New Pool/Beach Robes

You may recall that a few years ago I  made the clever girl a pool robe.  She loved it and though it still fit around her body, she had grown much taller so the length became a little, well, too short for my tastes.  Thus, she needed a new one, and clearly the clever boy needed one too!  Just in time for our trip to Florida!  I used the same pattern, by MADE, with a few adjustments.

I used bath towels from Ikea, and made my own bias tape with patterned fabric.  The hoods are lined with cute chevron flannel fabric that just happened to match perfectly!  It was meant to be!  I made the mistake of using a bias tape maker that makes double bias tape in 3/8 inch instead of 1/2 inch and that 1/8 inch was sorely missed.  Terry cloth is really thick (even these thin towels) so getting the thinner bias tape around the edges was tricky at times.  If you make your own bias tape, get the right size gadget!  

I used the largest pattern size when I made the previous robe for the clever girl, so I created a new pattern for this one.  I will explain how I did this, so if you have one of these patterns you could do it too!  For most of the pieces, I checked to see how much bigger Dana (of MADE) made each size from the one smaller and made my new pattern using these guidelines.  I made the front and back 1/2 inch taller in the shoulder and about 1 inch wider along the sides.  I made the bottom hem 5 1/2inches longer, so this robe is much longer than the previous one.  The sleeves are 1/2 inch wider and 2 1/8 inches longer, and the hood is 1 inch taller and 1/2 inch deeper (front to back). 

I found that the tie lengths recommended by the pattern to be too long for us, so I shortened them on both kids a bit.  I wish I had shortened the clever girl's ties even further, but realized that only AFTER sewing on all of the bias tape so at that point it was too late!  (Not really, I mean I could have ripped it all out and done it over, but no thank you!)  If I had proportionately increased the length of the tie for the clever girl's robe, it would have been about 83 inches long.  I made it 73 inches instead and again, it could be shorter.  I don't think a pool robe needs a bow tie, just a knot is fine with me.

The clever boy's robe is a size 18m-3T, which had a recommended tie length of 57 inches.  I made this tie 48 inches and it is perfect.  48 inches happened to be the easiest length for the towels I used!

Total success.  These were super comfy to put on after getting all wet and playing at the beach.  Perfect for warming up a bit and still being able to play - digging in the sand, building castles, playing catch with our random toys. Plus they are plenty big that the kiddos should be able to wear them for a good while before they are outgrown!  We are in the process of putting in a pool at our house, so I envision these robes getting a lot of use this summer!

Sure, this is more work than buying a pool robe at the store, but this way it is quality-made, in colors we love, without any additional marketing ploys imprinted on the fabric!  They are not difficult to make and your child can have a one-of-a-kind robe too! 

Hoppy Easter!

While taking pictures with bluebonnets the other day, we met the Easter bunny!  Serendipity! 

I made Easter outfits for the clever kids, which I happen to absolutely love (both the kids and the outfits)!  The clever boy got another jon-jon using my favorite pattern from Children's Corner.  I've made it several other times as well (here and here).  The clever girl's dress is the Oliver + S pattern "Family Reunion Dress". Love.  I wasn't sure if I'd love it since the clever girl tends to prefer twirly dresses, but I am so glad I gave this pattern a shot!

Here's the clever boy!  Whereas I usually find an image from Google Images for my applique, this time I designed it myself.  The clever boy has a few favorite things right now:  #1 is trash cans.  This fascination for trash cans has gone on for a very long time (in fact "trash can" was one of the first things he said!) so I knew I wanted a trash can on his outfit.  His other two loves are dogs, and recently, trucks.  So, I combined the clever boy's most favorite loves together to make an applique for his jon-jon.  I love it!  So does he.  He was thrilled that he could wear a trash can AND a dog-dog AND a truck all at once.  It is the trifecta of awesomeness!

 Happy, happy boy!

What will I do when he gets too big for jon-jons?  I love this pattern!

 

Here is the clever girl's Family Reunion dress.  Though it looks like it might be complicated, it really wasn't difficult at all.  This is why I love Oliver + S patterns.  They are classic looks and the patterns are written extremely well.  In fact the only tricky part was the piping edge, which I decided to add and isn't part of the original pattern at all.  I forgot to take photos of the back, but it buttons all the way up and has the same little tucks as the front.  I love the tiny details of this pattern: the tiny tucks under the neckline, the little button placket, and the lines of stitching along the bottom edge which give the bottom of the dress both interest and weight so it hangs nicely.  The clever girl is quite thin, so I cut this dress in a size 5 around but size 6 in length.   Oh, and the material I used is also from the Oliver + S company.  Their fabric line is called Lisette and, miracle of miracles, they carry it at my local Joanns Fabric store.  It is a great quality fabric.

I love it!  I think she looks darling!

My clever kiddos.  They really are something special.

C & B Marianna Table Runner Tutorial

A while back, I received a Crate and Barrel advertisement in the mail.  I glanced through it while eating lunch one day, and promptly ripped this page from the book:

Item "C" are the new Marianna Table Linens.  This one got my brain a-ticking....  I can do this!  Ruby, my sewing machine, can do a ton of fancy stitches, so I knew that we could make something like this!

Instead of using linen, I used my favorite home decorating fabric, painters drop cloth.  I had a bunch already, from a curtain project that was not to be, so I pulled one of these out for my project.  Now, if you have never worked with a painters drop cloth, here is some info you might need:

1. You need to wash them a few times so they are less stiff.  Once you do, they will be soft and lovely!
2. Whomever sews the hems on drop cloths does not have any concern in making them straight.  Since you are making table runners, you will need some straight edges.  So, do not assume that any edge of your drop cloth is straight, you will need to do that yourself.  Here is what I do:  I cut the hem off of each side, really close to the stitching line.  You could also rip out the stitching (they use big stitches) but I am lazy and time is valuable, so I don't do that.  Drop cloths are made of a somewhat loose weave, of two strands crossing both directions.  You want to grab a set of those 2-strand pieces and gently pull it out, all the way down the fabric, leaving a little gap in the weave.  Somewhere close to the edge, snip a tiny bit (like 1/2 inch) in the direction you want to straighten.  Start with one of the long sides.  See how the weave looks like a woven tick-tac-toe?  Grab one of the lengths (2 strands together) and gently pull it out of the fabric.  This is a bit if a slow process, as the strands will break several times.  When they do, you will be able to find where they break by following the gap you have made already.  Use a straight-pin to loosen the strands again, and then pull some more.  Here is a video that also explains this process.  Once you  have pulled the strands totally out of the fabric, cut the fabric down the little path that you made.

Now that you have a straight long side to your drop cloth, you can use the same method for cutting your table runner.  The Marianna table runner is 14 inches wide, so I measured 16 inches, to allow for 2 half-inch double hems on each side.  If you have a really big cutting mat, you might be able to just cut the fabric straight without pulling the strand.  I was not certain my cut would be straight, so I pulled the strands.

Fold and press a scant 1/2 inch hem on each long side, and then fold again, press and sew.  Drop cloth, because of it's loose weave, ravels a lot so you want to make sure you get good hems on each side.  Do not hem the short ends, however.  At this point, just do some sort of finishing to the end, i.e. zigzag, overcast, serger, etc.  This is your table runner prep.  Now you can start the fun part!

Figure out what fun stitches you want to do!  I used 4 different stitches, 6 different thread colors, and made 11 total stitch paths.  If we call my stitch patterns A, B, C, and D, here is how I planned my paths:

The underside/wrong side of the table runner was always a cream colored thread (I found Coats and Clark 8010 to be a good match for my fabric), so the color is only on the top.  These fancy stitches use a LOT of thread, so make sure you have some newer spools, especially of the bobbin thread! 

Now just start sewing, randomly moving around the table runner.  Start at one short edge and wind your way down to the other end.  I sort of plotted out where I was going with each color, by placing pins down the runner in places where I thought I might want to change direction.  You can just wing it, too! 

When you finish sewing on  your last color, hem the short sides of the runner as you did the long ones.  And you're done! 

Christmas Outfits!

I went a little crazy and made coordinating Christmas outfits for the kids this year!  I figure I won't be able to do this to them for very long, so I had better do it while I can!! 

My idea started with making a long Johnny for the clever boy, using my favorite pattern from Children's Corner.  I made him a short version over the summer and that pattern is so easy and so cute, it is one that I will repeat until he refuses to wear them anymore!  I found some super soft thin-wale corduroy at Joann's, and picked out a red/white stripe to use as lining.  Normally I just use a nice white muslin for lining, but since the legs would be rolled up a bit, I thought a pattern would be fun!  

As usual, I found the graphic for the penguin by searching Google images, and was able to use all scrap fabric to make the little guy!  I thought about finding a cute button or jingle bell for the top of the penguin's hat, but then realized that since the clever boy sleeps on his tummy and he would theoretically take a nap in this outfit some day, a button or jingle bell would not be a good plan.  So I embroidered a little star with some sparkly floss. 

Once his outfit was planned in my head, I had to figure out something for the clever girl.  I browsed my favorite kid pattern source, Oliver + S, and found the Library Dress.  This dress is supposed to have 3/4 sleeves, but I made them long instead.  To do this, I measured another of the clever girl's dresses to figure out the right length, and added the difference between the long length and the pattern's 3/4 length to the sleeve pattern, just continuing the pattern lines straight, no taper.  Easy peasy.  Configuring the pattern to fit my slender little girl was another story!  Based on the pattern measurements, she is a size 6 in length but more like a 5 (or maybe smaller but the pattern sizes start at 5) in girth.  So I cut each pattern piece with this in mind, using the size 5 lines for areas across her body and size 6 lines for areas of length.  The armholes were cut as a 6.  It was a bit tricky, but I finally got the pieces traced and cut!  Phew.

As you can see, I used the same green corduroy and red/white striped fabric for the Library Dress.  And here is where I underestimated my clever girl....  I did not plan on any applique for her dress, as I thought she might be "too grown up" for that.  Ha!  She isn't!  (Yahoo!)  I showed her the dress, sans candy canes, and the Johnny for the clever boy, and she got a sad face and asked where HER decoration was.  Why did he get a penguin and she didn't get anything??  All righty then!  So I added some candy canes with ribbon.  The candy canes are appliqued, but the ribbon is real ribbon that I tied into a bow and sewed to the dress.  That clever girl was on to something, because I honestly think the candy canes MAKE this outfit!  They took it from a pretty Christmas dress to an AWESOME Christmas dress!  The photos don't show the back of the dress, but there are buttons all the way down the back, the same little white buttons that are on the playsuit shoulders. 

This dress looks WAY more complicated than it really is.  I love it.  I think that the photos on the actual pattern cover do not give it justice.  There is another version with a collar, and I wonder if I could make it in a "uniform" color for the clever girl to wear to school??  Everything needs a collar, so surely this pattern would work!  Maybe for next school year...

Three cheers for sewing Christmas outfits for my kiddos!  

Hip hip hooray!  Hip hip hooray!  Hip hip hooray!

Are you doing any holiday sewing???

Fairies and Gnomes

Yes, I know, Halloween was totally 2+ weeks ago, but I still wanted to post the costumes we made this year in case it inspires anyone for next year!  If I wait until next year to get these posted, I'll forget entirely!! 

When I asked the clever girl what she wanted to be for Halloween this year, it took a while to convince her that Elsa (of the Frozen movie, in case you don't have a little girl running around your house) was not the best idea.  Once I explained that practically EVERY little girl was going to be Elsa this year, and wouldn't it be fun to be something DIFFERENT, she agreed and decided upon being a fairy.  I JUMPED on it.  Truly, I had to get her excited about it so she wouldn't be sad about not being Elsa!  And it worked!  She loved her fairy costume.  Once we decided that she would be a fairy, we brainstormed what the clever boy might be, and came up with a Gnome.  Love it! 

For the fairy, I didn't have to do a lot, as the main part of her costume was a dance recital costume from last summer.  I did make her a wand and her fairy wings.  

For the wand, I followed the directions on this youtube video to make a poof out of sparkly tulle and organza.  It is just like making a pompom, just on a much larger scale.  I cut a donut shape out of cardboard and then folded it in half and wrapped the pink and blue tulle/organza (holding both together) around and around the half-donut.  I wrapped a thin wooden dowel with pink ribbon and attached it to the poof with my trusty glue gun.  Then I tied some ribbon around the top under the poof just to make it extra fun.  I was so thrilled to find this tulle and organza that totally matched the dance recital outfit!  I win!  And the clever girl thought this wand was AWESOME.  She went around turning all of us into princes and princesses for days!

For the wings, I followed this instructable video.  HOWEVER, I could only find white tights, no sparkly pink or purple or blue or ANYTHING (ugh) so I used white and then painted them repeatedly with glitter paint.  And I say repeatedly because let me tell you, it was A LOT.  The thing with glitter paint is this:  It tends to be CLEAR paint with some glitter thrown in.  So if you are wanting coverage, it doesn't work so well.  I would do more searching for the right tights next time and avoid painting altogether!  Once it was fully constructed and painted, I glued sequins all over the wings in random patterns.  I thought they would provide some fun sparkle when lights hit!

Oh and that instructable video had a EXCELLENT tip for coverage under a leotard.  It happened to be cool on Halloween night, so the clever girl needed something over her arms, which a dance costume does not provide.  The idea from instructables was BRILLIANT.  Take a pair of nude tights and cut the crotch out - keeping the crotch seam IN but just cut the fabric part out of the middle.  Pull the tights over the HEAD, so the head is now going through what the crotch area used to be.  Put the arms in the tights legs and cut the tights wrist-length to make them long sleeves.  Now you have a thin nude long sleeved shirt that fits under a leotard!  Ta-da!

For the gnome, I figured he basically needed a hat, beard, belt, and blue jacket.  For the hat, I followed this AWESOME tutorial on deliacreates which uses all sorts of geometry and math to get a perfectly fitting felt cone hat.  I love the math part.  Made me think a bit and was lots of fun.  I pinched the hat together a bit on top to make it more gnome-y, and did a few stitches to hold the pinches together.

I made the beard with fur from the craft store cut into a beard-like shape - like a shaggy triangle-ish shape with a slightly rounded top.  I cut a few slits from the rounded top down about an inch, laid a strip of 1/4 inch wide elastic under the slits, then folded and glued the pieces down. Like this:

I intentionally made the beard so that it hung down around his chest area, not up on his face, as I knew there was no way the clever boy would go for that!

For the belt buckle, I cut a piece of yellow craft foam into a rectangle and cut two slits on the sides:

Then I put a piece of black 2-inch elastic up through one side and down through the other so it looked more like a buckle, and sewed the ends together, making it loose enough to go around the clever boy's belly while wearing the jacket.

For the jacket, I made Simplicity 2526, view D, size 2, out of navy fleece.  I made the sleeves 2 3/4 inches longer than the pattern suggested, and used a 1/2 inch hem on the sleeve, instead of the allowed 1 1/4 inch hem.  I think the sleeves on this jacket ran small, so I made them longer plus added more for a cuff.  I trimmed the cuff with yellow gingham so that the part that folded up was gingham.  I also used the gingham under the collar and in the button facing, so that the jacket would not be as thick in those places.  I love how this turned out!  The pattern was easy and sewing with fleece is a breeze!  No need to finish seams!  I had never sewn with fleece before!  If I ever figure out how to use my serger (some day....) this would be even easier, I bet!

Oh, and as a note, the pattern does not suggest fleece for this view of the jacket but does for another view.  I could not figure out why, so I found an email address for Simplicity and sent them a message.  They contacted me back right away!  Impressive!

So, not only did the clever boy get a great gnome costume, he got a jacket he can wear all the time!  (Note that the hood in the above photo is not part of the jacket but on the shirt he has on underneath.)

In all, a successful Halloween.  Both kids had a BLAST and the costumes were a total hit!

Poinsettia Christmas Tree Skirt

Yes, I know, it is September and Christmas isn't for another couple of months.  I promise you, I am not one who starts decorating for the holidays this early!  (Though a week or so ago I did see someone in my neighborhood with a Christmas wreath on their window... could they have already decorated?  Or is it still up from next year??  Yikes.)  Anyway, I am posting this now because if you get the motivation to make this beautiful tree skirt for your house, you'll want a head start!

I got the idea last November when I realized that since our new house has really tall ceilings, I can have a really tall tree, thus my beautiful hand-knit tree skirt would look woefully inadequate.  I "obviously" needed to make something new, so I trolled Google to find something that caught my interest.  I landed upon this, which got my wheels-a-turnin'.  I decided to use my favorite new home decor fabric, painters drop cloth (from your closest hardware store).  It comes in pretty big pieces, and I did not want a seam in my skirt.  And I chose to do mostly off-white poinsettias, with a few dark red ones thrown in for interest.  I have to say, I LOVE how it turned out.  This is not a hard project, however depending on the size of your skirt, it can be a bit of a time-consuming one. 

Another playsuit!

I know, I know.  I promised this playsuit a long long time ago.  What can I say other than time really got away from me this summer?  However, better late than never, I say.  Plus, this pattern can also make a playsuit with LONG pants, so you know the clever boy will be wearing some of those whenever the weather actually gets cooler!  So whether you are looking for a shortie playsuit or a long one, this pattern is what you need.

And I really do mean that literally.  The pattern is from the Children's Corner, and is called the "Johnny".  Appropriate, isn't it?  In fact, if you go to this link, and scroll down to pattern # 260, there it is.  Go ahead and buy it, as this is truly an awesome pattern.  When I searched for playsuit patterns, I'd say that 95% of the blogs I visited used this pattern.  Here is why.... IT IS PERFECT.  It is that simple John-John pattern that I was searching for.  Plus it is lined, which is nice.  No seams to rub against your sweet baby's skin.  The only tricky part is sewing the lining to the leg holes, for which the Children's Corner even created this great video to help you out!  The pattern pieces are easy to cut and the pattern sews together really quickly.  Can I say more things to convince you to purchase this pattern?  I don't get anything from the Children's Corner for suggesting their pattern, I just want to share my great find!

The pattern comes with a pocket you can put on the front, and an applique for a dog or something.  I prefer to make my own applique so I can't say anything about the applique in the pattern.  I find my applique patterns by searching "coloring book" images at Google Images.  I actually found the guitar a while back, when I made this Jiggle Jam dress for the clever girl.   I reduced the size of the guitar and used it again for the clever boy's playsuit.  There was an ulterior motive here... He wore this playsuit to the Jiggle Jam in May! 

The guitar applique was sewn to the main fabric (grey with dots) before the playsuit was sewn together.  The front two pieces were together, but the side seams were not sewn, and the lining was not attached.  This way the stitching from the applique ends up under the lining so it won't scratch the little man's skin.  When I applique, I create a backing from "Steam-a Seam Lite" (which I cannot find in stores anymore, boo!) or Wonder Under, so I can adhere the fabric applique (in this case the guitar) to the base outfit (in this case the playsuit) before sewing.  Then I iron some freezer paper on the WRONG side of the playsuit, to create a nice stiff surface for stitching.  Iron the freezer paper with the shiny side against the fabric, putting a warm iron on the dull side to stick it own.  Then do the applique stitch (a zig-zag in this case).  I painted the black details with a freezer paper template that I ironed over the top of the sewn guitar.  I used black fabric paint.  After it dried, I peeled away the freezer paper behind the applique and admired my work!  If you aren't painting anything on the applique, you can remove the backing freezer paper once the applique is sewn.  Since I was painting, I kept it there for extra protection (though didn't actually need it).  This sounds WAY more complicated than it really is. 

I made only one adaptation to this pattern:  It calls for 2 small buttons on each shoulder, and I used 1 big button on each shoulder. 

Another great thing I learned when making this playsuit, is the beauty of the snap setter!  Oh, heavens, why did I make other playsuits without this amazing tool?  The one I have is made by "Snap Source"  and I purchased it online from Joanns.  It is simple to use, just needs the snaps, a nice hard surface and a hammer.  I actually brought mine outside and used it on the driveway!  You could probably use any hard table in your house, but I had a sleeping boy at the time, so hammering is better done outside than in.  These snaps work great!  They look just like the ones you will see on store-bought clothes, and work the same way.  This tool is WORTH IT!

I  liked this pattern so much that I made one for my friend, who had a baby soon after the clever boy was born.  Wasn't that convenient?  I love a friend who enters the world of pregnancy with me, so we could go through it together!  In fact we went through it together with our first kids as well.  That is what great friends we are!  Or maybe, that is really how nature worked it for us, to be honest!   Regardless, it was great to have a friend along in the pregnancy adventure both times!  My friend likes to sail, so I created this cutie-pie applique for the front.  It was actually hard to give this playsuit away.  It would look precious on my little man, and I SO love the rick-rack water!  Alas, I did gift the playsuit and it quickly became a favorite for my friend! 

A playsuit in action!  Yes, indeed, the clever girl is wearing a matching outfit....  You can read all about that in another post! 

I highly recommend this pattern!  You too can make awesome outfits for you kiddo that look like you purchased them from a fancy boutique!  I envision a Christmas playsuit in the clever boy's future...

Another playsuit!

My second playsuit/Jon-Jon for the clever boy!  This is an Oliver + S pattern, called the Tea Party.  This pattern is really made for a girl, and comes with a sundress and bloomers pattern, but I thought I could make it work for a boy, too.  I added the pockets in the front.  Cute, huh?  Pockets on baby clothes always make me grin.  I mean, what do little kiddos have to put in their pockets?  A miniature billfold?  Keys to their cool ride aka stroller?  *smile* 

Another fabulous thing about this outfit is that every bit of it used items from my stash!  Yahoo!  The fabric is a cotton/tencel blend, which is very soft but wrinkles something fierce!  Oh well, it is definitely comfortable, so that's the important part!

If you sew for kiddos, you should definitely check out the Oliver + S patterns.  They are great.  Very well written, classic looks.  They now have an adult (women's) line, and recently made a pattern that would work for men as well.  I love Oliver + S.  I have a ton of their patterns on my shelves! 

The one thing I will change in the future about this pattern, and any other playsuit/Jon Jon pattern, is the use of snap tape.  That stuff is garbage, in my humble opinion.  It is a pain in the watoosie to sew on, and the snaps themselves are flimsy.  They don't stay snapped!  What is the purpose of snaps that don't stay snapped?  For the next Jon Jon I made, I purchased a snap setter.  THAT is the way to go!  A post about the next one will come soon!

Another Twirly Easter Dress!

You may recall that I made the clever girl a twirly Easter dress last year.  She LOVES that dress.  I mean to say she wears that dress at every opportunity.  When looking over photos of the clever girl for the past year, in practically all photos, she is in that dress!  So it was abundantly clear that I  needed to make her another one!  This time, I changed up the bodice a little bit. 

In this photo, the original front bodice pattern is in the back.  On top, I placed the new pattern.  Essentially, I measured over 1/2 inch on the upper right side, which is the width of the bias tape trim.  Then I drew a diagonal line from there to the bottom left corner.  Use the same pattern for the opposite side, just flip it over so the diagonal is going the other way.  Done!  I first added the bias trim to the diagonal parts of the parts of the bodice and had the halter straps come up from the under arm section.   I recommend, however, doing it the other way.  First sew the bias trim to the under arm sections, only the length of those sections.  Then add the trim to the diagonal sections, and continue these up for the halter ties.  I think this will lay more smoothly.  Once the bodice front(s) and back are sewn together, sew again up the bias strip on the bodice front top layer, affixing it to the bodice front bottom layer.  This way the criss-cross won't gap as your kiddo dances around! 
 

 

I love how the elastic shirring makes the bodice fit nice and snugly, and the halter looks so pretty from the back.

 

The clever girl loves the twirliness of the dress.  Again, it is perfectly danceable!  She has already worn this dress several times.  It has quickly become a new favorite!

If you have a little girl who loves to twirl, I highly recommend making one of these dresses, either version!  They are very fast and infinitely rewarding! 

Giraffe Shortall

I have started sewing for the clever baby!  Actually, I should probably now refer to him as the clever boy, as he recently had his first birthday.  I can hardly believe it!  How does time fly by so quickly??  Anyway, to celebrate his birthday, I made him a Giraffe Shortall/Romper/Jon-Jon.  What is the correct term for these things??  I am not sure, but I have become a bit addicted to them, so you will be seeing more versions from other patterns too.  I love the one-piece outfit for kiddos!

This pattern is from Stitch Magazine, Spring 2014.  Their pattern is called "Goldfish Shortall" however I vetoed the goldfish applique and decided on a giraffe one instead.  I am kind of in to giraffes for this little guy, as you can see here and here.  I actually used the same giraffe image for the applique as I did in the giraffe baby blanket, just much bigger.   And I learned something in the midst of this applique project!  I have done a decent amount of applique but this time, the fabric kept bunching up and it was not going well.  This may be because the outfit is lined, and both fabrics are cut on the bias, so maybe there was just too much going on.  Using a walking foot did not solve the problem.  So I brainstormed a bit and decided to use freezer paper.  Yes, indeed, I ironed freezer paper to the back of the fabric (so on the inside, on the lining) and then the sewing was a BREEZE.  Freezer paper to the rescue!  When I was done, I just ripped it off and I had a perfect (or perfect enough for me) appliqued giraffe!  So, note to self - when doing any sort of applique, go ahead and iron some freezer paper to the back side!  It provides a perfect stage on which to sew. 

 

I have some mixed feelings about this romper pattern.  The pattern itself does not call for the correct amount of material, and the cutting layout is also incorrect.  The pattern says to do everything on the bias, but the material amount and cutting layout is for doing so NOT on the bias.  So I had to return to the store and purchase more material, which irks me a bit.  Thankfully, I found the exact material I had already purchased, so it wasn't so bad.  Past that, the pattern was fine.  I found it to be a bit wide for  my little guy, so if I make this again, I will try to make it a bit more narrow.  He is in the low side of the weight scale for kids his age, so most things are a bit too wide for him. 

I made my own piping and I think it adds a nice touch, though I find sewing with piping to be a challenge!  Such a big bump in the seams!  I just need to practice more! 

Overall, I am thrilled as to how this outfit turned out.  The giraffe really makes it, in my opinion.  It was fun to finally sew something for my little man! 

I have already made another romper/shortall/jon-jon from another pattern, and will post that one soon! 

Plastic Bag Holder

Okay, this is one of those no-brainer projects that I am not sure why I didn't accomplish AGES ago.  How do you store your random plastic bags?  You know, the ones you get from the grocery stores, Target, from your newspapers, etc.  While I bring my own bags to the grocery store, the bags from places seem to multiply at our house.  Especially the newspaper bags.  We only get one newspaper per day, thus one bag per day.  But somehow we have about 3 zillion newspaper bags.  They used to be all shoved into another plastic bag (a Target bag to be precise) and stored underneath the bottom shelf in my pantry.  But the bags are not happy to be kept there.  They kept jumping out and having little bag babies all over the floor, thus the aforementioned 3 zillion bags. 

Enter, Martha Stewart.  She has this brilliant tutorial for making a bag holder out of a kitchen towel!  An ah-ha moment!  I did not photograph the steps in making this thing because Martha (or rather someone on her staff) already did so and the tutorial is quite simple.  Go HERE to see for yourself.

Here is what I did differently:  On the bottom where you put the elastic, Martha suggests cutting a slit in the seam allowance of the towel, threading the elastic through the seam allowance, and then tying the elastic in a knot.  Instead, I ripped out a tiny piece of the stitching for the seam allowance on each end, threaded the elastic through, and then zigzagged over the elastic at each end.  No knot tying.  As it is, there is a bunch of fabric right there from when I sewed the seam making the towel into a tube, so I didn't figure I needed to bulk things up more and tie a knot.   Either way works.

What are you waiting for?  You likely have all of the supplies you need to accomplish this super-helpful project sitting around at home, and it truly takes all of about 15 minutes to accomplish.  Martha used the following supplies:  towel, elastic, twill tape, safety pin.  I used the same, but if you don't have twill tape, you could always use ribbon or a long piece of some other fabric.  It is simply used as the loop for hanging this amazing contraption in a handy location! 

I actually made two of these:  One for newspaper bags (we use them when we walk the dogs) and one for other plastic bags. 

Get on it.  Show those plastic bags who is the boss!!  My entire pantry has breathed a sigh of relief.

A Heartwarming Gift

I have a guest crafter today.  See the cute blanket around the clever baby?  It was made for me by the amazing little girl in the green dress, whom I will call Miss M.  Yes, she is 7 1/2 years old and loves to sew!  Words just don't even express how much this warms my heart.  Just thinking of it makes my heart want to jump right out of my chest! 

Miss M is the darling daughter of a very good friend of mine.  In fact, I first met Miss M when she was about 4 days old, when her father and amazing mother checked out of the hospital after Miss M entered this world and drove from St. Louis to Houston to attend my wedding.  Honestly, those are the actions of a very special (and probably a bit crazy) friend!

I saw Miss M's mother the day before the top photo was taken, and she went home and told Miss M about how she had seen me and met the clever baby.  Miss M decided right then that she needed to make the clever baby a blanket, so that is what she did!  She picked out the fabric and sewed it that night and gave it to me the following day.  It just blows me away!  The blanket is made of two cozy flannels and is super soft. We love it!

I am so sad that Miss M lives so far away.  It would be fantastic to spend a day sewing with her!

A passion for sewing can start at any age.  Miss M is sewing blankets at age 7 1/2.  What will she be sewing in another 5 years?  Where will this creativity take her?  I look forward to watching it bloom!

Thank you, Miss M, for this special baby gift.  It is a treasure.