Project Run and Play Week 2

I did it... I finally accomplished one of my sewing goals!! 

 You have no idea how many sewing projects I've started and never finished, how many projects I want to do and buy the supplies and never even start, or how many sew alongs I've wanted to join in and give up half way through.  Well not this time!  I love the sewing competition over at Project Run and Play and last season I decided I wanted to enter the sew along.  Did it happen? Of course not! But this season I have a goal to enter at least three weeks (of 6) and so far so good!  I have been chained to my sewing machine for the last 72 hours in order to complete this look.  The thought of sewing one more stitch makes me nauseous, but I'm oh so happy I finally completed one of my sewing goals!!!

Now, onto the competition!  This week was the Fashion Icon challenge. Knowing I'd be sewing this outfit for my little boy, the first person that came to mind whose sense of fashion I would love to see on my little boy was Don Draper from Mad Men.  After a lot of research though, I realized he mainly wears white collard shirt, well tailored suit, and skinny tie.  I was a little disheartened because I was stuck on the idea of bow tie and suspenders.   But after talking to my father (who grew up in the 60's) he recalled that they often wore bow tie and suspenders. So I've designed my outfit in a sort of  Don Draper-60's child kind of way, make sense?  And if you didn't follow my train of thought at all then we'll just say that Pip was my fashion icon.

 So without further ado, here is Wade in all his 60's style glory!

 And doesn't he just looked thrilled to be modeling?

 

 

All in all I made the suit pants, the suspenders, the bow tie, and yes! I made the button up, while collared shirt!

First up, the shirt:

By far the hardest piece to sew, but I'm so pleased with the end result! I used the Maxwell Pattern from Shwin&Shwin as the starting off point for my shirt.  Truthfully I didn't change that much, it was just a matter of leaving off a lot of the embellishments. And of course making the short sleeves into long sleeves.  It has everything from interfacing in the collar, top-stitching, buttons and button holes, facings, and even a back yoke! I just love how it turned out and the fit is perfect! Definitely worth the very long time it took me to sew it!

 Next, the suit pants:

I took an old pair of my husbands suit pants that no longer fit and refashioned them into what you see here.  I used this tutorial as a guide, but used a well fitting pair of Wade's pants for the pattern since I wasn't going for the super slim look.  Those were a pain to carefully deconstruct (who knew there was so much going on on the inside!) but happy with how they turned out.  They have everything from belt loops, to zipper fly, to button and hook and clasp closure.  Granted I didn't do any of that, but it still took skill to put everything back together miniature size! The also feature an elastic back for comfort/room to grow.  If you ever try this out for yourself, do not try and use the existing back pockets!  I tried but his butt stuck out a mile and a half because of how much bulk was behind those pockets.  In the end I cut out as much of the pocket as I could and carefully hand sewed the pockets shut so there is still the illusion of pockets.  It was the biggest pain, but I'm glad it worked out!

 And finally the accessories:

I made a cute little bow tie out of the same suiting material as the pants.  It's cute, but the suspenders are to die for! Just a yard of black knit elastic and four mitten clips later and we have suspenders!  I just sewed the cross in the back where I thought it looked good and that's all there is to it.  So simple, and now I'm kicking myself for not making a pair sooner!

 And that is my Don Draper inspired 60's little boy outfit.  Congrats if you made it to the end of my post, now you can enjoy a few bloopers!

 He's winking at me!

The Molly Skirt

So i got to do another pattern test for Shwin and Shwin! I've decided that maybe I need to set deadlines for myself with my other sewing projects. I've had no problems getting these patterns done in one week, including pictures and blogging, I don't know why it doesn't happen with all the other projects I'm working on!? Anyway, here's the super cute bubble skirt I made. There's a picture on her Facebook page of what the original looks like, and if you go see it you can see the crazy big bow that I wasn't a big fan of. So I toned the bow down a bit, but everything else is exactly the same. Oh, I guess my model is different! I wasn't able to make one in Lulu's size, so I made it for my little cousin in-law (?) Gracie. 

It's kind of a bright and crazy fabric, but turned out perfect for Gracie!

And look!  I even did pockets for the first time, which are surprisingly easy to do!

She was the best model, I think I only took 5 pictures total because she loves to pose and smile for the camera! And I love how the skirt looks on her, perfect colors with her adorable red hair! I still hate that bow, but both Gracie and her mom loved it... maybe it's a good thing I don't have any girls!

Pleated Penny Dress

One of my most favorite blogs right now is Shwin&Shwin, I love all the children's clothes she sews.  I was lucky enough to open my reader one morning to find she needed pattern testers, and I got in!  Now why, you ask, would I sew a dress when I don't even have a daughter?  Well, she offered a free pattern from her shop if you tested the pattern, and I've been itching for this pattern for a long time and now finally have my hands on it!  So you can hopefully expect to see some cute boy shirts soon!

Thank you, Shelly for giving me all your unwanted clothes, I've been putting them to good use!

And isn't she just the cutest little thing!  I made her wear a headband so you could tell she was a girl.  

Pretty sure she was about to do something naughty...

Seriously, without that bow she looks exactly like Eddy!

And to prove she's not the perfect little lady these pictures portray... she made sure to flash her diaper at me multiple times.  Thank you Lu for being such a good model, I hope you enjoy your new dress!

Easter Sewing

Not too bad, posting about my Easter projects only 3 weeks after the fact!  Oh well, here's a few random things I've been sewing...

Firstly, my most favorite project for Easter, a polka-dot bow-tie for my handsome little guy!  I'm so glad I made this, it literally only took 30 minutes start to finish.  Which is good considering I did this the evening before Easter Sunday.  I used this tutorial here from A Lemon Squeezy Home.  As I was looking through all the different tutorials for bow-ties I didn't like how flat and sad some of them looked.  What I liked about this tutorial was the addition of fleece between the fabric to fatten it up a bit. 

And as you can see it may have been a bit much for a one year old, but I think he pulled it off pretty well.  I used quilt batting because that's all I had on hand but it did the trick.  And if you don't like how fat it is just leave the batting out, it'll still make a great bow-tie! And instead of making a coordinating strap for the part around his neck, I took the lazy route and just used elastic.  It makes it incredibly easy to get on and off the wiggly baby, though surprisingly he never did try and pull it off!  He certainly wooed all the little old ladies at church with this number!

 A few weeks before Easter I was searching for stuffed Easter bunnies online because I had it in my head I needed to make some for the boys Easter baskets.  These ones from Etsy stood out to me, I thought for sure with different fabric choices and some modifications to the face they would be adorable.  I made them, but I'm not in love with them.  To be honest I didn't even finish Wade's because I was having so many problems with the dang thing I just gave up.  But I need to finish it because he loves his little brothers and even thought I don't think they're that great he seems to really enjoy them.   The picture on the left is my sad attempt at personalizing his bunny.  Wade thinks it's awesome, that's all that matters, right?

 And lastly, I'm throwing in a little jersey skirt I made for Lulu-bug.  I didn't make this specifically for Easter, but it fits right in.  It's just a simple skirt similar to this one I previously made for her.  My favorite part though is the pockets.   I knew I wanted to do pockets and I wanted them to have that little gathered effect.  I totally just winged it but they turned out perfect, love it when that happens!

Update

I really have been sewing the past few months, just not posting about it. So here's a look at a few things I made for Christmas. First up, the coat.... I have a love/hate relationship with this coat I made for Lindsay. I'm happy with how it turned out, but it was not at all what I was going for. There are quite a few things I would do differently now that I've seen how it fares with a toddler wearing it. It was definitely fun to sew and I'm excited to try sewing more coats/jackets. 

It's made out of fleece with a cotton lining. I made fabric covered buttons out of the same cotton fabric. My favorite part is the hood, it turned out much better than I expected. And I was so happy that it fit her great! 

Next up are Jack's Christmas gifts.  He requested monkey basketball pajama pants.  I searched high and low for monkey basketball fabric and finally had to settle for fabric with basketballs on it.  I also made him a batman belt (after a few failed attempts) and some Batman wrist cuffs.  I don't know if he even cares or likes the Batman wrist cuffs, but I was so stinking happy with how those turned out, they came together exactly how I envisioned them.  

 

Here's my model showing off the cuffs, they drown him but he thought they were pretty fun to eat!

Super Hero Art

For Jack's birthday a couple months ago, one thing I wanted to surprise him with was an update to the ABC art in his room for something more fitting for a SIX year old!  I got these fun super hero images from my friend Erin and started looking for ideas on how to display them.  I didn't really want to use frames because they would be bound to get bumped and I could envision one falling and shattering.  I'd seen an idea on Pinterest for covering foam with black fabric and attaching your image so it looked like canvas art.  I decided to go this route because the pictures would be lightweight and less formal looking.  After shopping around, I ended up buying actual canvas (11x14) on sale at Micheal's and still wrapped them with black fabric since I had a yard and didn't want to deal with painting the edges of the canvas.  This is where I experienced some trial and error, but after three tries, everything was hung for the final time and it's held up well.  Here's my newspaper template to space them evenly and make sure they would be level...

And finally the finished product...


Excuse my phone pics, but you get the idea.  I learned that spray adhesive wasn't enough to attach the print to the fabric, but a dot of hot glue in each corner has kept the photos in place.  I also learned you have to use a staple gun to keep the fabric super secure to the canvas--duct tape wasn't enough.  I ended up attaching these to the wall with velcro so even if they get bumped, they don't move and so far it's the perfect kid-friendlly art!  More explanation that you wanted to know, but this blog needed an update!  I can share the super hero images if you're interested.

A few baby gifts

Sweet baby Nash is here so a few welcome gifts were in order.  Before Wade was born one of my husbands co-workers gave us a bunch of their old baby stuff.  One of the items I inherited was a bassinet.  I had always thought it would  be fun to have a bassinet because they are so cute, but kind of a waste of money when I already had a pack and play for my baby to sleep in.  So I was so excited to have one just fall into my lap, but there was only one small problem...it was ugly!  So after a lot of trial and error I finally managed a decent looking recovery.

 Doesn't he just look so comfy in there?  I really love how it turned out!  I'm really sorry I don't have any before pictures, but it was pretty bad.  It was pastel green with this lacey ruffle all around it, just gross. 

It's definitely not perfect, but certainly looks a lot better.  Basically I deconstructed it, sewed over the pieces, and tried to put it back together as best I could.  There's a little plasticy(?) foam pad the baby sleeps on and I don't know what used to cover it because when I got it there was nothing.  So I made a comfy minkee matress cover and that's probably my favorite part.  If you want to know, the fabric is Riley Blake.

For another gift I made a plush raccoon.  I used this great tutorial.  It was a very easy project and took no time at all to put together.  I mostly used fleece so he was ultra soft and cuddly and felt for the accent pieces. Mine turned out a little smaller than the tutorial, I don't think I printed the pattern out correctly.  But it turned out to be a perfect size for a newborn!

And the final gift was actually for babys daddys birthday, even though baby will be the one to wear it.  It's a jersey (kind of) with his name on it.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I hope his dad likes it as well. 

This is probably my biggest sewing accomplishment yet.  I have this kind of hatred for gerber onesies, I don't know why, I just don't like them.  So I tried to make my own, and I think it turned out pretty awesome!  I traced a 6 month onesie I had and sewed them together with the help of this tutorial.  I made bais tape out of jersey to give the edges a finished look and that was by far the hardest part.  The name and number are freezer paper stenciled on.  I think I may have to make this a tradition and make him a new jersey ever year so he'll always have one that fits!

Welcome Baby Nash!

Tangled

I had some of my own projects during our craft week extravaganza that Hayley already posted about.  Of course they turned out cuter with her help than if I would have done them alone.  Pictures are slow to come, but you've all seen the finished nursery now and the boys' Halloween costumes will be shown off soon.

I knew I wanted to make Zaya a braid/wig for her birthday since she LOVES the movie Tangled.  I didn't realize she was getting two fancy Tangled dresses as well so it worked out perfect.  I bought some yellow yarn and cut it in strips using Jack as my model since he's barely taller than her. The length was more than double what I wanted it to end up since we looped the yarn around the headband to make it thicker and studier.  We tied it in a knot around an elastic headband (I think it's a slip-knot--this is where Hayley was so helpful!?) since I didn't want to rely on sewing or gluing--then I just started braiding.  We hot-glued some flowers on after and I think it turned out really cute.  (My model is folding his arms in defiance since he had to be photographed wearing something for a GIRL!)

And here it is on the pretty princess who was hard to snap a photo of in the middle of her tea party!



Craft Week Extravaganza!

So it may not have been that extreme, but we sure got a lot of sewing and crafting done during my recent visit to St. George! 

Just to name a few:

We got started on some curtains for Shelly's nursery, made a cushion cover for her rocking chair, sewed up some pirate pants, fabric painted a special birthday shirt, made a cowboy vest, sewed a simple summer skirt, attempted some comfy knit baby pants, and Shelly even created an adorable tangled braid for her neice.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of everything because some things will just have to wait until Halloween, or until the nursery is finished.  But I do have a few pictures to prove how productive we were!

First up, a Captain America shirt for superhero Ryan!

I guess Ryan is a big fan of Captain America right now, so I gave freezer paper stenciling a shot to create this tee.  And I must say, I'm very pleased with the results!  The perfect Captain America shirt to match his "america" headband. 

  A shot of freezer paper stenciling in action.  One thing that I did learn is that it's okay to iron freezer paper over dried fabric paint.  I did the red circles first, but then to paint the white I had to iron freezer paper over them.  

I was pretty sure I had ruined the shirt because of the burning smell it emitted while ironing, but in the end it was perfectly fine.  If anything I needed to iron longer because paper was not sealed very well so I had white paint leak onto the red that I had to later go back and touch up.

Next, a super simple skirt.  

We used the fabulous and oh-so-easy tutorial found on the awesome blog MADE.  And seriously, it was so easy!  

Sadly, the skirt was a gift for Shelly's niece, and the our model flat out refused to try it on for fear of being a girl.  Wade was easily coerced into trying it on, but because of his rather petite build he looked ridiculous, and I'm sure he would never forgive me if I put a picture of him in a skirt for all the world to see.  

So instead this will just have to do!

Cute, huh?  And luckily I have just enough fabric left to make another for a certain little princess... if only her mother would get me her measurements!

One last thing!  The single reason this craft week was so successful was thanks to my parents and their amazing birthday gift to me.  This is my new best friend!  It makes sewing clothes (and knit/jersey) a breeze! I can't wait to show you all the fun projects I have in store now that I have her!

Dear sisters,



Your birthday presents may be late, but you can get excited for what's coming by looking at Betsy's gift that she took home this weekend.  Yours will be a different color, but I hope you like your cute tote bag with a big bow!  They're taking me longer than expected, but with one done, the other two should go quicker.  I need to make myself one too.



Also, while Bets and Mom were visitng--we got crafty and got some supplies for this craft I saw on Pinterest:

It's a little time-consuming to wrap the wreath with yarn, but super easy to do while watching TV and the finished product is so cute.  There will probably be leftover yarn if you want to join in the fun.  Now I need to get back to nursery projects and finish that room soon before I run out of time!

Buttercup bag

A couple months ago, I made Cricket a little purse for her birthday. I knew she was getting a cell phone and going on a trip to Disneyland with her grandparents so I thought it would be something cute and useful.

I used the free pattern for the Buttercup Bag on Made By Rae. It only takes a fat quarter of fabric for the outside print, along with a little fabric for the lining and a magnetic snap. Overall, quick and easy, and perfect for a gift or to use for yourself when you're not carrying a big diaper bag.


A shot of the inside with a little souvenir money tucked in the pocket.

Family Tree Wall Hanging

I've had the idea for this project in my head for awhile now. I finally got around to making it for mom for mother's day, and I'm pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I got my initial idea from this pillow, and then went from there. Here's the finished project:



I tried my hand at free-motion quilting on the leaves. The first few didn't turn out so well, but once I got the hang of it it went by pretty quick, and turned out to be very addicting. I embroidered mom and dads initials and the year they got married on the tree trunk. The names by the leaves were just written in sharpie (thank you Betsy, we all know my handwriting is terrible!), and a few of the leaves are left blank for when new kiddos come along.

I love the way it turned out, and I think mom likes it too. Now if I could only figure out how to make one for my little family of four without it looking ridiculous.