Fall Wardrobe For the Kids

I like to think about sewing projects. My kids are outgrowing everything. So I'm thinking about the fall wardrobe in June. =) So far, I've just made things for the kids on impulse, without really having any kind of plan. Perhaps this time I can be organized about it, and make outfits, and coordinating pieces. And learn some new stuff in the process.

My sewing time is very, very limited, and I'm also stocking my shop, so I'm thinking this is going to be a loooong term project. =) But fun.

Two things I need to do first to make things a little bit easier: 1 - Figure out what the kids have that will work in the fall/winter. 2 - Figure out what fabric I have in my stash that will work for this project.

Here's my basic idea of what the kids should have:

Girl
cords 2
jeans 1
knit stretch pants 2
skirts 1
tops 5 4  3
pjs 3 sets

Boy
cords 3
pants 2
sweatpants 1
tops 5 4
pjs 3 sets 2 sets (bought one)

Here's what they have at the moment that will probably work for the fall/winter:

I updated this the other day, and after adding pics and comments, the entire thing froze! Very frustrating. I guess I have to save more often. Hm.

Anyhow, since starting this post, I've spent some time going through my fabric stash, and I'm excited to find that I have quite a few pieces that I can use for the fall wardrobes. I've also chosen some Ottobre patterns I want to use.

This is a piece of denim I found as a remnant at JoAnn's. I love it! Of course my first thought is to make my daughter some jeans with it. She doesn't like to wear button or snap fly pants to school, as she gets nervous that she won't be able to manage them herself, so these would be a simple, elastic band pair of pants. I think there's enough to make a coordinating top. Maybe a solid color knit top with a reverse applique using the denim on the front. Or a band of denim on the sleeves? Or both??

First item done! =) I had a real mishap with these pants. While serging the side seams, I was going around the bottom of the pocket, and the serger snipped about one inch through the seam and into both the front and the back of the pants. UGH. I used a small zig-zag stitch to repair the snip, then did some matching stitching on the other leg to make it look deliberate. Lesson learned. No knives when serging around tricky corners and edges! I'm please with myself for getting something done so early. The time, she flies.

A good mail day today. =) I bought these from a Sewing Mama. The striped fabric is velour, and DD loves it. The corduroy is for little boy, and the ooga is "sheeting," and will make a nice pillowcase for little boy.






Sweatpants for my little man. Second thing off the list.

7/23/11 I've hit a couple of snags in my generally good flow. These sweatpants are too big for little man. I hemmed them quite high, so the length is good (I made a size 3, but his legs are not that long yet) and I made the waist to fit him (between 2 and 3) but even so they're just too bulky. He pulls at them constantly. =( So I guess it's back to size 2 with added length and waist. Or maybe I need to just switch to Ottobre. I've only ever made Kwik Sew pants. They work well with DD, but not so much with DS. Anyhow, the other snag is that I've cut out an Otto top pattern for DS, and the neck and cuffs call for binding. The instructions say to stitch the binding on right-sides together, flip the binding over the edge, then use a twin needle to finish. I've never used a twin needle, so I've been excited to try this. Until I tried to find one. I bought two, which turned out to be great - for wovens. I'm using the stretchy velour from the picture above. I can't find a twin stretch anywhere. (Online, if I want to pay shipping costs.... I guess I'll have to!) The directions say the binding can be put on with the serger, but I can't figure out whether my serger can do this, and if so, how. I bought a binder attachment for my sewing maching, but it does not like the thick fabric. Argh, argh, argh. So the pieces sit there, and I can't move forward. And I don't want to set it aside. So time is going by, and I'm stuck. My first Otto, my first binding, I really want to finish this. So I guess I'm going online shopping.... =)


7/31/11 I got tired of waiting, so I went ahead and finished it my own way. So my first Otto is really about 60% Otto and 40% Me. I really like how it came out, though it had some problem areas. For one thing, even though I followed the pattern, the sleeves were quite short on DD. So I added a panel of fabric. And I couldn't bind the neck and sleeves, so I made self-fabric strips that I used as edging, and attached them the way rib knit would be attached, stretching the strips as I went to snug in the areas a bit. It worked beautifully. (Phew) I did the neckline first, and it happened to come out green. I love how it looks, so I cut the cuffs to match. =) I did not, however, line the stripes up from the back to the front, so they do not flow. Oh well. DD says she likes it the way it is! A nice thing about this fabric is that it is super soft on the outside, obviously, because it is velour, but it is also super soft on the inside. I love how it feels, and I know it will feel really nice when DD wears it this fall/winter. =)

Crummy picture, but here's another top for DD. =) I blogged about this in a separate post, called Otto (sort of) Top With Reverse Applique. (or something like that.) I tried to link it, and everything got lost. Ugh.

 Knit top with reverse appliques of ooga boogas. This one's for my little guy for school.

Peek-a-boo =)

Carry-All Tote

I decided to make my son a bag for school, although school for him does not start until September. =) He is very nervous about starting school, so I thought I'd ease him in with periodic discussions and whatnot. We were talking one day, and I told him I'd make him a school bag with whatever fabric he chose. He chose Buzz Lightyear. He also chose the coordinating fabric color. =)

Working on the straps.

The shell and lining of the bag.

This is a close-up of the stitching on the handles. The are triple-stitched on each side. These straps are durable. I know. I have made four others, and actively use two of them. (Two were gifts) I beat the heck out of them, and they've held up perfectly. I have yet to see any sign of wear after about a year of constant use. Now dirt is another thing....

Attaching the straps.

Sewing the shell to the lining.








Hand-stitching the turning-hole together.

Here it is! It's leaning against the wall, so it's slouching.








Little boy holds it up for all the world to see!

Burp Cloth

I'm doing things out of order here. I've got two projects going at the moment, and I just forgot to take progress photos of one of them. I will do so tonight. In the meantime, I am playing around with making a burp cloth. (By the way, I have always hated the name burp cloth. So if I ever decide to sell these, I might just change the name) I have seen ones on the market that are hour-glass shaped, and think they seem pretty cool. I have been wanting to make one like that for a long time. Today I finally started one. My plan was to make both sides of the b.c. flannel, with a layer of terry cloth inside, but I found I didn't have enough coordinating flannel, so I decided to just cut one piece of flannel, and have the terry be the other side. Brings the bulk down a bit, which is nice.

On top is my pattern piece. I put a piece of copier paper over my shoulder to determine what length I wanted. I folded the paper in half to get a symmetrical half of the b.c. I folded my fabrics with right-sides together, and placed my pattern piece on the fold. Voila, my b.c. pieces.

(For those who notice these things, the blue piece needs pressing. It's not cut weird on the left, it's just folded under a bit. It IS funky on the right side. I didn't realize it was like that til after I cut it. But as always, I'll wing it and make it work.)

My hubby is modeling the finished product. It's a good size for everyone. I really like the size.

=)

Nursing Pads

 My sis is expecting, and is due in a month. I have been trying to think of things to send her that are necessary, but not the first thing that most baby shower gift givers would think of. This morning I was in my bedroom and noticed a pile of nursing pads that were absolutely indispensable when my kids were babies. So I went on Etsy and started to poke around the offerings. The first thing that struck me is that it was difficult to find plain white! The funky, patterned, colorful pads were interesting to look at, but I used white, and that worked for me! I did finally find some, but I thought the serging around the edges looked so-so at best. Then I wondered why I was even looking. They cannot be hard to make, and I happen to have some white flannel left-over from my cloth diaper making days.

 I looked around for something round that was about the size I was looking for, and decided to use a plastic container lid. It was perfect. I traced circle after circle, and started cutting.






I have cut 16 circles so far, which should make four pads of medium absorbancy. I'll serge them later, and see if they're really as easy as they seem. =)

 Sergio is doing a nice job of trimming and serging. =)

All done. Easy! =)