Ahoy, Ahoy! It's a Nautical Lad

Hey there folks, I'm in a bit of a knit garment extravaganza......or maybe I'm just trying to pad out my stash busting numbers. What ever the case, cat boy does need a few summer clothes even if he prefers to run around naked.  Put on some clothing  boy, you can be a nudest when you have your own place!

First up Peek-a-boo Summer PJ's. Oddly I didn't own this pattern yet, despite my torrid love affair with the winter PJ set.  Guess last summer I ran the gantlet at Carters instead of sewing them myself.  That mistake won't happen again while there is Lillestoff lurking in the stash.  OK fine, I bought this print in February with the sugar skulls sweatshirting. It's wrong not to pad a Kitschy Coo order, the voices in my head told me so.

Anyhow back to PJ's, the summer variety is just as easy to sew as the winter ones. A slight mod was made to the sleeves and shorts because I didn't want to finish them with ribbing.  I added 1/2" of length to the sleeve hem/shorts hem area for a standard hem.  This worked fine for the shorts, but the sleeve length still looked a little too short for my taste.  Why I didn't listen to my gut which told me this before cutting the fabric? Because I'm stubborn, that's why.  There was plenty of ribbing in the stash so I added it to the sleeves as instructed and decided it looked fine.

Other than my own sleeve length preferences, I've got no complaint about the Summer PJ set. Love me some Peek-a-boo patterns. Now if only that rascally boy will stop demanding he wear dragon PJ's long enough for photos.

After finishing the PJ's I still had a 1/2 yard of fabric left over, sweet! Might as well take advantage of the serger and coverstitch already being threaded with red and make the Fishsticks Patrick curved raglan. I'd bought this one a long time ago to sew for Christmas presents and never put it together.  Mostly cause it was the year of sewing coats for my niece and nephew and time ran out.  I was still interested in trying this pattern because of the curved raglan shape.  Good to have a little variety in your boy's raglan collection, so I whipped one up with some red jersey for contrast. Luckily for the blog my baking assistant was in the mood to do some modeling work during his shift today.

The pattern has a two piece long sleeve, so for warm weather I used the upper sleeve pattern and drafted my own hem band.  The band is the same 2.5" width as the neckband and 1/2" shorter than the sleeve hem width. That worked nicely in the same ribbing as the neckband.

Soooooo I did a classic Heather and looked up the seam allowance after finishing the shirt. Sigh, I used to be such a reader.  Turns out it had a 1/2" seam allowance which I probably would have cut down.  With much trepidation I put this on Master D to find it fit just fine. Chunky toddler for the win! Can't make skinny pants for him, but he saved me plenty seam ripping this week.  Good job boy, you can clang the measuring spoons all you want.

I made a couple knit tops for myself, but those will have to wait another day.  Too busy stuffing blueberry muffins in my mouth to take pictures. Nom, Nom, Nom.

Hoodie Hoodlums

One of the great things about having a toddler is using them as justification for fabric purchases.  Traa laa laa, I'm buying fox print cotton for my kid, not because I want it.  No, no I swear, it for him. *Beats toddler off fabric when he tries to take it*  My latest "kid" fabric purchase was this skulls sweatshirting from Kitschy Coo.  It was too awesome to pass up, period. I concocted the idea of matching Mother/Son hoodies to block out the "you should be stashbusting" voice.   Hush up voice, I got some family bonding to do.

I'll also admit that I dreamed of adorable photos a la Katie and Myra in our matching hoodies.  Yeah, that didn't happen.  Half of the photos are of me trying to drag Desmond into the shot while he goes limp and flops to the ground.  Thanks son, I pull the same trick the next time you yell about needing to bake cookies.  "Oh no, I can't reach the mixer from the floor. Guess they'll be no cookies today." Then he'll try to jump on me like a trampoline....maybe I should come up with a Plan B.

My hoodie is the Kitschy Coo Penny Pinafore hack with added kangaroo pocket. I'd thought about adding a kangaroo pocket to the navy version, but didn't want to break up the color accent. On this version it was time for pockets precious, pockets!  My iPod never had it so good.

Desmond is wearing the Kitschy Coo Reversible Zippy Hoodie. His version is not reversible, cause the skulls are too awesome, but is fully lined with some black jersey scraps.  I'm super jealous of his lining, it makes the whole thing twice as lush. He is more interested in sticks. "Phew, Phew!"

Pattern
Kitschy Coo Reversible Zippy Hoodie - sewn in a 4T size, which is what Des is currently wearing. The pattern comes in the size range of 18m-8 years. Sweet!

Fabrics used
Sugar Skulls sweatshirting, which is more like a beefy french terry. It has a looped back which you can see in this shot of the inside of my hoodie.

Also used Black cotton/lycra ribbing and black jersey scraps.

Pattern changes/alterations
Sewing for kids is fun, no alterations needed!  Modeling with kids, that's a different story. Stop trying to Escape!

Confessions/Advice
- The "working for now" coverstitch machine was used to attach the kangaroo pockets and to hem the hood edge.

- Installing the zipper is a little fiddly because of having to mess with two layers of knit.  My biggest problem was matching the motifs since I couldn't see them with the lining in the way.  I ended up attaching the zipper to the shell only, then attaching the lining with a second seam. The lining hides all that mess and no one is the wiser.

Husband Comment
"Cool matching outfits. Now I need one, but I want it to be poncho."  - He's joking....I think.

My Final Thoughts
Kitschy Coo had a hoodie pattern so I didn't go searching around for alternatives.  I know that Amanda's patterns are well drafted and have good instructions. That makes sewing her patterns enjoyable and I'm always pleased with the final project. What more could you ask for?  Maybe a ton of Lillestoff to magically land in my back yard. "The knit gods are pleased!" Looks like Des has got the "knit rain dance" sorted out. You'd all better go indoors. "Blam, Blam, Blam!"

I Know What Boys Like

Boys like constructions vehicles, dinosaurs and color blocking.  OK, maybe it's just me who likes the last one. Gotta use up all those knit scraps!  Since I went scrap happy last week making dresses for my niece, it only seem fair that her brother get some new duds too.  The patterns selected were the Oliver + S raglan and ShwinDesigns "Any time at all" tee.  Here they are kicking back together.

They seem to be high fiving each other about something awesome. Maybe weaseling an extra cookie out of mom.

I've blogged about the Oliver + S shirt before and it's a pattern that has graced my sewing table many times.  On this shirt the pocket was left off since the dinosaur fabric is a ribbed jersey.  I'd rather stab myself with a seam ripper than try to sew a pocket on some ribbed jersey via the sewing machine. Since my nephew doesn't have a penny fetish, unlike a certain boy in my household, he shouldn't care.

The SwinDesigns shirt also has a minor tweak.  Instead of putting a ribbed cuff on the sleeves I hemmed them.  My ribbing stash appeared to have enough gray ribbing, but on closer inspection it was two different shades.  Damn you bad eyes! Can't you tell the difference between cool gray and warm gray under artificial light? After some quick thinking about solutions to this ribbing problem, I measured the shirt against some other 4 T garments.  My findings where that the "Any time at all tee" has very long sleeves compared to other patterns. It also has extra length in the body and a wider neckline.  The width of the shirt is the same as my other 4 T patterns, so I decided to shorten the sleeves and hem finishing them with the coverstitch machine.

I have no problems with the sizing being bigger since kids will always grow into it.  I may size down though on the next version for Desmond.  He was confused about me making shirts that did not belong to him. "But that's mine Mommy." I threw some construction vehicle print fabric at him and he forgot all about it.

You know what boys also like?  A bowl full of names waiting to be pulled for a prize draw. He carried out the instruction of "Only pick one" perfectly and the winner was Elisa. Congratulations Elisa!  Email me your address at knit(dot)n(dot)frog23@gmail and I will put the Sew Wendy book and the fabric into the mail for you.

Fun with Knits

Good news everyone, I'm making progress on my bagged projects and feeling a little less frazzled.  Luckily I had the stash busting theme of "Sewing for others" in my head and cut out mostly knit patterns for kids.  Few things are as quick and satisfying to me as serging together small brightly colored garments.

Since I'm a Kitschy Coo pattern junkie the Mini Penny Pinafore and the Girl's Skater Dress baggies got broken out first. Here they are frolicking together on the table. So happy together is playing somewhere in the distance.

The Mini Penny is all Lillestoff yardage left over from other projects.  There was just enough of the Matryoshka jersey to squeeze out the center panels. Now I have 2 largish squares that I'm holding on to for no reason.  It just seems wrong to throw precious Lillestoff away, The Precious!!

Also have got to remember for the future to buy more than 1 yard of solid red jersey.  Since it works for both boys and girls I need MOAR for my 3 kid models.

The Girl's skater used up almost all of the fanged clouds jersey bought long ago from The fabric fairy.  That jersey doesn't have a lot of snap to it so I did the neckband and cuffs in ribbing.  This particular ribbing behaved more like interlock so I didn't have to cut down the length of the pattern pieces at all. Excellent /\.

Now that a couple of things are sewn up for my niece, it's time to move on to her brother.  I was very taken with the new ShwinDesign's Anytime at all Tee pattern released last week. It probably has something to do with the boy model who is just adorbs. The design it's self has several styling options that will work for either boys or girls. I'm starting with the color blocked option to use up some narrow scraps lurking in the stash.

Master Desmond will get one of these later if he's nice and stops trying to steal my bobbins. "It's a wheel Mommy! A wheel!" Back you little beastie, go find your own wheels.

Since I've been having fun sewing with knits, I've decided spread the fun.  Back when I had an office job there was a Barnes and Noble in walking distance and I bought way too many books. One of them was the Built by Wendy "Sew U Home Stretch" book.  It's a nice book for learning how to sew knits and do some basic pattern hacking.  I don't use it much, so it seems right to pass it on to someone else.

It has a crinkled page here and there, but the patterns are uncut and no pages have been removed by idle toddler hands.  I'm also gonna throw in 2 yards of 60" wide rayon/cotton/lycra jersey.  It's heathered yellow/green with a navy stripe.  Light weight with very little rolling, originally from Marcy Tilton who always stocks nice knits.

If you'd like to be entered in the give away then just leave a comment saying so.  I'll pick a winner next Monday, may the odds ever be in your favor.

Feed me all day long - Sew Fearless Pajama Eaters

I've got a couple new mouths to feed. I don't mind because they're so darn cute.

It is a bit of a feeding frenzy when they get their paws on some PJ's.  Good thing their teeth are felty.

While PJ's are their favorite food they like eating other things too.
Thread

Candy

Froggie....don't worry I forbade this and gave froggie a tiny can of mace.

Actually the royal blue one is the only trouble maker, maybe he needs a felt muzzle.
"I'm just hungry....feeeeeeeeeeed meeee."

Pattern
Pajama Eaters from the Sewfearless blog.

Fabrics used
For the main body - Robert Kaufman 21 wale corduroy from Fabric.com
For the mouth/inside lining - Kona cotton solids also from Fabric.com.
Eyes/teeth - Felt from JoAnn Fabrics
All soles were scrap cottons I had in the stash.

Pattern changes/alterations
I only made one alteration, the addition of a thread tack at the corners of the body for an ear flap.  I made mine 1" away from the edge and hid the thread in the seam for the body.  If you'd like to do this too then make them right before stuffing the body.

Confessions/Advice
The majority of this pattern is easy peasy sewing, but attaching the soles to the legs can be bit tricky. Mostly because you're sewing a straight edge to something with curved edges.  Here's my method for doing them.
1. Mark the center of the soles on the short ends with a pin.

2. Sew the leg together and then mark the center of the tube with a pin.

3. Line up the pins on the soles with the pin/seam on the leg tube.

4. Clip the leg tube in the areas it will be curving around the sole's curved edges.  Pin in place.

5. Attach as many more pins and you'd like and start sewing. I usually started at the leg seam.

6. Even with the clipping on the leg tube you will get a bit of a pleat right in the center of the curve. You should be able to massage it out with your finger when the presser foot is raised.

7. When you're done you should have a nice pleat free leg.

Husband Comment
"Did you sew this?   This is the best thing you've ever made."

My Final Thoughts
I had a lot of fun making this pattern and not just because I was posing monsters and taking amusing pictures. (See my instagram feed if you missed them)  The construction steps were very well documented and are also formatted like a comic. Squee!

The finished PJ eater is not only cute as a button, but excellently constructed too. Plus the added bonus of working with fun bright colors and maybe using up some scraps.  Or be like me and buy up a bunch of corduroy colors only to have you kid tell you he wants a green one.  What? You've never expressed a color preference before child.  OK fine, the red one was supposed to be mine....but then I've gotten a little attached to this feisty royal blue one.

"Nom, Nom, Nom. Pants patterns are delicious."

Theme Sewing - Oliver + S Raglan Tee

You know what I really like about the Stashbusting Sewalong?  It's that they let me sew whatever I feel like. Which is good cause, "this bird you can not chain."  But Emily and Cindy are smart and know that sometimes a sewcialist might need a little inspiration. So they come up with a stashbusting theme each month that you can chose to sewalong with.  Half of the time I blithely ignore this and go on cutting out fabric while singing, "I did it my way."  "Regrets, I have a few, but you can't tell me what to do...," wait I don't think that's how it goes.

Annnnyway, this month the theme was sewing for children and you know what, I have a child! Also a smallish stash of children's fabrics that he'll grow out if I don't get cracking. I was most concerned about a cool space invader print that was only a 26" x 24" piece.  Since good boy knit prints are hard to come by, I'd snapped this wee piece up two years ago. It needed to be sewn up and quick!

Enter Oliver + S Raglan and Field Trip Cargo pants.   I made the pants for my nephew last Christmas and had a sewing disaster that forever scarred me. (Cut hole in almost done pants. Then had to rip out a shit ton of top-stitching to replace panel. It was black on black top-stitching...at night...in November.")  Just seeing the pattern made me want to hiss and yell, "The power of Christ compels you!" Thankfully I pulled it together and remembered that A- it wasn't the pattern's fault and B- we're just doing the easy knit shirt this time, so chill Heather, chill.

Desmond is currently wearing 3T, so I went with the 4T size for more growing room.  I also checked the pattern against some RTW 4T shirts and decided to add 1" of additional length to the shirt.

My original plan was to use the space invaders knit for the body, but there wasn't enough fabric and the damn print turned out to be off grain.  Oh well, I had plenty beefy black cotton/spandex laying around.  That would work for the body and the raglan sleeves would help disguise the skewing of the space invader print. Then red ribbing for the neck finish, cause everyone likes a nice pop of color.  Tadaaaaa.

Sewing the pocket is the trickiest part.  I used a straight stitch on the regular sewing machine with my edge stitch foot.  It took a couple of tries to get the stitches an even distance from the edge, but the sewing goddess smiled and made it happen.

The rest was all easy serging and a little coverstitch hemming. Oh toddler T-shirts, you are the best FO, I feel like making 20 of you.  The Oliver + S pattern and I are in a good place now, but someone stop me if I ever think about making woven toddler pants again.

Master Desmond said, "Robots Mommy, Robots!"  I told him they're aliens but he just shook his head cause everyone knows Mommy is crazy. "Robots it is, now let Mommy take your picture."  He then stole the camera and I had to grab some shots with the iPad. Here he is looking angelic right before he started licking my camera lens. Kids today and their propensities for licking technology!

This is the best shot modeled shot I could get cause the boy's got things to do, like take pictures of his lips while ignoring my shouts to smile for Mommy's iPad.  Good news is that the shirt fits him pretty well and he really likes it.  Bad news is when I have to take it off of him he gets pissed. "No my robot, MINE!!!"  Ahhh aren't they precious? Be nice to Mommy our she will steal your shirt and wear it as a hat. Yeahhh I'll make that look good. Phew, phew, phew, got you space invader.