrew for me! Woohoo! And a little sumpin’ for our American Girl knock-off. The Renfrew is only altered in that I couldn’t quite get sleeve bands or a waist band out of it too, but I’m ok with that….I had a back-up double needle that finished those hems. I Mickey-Moused out enough fabric to band the neckline but it is in 2 pieces.

Renfrew + Dollie
Renfrew + Dollie

Fabric was $32.50 total for 3 yards (I used my PMQG 10% off), plus a busted twin-needle at around $5, and I got 3 shirts + a dollie dress = I can live with that math. Plus I finished out the rest of my Joann’s knit stash just in time to get my new delivery!

Back to quilting next week and finishing up that Roller Rink.

Easy Upcycle T-Shirt

Sleeve

I had gotten some hand-me-down jeans for Hazel that I had just finished hemming with that fancy variegated cotton thread….

GAP shortened
GAP shortened

when I realized the $2.50 Joann’s Fabric sale t-shirt could use some bedazzling. These shirts regularly go on sale, and like I’ve said before, if you’ve got kids, there’s no better deal.

Boring to a T
Boring to a T

Hazel is like my own little Punky Brewster in that the more it clashes, the better. With that in mind, you can see why she would not let me toss this horrible bedazzling knit dress. We picked up the dress during the Christmas season at Walmart in a panic for clothes to wear to the Nutcracker.

Bedazzled
Bedazzled

So, it’s time for a mish-mash up cycle! That, and much like Hazel, I’m easily distracted from what I should be working on.

The dress fabric caused a huge mess, but I did manage to remove the bottom ruffle and enough two inch strips to make new binding for the t-shirt.

Fuzzy Mess
Fuzzy Mess
Ruffle
Ruffle
Hot Binding
Hot Binding

More distractions…

The Boy
The Boy

Now, to LA-style this shirt….cut off the sleeves in a sort of cap-sleeve angle…and cut out the neck line…

Cap'n
Cap’n
Ringer
Ringer

Pin classy ruffle to the bottom of the shirt and run it through the serger or zig-zag/overcast stitch.

pinned
pinned
Serged
Serged

Laugh at how it looks like a big, pink mouth.

Feed Me, Seymour
Feed Me, Seymour

Fold 2 inch strips in half, pin to sleeves on right side…both of these you want to pin to the right side, because that’s how you then flip the seam under and top-stitch it down.

Sleeve 1
Sleeve 1

Do not let serger feed dogs eat your pins. That is bad. Also, try to ignore how much lint cheap fabric is causing.

Hungry Dogs
Hungry Dogs

Ok, once they’re all attached…see how poofy the seams are? You’re going to want to top stitch those down.

Bulky
Bulky

Like so:

Neckline
Neckline
Sleeve
Sleeve
Butt Ruffle
Butt Ruffle

Now, take a photo of your proud daughter making a goofy face.

Cutie Pie
Cutie Pie

Then get distracted again by other cuteness…

Baby
Baby

and more…

The Boy
The Boy

DIY Cheap Babies Clothes Series – Minky!

Brody Lounge Set

In the middle of my Star Wars Series for Brody and Jack, I have a little something to add to the DIY cheap baby clothes series!

As you know, I just make a habit of checking the remnant bins at fabric stores. Joann’s is at minimum 1/2 off the remnant price. So this 3/4 yard of super soft, pinstriped texture minky was maximum $5.83. I’m already ahead.

Remnant
Remnant

I also have a serger – this helps maximize the fabric in that I can fudge seams on patterns to 1/4″ and adjust pattern sizes that I cut to that amount – therefore I get more out of a smaller cut. This piece, folded in half here, is going to be 1 pair of infant pants ~12 month size, and the backs of 4 bibs.

Maximize Fabric
Maximize Fabric

This minky was SOOOOOO linty….serging may have been the only option for it…but it’s also some of the softest minky I’ve ever felt.

Lint Everywhere
Lint Everywhere

Batman and Superman Flannel! This photo is so blurry because Superman is faster than a speeding bullet….

4 Bibs
4 Bibs

Those are both Camelot Fabrics’ flannels I had leftover from some baby gifts last fall that made 2 pairs of pants, so those are zeroed-out money-wise. This photo above is after serging the bibs and turned right side out, pinned on the opening to be top-stitched – there’s more detail to my obsession with bib perfection here.

Here are the finished pants – I’m kinda jealous. After my serger, lint roller and I were done…they look really good. I want a pair…Dear Brody lives in Colorado (brrrrr!) so I think he needs them more than I do right now.

Brody Lounge Pants
Brody Lounge Pants

The bibs are beyond adorable. I’m only sending 2 to Brody, I know some twins that make me swoon that get the other two.

Brody Lounge Set
Brody Lounge Set

I’m really into this variegated thread – it’s functional and cute. What do you think? Is it too wacky or is it cute?

Brody Tag
Brody Tag
Back of Tag
Back of Tag

Alright! Brass Tax!

$5.83 in new fabric. The patterns and the flannel are a wash. I did use $1 in elastic and about another $1 in velcro. 4 bibs+1 pair of pants into $7.83=$1.57 a piece. Even if I added in the cost of the entire spool of thread, I’d be under $2 a piece.

If I were to factor in my time for labor and design and sell these on Etsy, yeah…sure, I think they’re being sold at fair prices, but if you want to take the time yourself to do it…it’s more than worth it.

Liam’s Chevron Quilt – Fini

Top In Full

Liam’s Disney Cars themed chevron quilt is finally done and will travel up to Seattle this weekend.

I did the final quilting and binding after the kids went to bed during the week.

I had a little extra batting to trim off of the 90″ length, but not too much. If you do this and you’re using the wrap-around-binding as I’m fond of, be sure you do not stab your scissors through the backing.

Yeah. I did that. Twice. I made a patch. Twice.

Trimming
Trimming

Then I just trimmed the fabric down to an inch beyond the edge, folded in half and then folded over, put in about 8 pins, and started sewing.

I find that if I pin the whole thing, I feel like I’m in a Hellraiser movie getting poked by needles constantly. Eh, not my thing. If I try to just roll and hold the binding as I go, I’m likely to either get sloppy or pull the bias and it will get stretchy/puckery. So, as I get to the last pin, I pause…

Wrap Binding
Wrap Binding

…fold and insert 6-8 more pins…

Pin As I Go
Pin As I Go

and the quilt ends up blood free.

I tried to get final shots with some daylight on the quilt to share. That probably seems like a simple task IF YOU DON’T LIVE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. It has been gray for so long that I am starting to feel gray. I emote gray. hahahaha.

Here’s the top of the twin quilt laid out on a queen-size bed.

Top In Full
Top In Full

Here’s Zoe’s view:

Top from baby view
Top from baby view

It’s all business on the top with its formal pattern, and crazy party patchwork on the back:

Back in Full
Back in Full

I love how the embroidery thread as quilt thread did exactly what I wanted. It contrasts and pops out on the front, and completely blends away on the back.

Oh, sorry, and here’s Zoe’s view of the back:

Embroidery Trick
Embroidery Trick

Again, with this close up, the thread shows up ever so slightly. The shot above probably has the most contrast on the entire quilt back.

Here it is against each of the back colors and in 2 lines to show the variegated thread.

Close Up On Black
Close Up On Black
Close Up On Blue
Close Up On Blue
Close Up On Tan
Close Up On Tan

I really really really love it.

Here are some close ups of the top’s echo stitching to show the variation in contrast.

Close Up Blue
Close Up Blue
Close Up Red
Close Up Red
Close Up Yellow
Close Up Yellow

And…Against the binding…

Close Up On Binding
Close Up On Binding

Yes indeed. I’m quite happy. I didn’t even go through ONE of those spools of Sulky thread on this….ooopsie, there I go again, buying too much. In fact, if it wasn’t for my testing, I probably could have made it with one bobbin, but I did put on a second bobbin. However I do have very little of the Disney Cars fabric left, so I estimated that just about perfectly.

I have 2 of the Chevron blocks left – and that one I sewed upside down! haha. I don’t want to stall the quilt going up to Seattle, so I’ll have to send along the accessories later. Throw pillows? I was thinking of using the Liam+cars embroidery programming I did in the tester post? Or…wall panel?? I don’t know how much boys are into wall panels or throw pillows for that matter….

Materials, if you’re interested:

Gutermann thread for piecing; Sulky thread for quilting. I used the same organic bamboo/cotton batting I used on the baby chevron quilt – Ms. Viking really likes sewing through it, it has a great feel and weight and after I coat it with Tailor Basting spray, it’s not nearly as hippy as it once was….heh heh, I crack myself up. I got 4 yards each of the Disney Cars tan and blue fabrics, and 2 yards of the Cars 2 fabric….there’s barely any left – maybe a quarter yard in pieces…a bit more of the blue is left I think. I could use that in the extras? I got the Cars fabric at Fabric.com. For this and the VIP Liam flannel pjs, they had the variety I wanted and I was pleased with the service. I used about 4 yards, give or take, of Kona in Bone. I got that at Joann’s with a 40% off coupon as it’s almost never on sale – which is great, because then it’s always 40% off! Ha! Joann’s does have a tendency to run low on the commonly used Kona cottons, so keep that in mind if you want a lot. I finished off the bolt with that purchase and I think I only got about 7 or 8 yards. They were completely out of most bright whites at the time of that purchase.

Ok! That’s it! Whew! Give me ideas for the Liam accessories if you think of some….meanwhile, I have a list of spring outfits to make!

DIY Cheap Baby (Kids) Clothes Series

Boy Pants and Girl Tank

My plan here was to finish up the green sparkle motion fabric and use a remnant of sweatshirt fleece I picked up at Joann’s for some clothes for Hazel and Alex.

Starter Pile
Starter Pile

In the pile above is the remaining bit of green fabric, the rest of the waffle knit heart binding role, a pair of pants made for Alex and the remaining bit from that. The remnant for Alex’s pants was during a 40% off sale, plus the 50% off remnants, so $12.27-40%-50% (obviously not in proper algebraic form) = $3.68 + $1 for elastic = $4.68 for his pants. I used the same Burda pattern I used for the previous Hazel pants, so freebie!

This left the rest of the pile at $0….however, after sewing with the fleece, I found that making a tank for Hazel with it just wasn’t going to happen. It barely has any stretch to it, so there was no way it would work in a knit pullover top.

I didn’t like any of the store-bought patterns for the Hazel top, so I took one of her favorite tank-tops and traced it on some taped-together recycle-pile paper.

Basic French Curve Ruler
Basic French Curve Ruler

I don’t trust my tracing to be without wobbles, so I lined up a vary basic French curve ruler on the curvy parts and used it as my guide. That and I just know I’d get Sharpie on Hazel’s shirt and then she’d hate me forever. I don’t need that kind of stress.

Make Your Own Pattern
Make Your Own Pattern

Voila! Free pattern! I marked them with the cut-on-fold parts and front/back because I know I’ll be using these again and I’m forgetful.

I didn’t quite have enough green fabric to make the tank (Hazel is a tall one), and I couldn’t use the gray fleece as the stretchy wasn’t there…so I decided to make my own fabric.

Make Your Own Fabric
Make Your Own Fabric

I cut the green in strips and serged it to matching strips of the green-heart binding until I had enough to fit the pattern.

Ready To Cut
Ready To Cut

I’m playing around with a new camera. Can you tell? hahaha.

Okokok, so after it’s cut, it looks like this….and I’m yet again blessed to have a serger….

Front Cut
Front Cut

I had enough of the green to make the back solid green, and it’s darn cute.

DIY Girl's Tank
DIY Girl’s Tank

I’m leaving the edges raw-serged like this..it’s cute and casual, and the fabric barely has enough stretch. I think if I added a hem, it might just rip out.

I put notes on my pattern for next time to adjust as such:

Add Notes To Pattern
Add Notes To Pattern

So, with that is the end of the green and grays for awhile. I have a nice pile from this session.

Boy Pants and Girl Tank
Boy Pants and Girl Tank

Total for both, with the tank being $0 is just the cost of the pants at $4.68.

I’m saving the pile for an outing later this month to *hopefully* get a photo of them in motion and in the Valentine’s Day/Zoe’s birthday spirit!
The Final Pile
The Final Pile

I’m thinking I need a new color theme for the next batch. This was fun, if a little too Pantone-orrific. I can’t imagine Alex would be thrilled with spring pastels….thoughts? Suggestions?

Meanwhile, I’ve got some serious quilting to do, so I have time to think on this series.

Star Wars, Disney’s Cars and Other Stuff In Motion

Cars Fabric

I was reading this sewing blog I quasi-follow and read the opinion by the owner that she likes to sew because her kids then don’t have to wear ‘commercial prints’……uh, ok. That’s cool. Whatevs. To each their own.

I’m not sure if ‘commercial prints’ meant not mass production, because then…you have to turn down those Moda fat quarter prints that you got comped, hon. Yeah. Does it mean not advertising for Disney? Pshaw. I’m the first person to say I’ll never carry a Coach bag – it’s just not my thing….but this is for kids and fun and…well, it’s about them and not imposing some false sense of anti-establishment BS. I remember my mom making Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtle sets for my brothers’ beds and I still have somewhere these photos of them just beaming with joy on those beds. I’ll post it some day to be a horrible big sister.

AND I have this nephew…. in Seattle…. that looks at me with these giant eyes, calls me Aunt B, and LOVES the Disney Cars movies. He asked for some Cars pants.

So I bought all the Disney Cars fabric. I didn’t leave any for you.

Cars Fabric
Cars Fabric

OKOKOK, just one of those is fleece for pj pants. The others are cottons for a quilt. I’m thinking a chunky chevron pattern (these prints are huge) with a solid to break up the crazy print. We shall see how it goes, but I just know I can’t deny the boy.

And you know what? Star Wars is rad. And so is Star Trek. Especially in fabric form.

Star Wars Schematic Fabric
Star Wars Schematic Fabric

I love this green Star Wars fabric so hard. I need it. I KNOW I’m not the only one that takes photos of fabric that needs to be bought….and I may need some of the old school Star Trek fleece.

There’s also 2 Seattle family babies due this spring. I’m thinking a trip to the local Cool Cottons quilt store is in order for that one. This is one of my most favorite baby sets for my friend Rose: blanket for baby, skirt for big sister…I’m thinking I can make something like that before we head up. It’s super simple, clean and not-fussy. I FMQ’ed the zig-zag instead of pivoting on the needle…it’s a bit more wiggly but I dig it. We’ll see how much time I can squeeze in sewing.

Elliott's Blanket
Elliott’s Blanket

And a few MORE things still. I still have more Cheap Baby Clothes (and Big Kids) on the horizon. I have a kimono blouse to do a pattern trace and recreate with. There’s a top secret post coming out this month someplace else that I’m super excited about.

The big kids and I have Anansi The Spider AND Stinky Cheese Man lined up for the theatre (!!!!).

I’m hoping to do some salt dough crafts this spring….that keeps on moving on to the next month’s list…as does the kimono shirt.

And finally, I’ve been tinkering with this pattern.

Burda 9562
Burda 9562

While it is an ‘easy’ pattern, I’d say it’s more on the top end of easy. It shouldn’t be anyone’s beginner pattern. The front cover must have been created before final pattern adjustments because it doesn’t show the top is lined. Which is awesome, just not super beginner if that’s what you need.

To test it I used a fabric I have a LOT of just in case I needed to tweak it.

Jumper 1st Set
Jumper 1st Set

It got a little squirrelly when I sewed the bodice to the pants and was blind-sewing….no, of course I didn’t pin it. Yes, I realize that’s my problem. I’m thinking some cute ribbon to cover it up and also break up the dots? Or even lace ribbon?

Squirrelly Seam
Squirrelly Seam

Here it sits….still on a hanger. I think it’s cute and I want to make more….but….

Burda Jumper
Burda Jumper

The pattern has 2 snaps for the top of each strap. I can’t decide if I like that or not. Or if I want to invest in the whole snap-punch thing. Do I just put on cute buttons instead? There’s barely enough length for that….I would alter that for future patterns to have more strap-double up for buttons. Definitely NOT ties or anything complicated as this is still in diaper-wearing age range but does not have an open-crotch area. This pattern is roomy enough for cloth diaper users and is versatile enough for alterations into a dress or a boy version.

Hmmm. Thoughts? Buttons or snaps?