My Patterns
2011 Summer Wardrobes–5 Tops for Jamie
Moving on to Jamie’s Summer Wardrobe list . . . here’s the first half of the tops that I have planned for him.
First up is a Hooded Colorblocked Charlie Tee in Michael Miller Dino Dudes and stripes. You might recognize this one although it looked a little different the last time I blogged about it.
It started its life as the long-sleeve tee that is displayed on the new cover for the Charlie Tee. This is actually a great way to keep your little one’s wardrobe going from winter into summer. As long as the top still fits, just cut the sleeve off and hem.
Next is a simple two-color Charlie Ringer Tee, also in MM interlocks.
The last three tops were sewn as testers for the Rockin’ the Raglan Tee which I promise is coming up soon! It’s ready to go–I just need to coordinate a few things before I can release it.
Jamie chose this football fabric . . .
. . . and this snake fabric.
And the last top in this post is actually the one that you’ll see on the cover of the Rockin’ the Raglan when it’s released. (In a much nicer photo, though.)
Treehouse Fabric Designed by Me(!) Charlie Tee
A few weeks ago I posted a picture of the treehouse fabric that I’d designed on Spoonflower. Now you get to see the actual fabric! It’s been here for a little while, but I’ve been too busy to do anything with it.
I had the design printed on Spoonflower’s organic cotton interlock, and it is incredibly soft! Here’s the Charlie Tee that I sewed up for Charlie with it.
The colors were a bit more muted than my original design, but I expected that since Spoonflower says up front that their color range is limited. The colors faded a bit in the wash, too, but I actually really like the look of it now. It has some character. (Hopefully, it won’t continue to fade, though.)
I ordered two fat quarters–one of the print and one of the stripe. That was plenty to create a size 18-month tee with a bit of leftover. I did supplement with a solid interlock on the neckline. If you used a coordinating solid for the sleeves, too, you could get a size 18-month or smaller tee out of just one fat quarter.
I love that the colors and the design are different than anything else that’s readily available. No cars, trucks, sports, puppies or primary colors, yet it’s still very boy. (Not that I’m against any of those things! It’s just nice to have something a little out of the ordinary sometimes.)
I don’t know how often I’ll design my own fabric at Spoonflower because it could get very expensive, but I can definitely see me doing this every once in a while!
This tee wraps up Charlie’s Summer Wardrobe Top list. On to bottoms, pjs and rompers now . . .
2011 Summer Wardrobes–Charlie’s Tops
Finally! A post about Charlie’s and Jamie’s summer wardrobes! In case you haven’t been following my blog, one of the resolutions that I made at the beginning of the year is to sew at least one of my children a whole wardrobe for one season. Not only did I make the resolution, but it was printed in the Spring 2011 edition of Stitch magazine! (Now there’s a way to make sure that you follow through with a resolution–print it in a national publication!) I’m actually working on sewing summer wardrobes for my two youngest boys, Jamie and Charlie.
First up on my list is Charlie’s summer tops. I had originally planned to do six, but he ended up with seven. I’m going to show you six tonight and save number seven for tomorrow since I think it deserves a post of its own.
Top #1 is a Basic Charlie Tee in Michael Miller Dino Dudes with coordinating MM stripes. (This is the picture from the new cover for The Charlie Tee & Hoodie.)
Top #2 you’ve seen before, too. This is the Ringer Charlie Tee that I used for my Easy Applique Tutorial last month.
Tops #3, 4, 5 and 6 are all done in my newest tee pattern which will be released later this week. This is just a quiet sneak peek!
Here’s Top #3 in MM Dino Dudes with a different color stripe.
Top #4 has the optional color-blocked sleeve and MOM Robots.
Top #5 features the once enormously popular Mint Chocolate Zoo.
Top #6 rounds out the group in Zoo Animals on Red matched up with a Chez Ami stripe.
A Few More Pattern Cover Updates
Just a few more new pattern covers to show off. I’ve really been having fun with these!
New Cover for the Charlie Tee & Hoodie
I mentioned in my last post that I’m working on sewing up new samples of each of my patterns to update my covers. I’m using Michael Miller fabrics for the ones that I’m working on right now. (You already know how much I love Dino Dudes!) It’s spring here and perfect for getting outside to take pictures. I’m thrilled with the new cover photo for the Infant & Toddler Charlie Tee. What do you think?
I have lots more to do. Summer is going to be here soon, so I’m taking advantage of all this sewing to work on my two youngests’ summer wardrobes. No, I haven’t forgotten my resolution to sew everything they’ll need for summer–its coming along nicely. I just haven’t had time to post! I’ll do my best to post my checklist along with pictures of what I have done so far later this week.
Boy Oh Boy, The Ad
Squeeeeeee! Fishsticks Designs is in an ad with MICHAEL MILLER FABRICS!
Lots and lots and lots of sewing going on around here. I’ve been afraid that I might see smoke pouring out of my machines at any moment! I sewed up all of the outfits you see above the end of last week, and since then, I’ve sewn . . . um . . . lots more. I’ll be posting pictures soon. I’m working on sewing up several of my patterns using MM fabric to photograph and update my labeling, and I have two new patterns that I’m working on. You can see previews of them above: The Lazy Days Lounge Set and Rockin’ the Raglan Tee.
Oh, the ad will be appearing in the Summer 2011 Edition of Quilts & More. Adding that to my shopping list right now!
A Trio of Jammies
I absolutely LOVE to see your pictures of the clothing that you create for your family and friends with my patterns! (I do have a flickr group, in case you didn’t know, and it would be amazing if you’d add your Fishsticks Designs pictures to it so I can see them! FD Flickr Group.)
These pictures were sent to me from Leigh. She had a friend over a few nights ago. She says that when she changed her daughter into pjs after dinner, the other little ones wanted pjs, too. So she pulled out her collection of Fishsticks Designs jammies and clothed everyone!
In the colorful puppies print, is the Toddler-Size Comfy Sleep Set from Stitch Magazine. The pink and brown flowers is the Lap Tee and Pants from the Little One Jammies, and the Ooga Booga sleeper is the Jamie Jumper, also from the Little One Jammies pattern. Are they not adorable?
I love cute, comfortable easy-fitting pajamas. I suppose that’s why I have several pajama patterns in my collection and another one in the works. If you’re new to sewing with knits, pjs are a great place to start because you can use them even if they don’t turn out quite the way you want since no one’s really going to see them unless you want them to, right? Of course, if you use my patterns, I think you’ll be happy with the results even if you are a beginner!
It’s Time to Celebrate the Boy!
JUMP FOR JOY! It’s my turn to Celebrate the Boy!
Our four boys keep our home overflowing with all things boy all the time! If this is your first visit to my blog, WELCOME! I love creating patterns for little boys because, well, that’s who primarily enjoys the results of my sewing.
In honor of Celebrate the Boy 2011, I’ve created a free downloadable tank top pattern for all the fun-loving little guys in your life. With only two pattern pieces plus a few rectangles, this tank is quick and easy. The pattern includes sizes 12 months to 5T, and it pairs perfectly with my recently released Undercover Bottoms Boxer Briefs for cold-weather layering or warm weather snoozing.
This pattern (and almost all of my other patterns) is sewn using cotton knit fabrics. If you’ve never sewn with cotton knits or you could use a few tips to improve your results when sewing knits, be sure to check out my blog series: Knit Knowledge.
This is my youngest little guy, Charlie. He turned 1 recently, but being the youngest of six has him convinced that he’s really 11! I’ve had the Sweet Pea fabric that I used for his pjs in my stash for years, and I thought it would be perfect for him.
The other members of my family, however, have been trying to convince me that the red trim looks really pink and matched up with the lavendar of the main fabric, they think it looks not so boyish. I promise you, it’s red, not pink. I’m pretty sure putting pink in a post during Celebrate the Boy is grounds for permanent banning . . .
Since Charlie’s only one and obviously still wears a diaper, I sized up his boxer briefs two sizes so he could wear them over a disposable to bed. I love the cute little sleeping Sweet Pea on the bum panel!
My four-year-old, Jamie, answers the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” the same way everytime. “A motorcycle man . . . with a motorcycle.” (Cause, really? What would a motorcyle man be without a motorcycle?) When this checkered-flag jersey showed up in a swap package that I received last month, I knew right away that it would be the perfect coordinate for the motorcycle knit that was already lined up for this project.
I used my Easy Applique tutorial to do the appliques. It is really easy! You have to try it!
Ready to sew a tank and some boxer briefs? You’ll find the full-size pdf pattern and the instructions for the tank top here: The Tank. (Like all of my instructions, you’ll find word-instructions coupled with picture-instructions of every step!) You can find the boxer brief pattern right here in my store: The Undercover Bottoms Boxer Brief. And, I’ve added a 15% discount code that you can use on any of my patterns through the end of March: “TheBoy”.
What are you waiting for? Go sew! Soon your little guys will be jumping for joy in celebration, too!
A Box of Fabric & An Exciting Announcement!
My UPS delivery guy stopped by here about half an hour ago with this box . . . which is full of fabric. Not too unusual around here to receive a box of fabric delivered by the UPS guy. Except that this box of fabric actually came from Michael Miller Fabrics, and I’ll be using them for a couple of very special projects! Remember my Dino Dudes Giveaway post from last month? Well, I sent off an email to MM when my giveaway was over, just to say, “Thank you for creating a boyish interlock! We want more!” And, they emailed me back and asked if I might be interested in designing a few patterns to showcase their interlocks for boys! Would I?! Of course I would!
I have a few things in the works for them already–I’m hoping to be ready for testing by the middle of next week. For now, I’m off to sew my heart out so I can get some samples back out in the mail for photographing as quickly as possible! (Don’t worry, my Celebrate the Boy post is all ready to go as promised . . . you’ll find it here tomorrow evening.)
Toddler Sizes of the Comfy Sleep Set are Done!
The Comfy Sleep Set in sizes 18 months to 5T is all finished. My testers did a great job of working with me to get it just right! Here are some of their little models:
And this one totally cracks me up. It seems that while babies don’t seem to notice the crossover much, toddlers get quite excited by the “pocket” that the crossover creates and use it to carry around all their treasures!
You can find the pattern here: Toddler CSS Pattern. For the instructions, you’ll need to pick up a copy of the Spring 2011 Stitch Magazine at your local craft store, or you can purchase a digital copy of the magazine on the Interweave website.
