Sewing/Crafts
Big Kids Need Hoodies, Too!
The hoodie tutorial for the Big Kid sizes of my Patrick Curved Raglan pattern is all finished now, too. I can’t wait to see all that you create with it!
Here’s the link to the pdf tutorial: Hoodie Tutorial. Enjoy!
Tutorial for Converting the Patrick Curved Raglan to a Hoodie
Just in time for cooler weather! I’ve written a tutorial for converting your Patrick Curved Raglan to a hoodie. The hood pattern is currently just for the Infant/Toddler sizes, but the Big Kid sizes are coming next week!
You can find the printable tutorial here: Hoodie Tutorial. Please let me know if you have any questions!
The Little One Layette Pattern is Finished!
And, it almost sold out in it’s first day! And, I don’t even have it back from the printer yet! Can you tell I’m excited? There are a couple left in stock, but if you miss those, I’ll have more up in a week or so.
You can find it by clicking here: The Little One Layette Pattern
Some samples from my sewing:
This pattern contains sizes NB through 12 months. I’ve had a lot of requests for bigger sizes, so I’m working on sizes 18 months to 4T.
Made by Rae Backpack Giveaway!
One of my favorite bloggers, Rae, of Made by Rae is a doing a guest giveaway at Grosgrain. I love Rae’s backpack pattern! I used it to make these backpacks for three of my kiddos a few months ago:
The backpack that she is giving away is absolutely adorable and perfect for a boy or girl! Rae’s also giving away two copies of her pattern. Just click on the picture to find out more:
Jamie’s New Jammies
Sew Mama Sew is hosting a Pajama Party Sew-Along this month, and I thought I’d join in. My little ones all need warm and comfy jammies for the winter, and there’s a stack of neglected flannel in my fabric cabinet that is just yearning to be cuddled up in. The problem that I have with using flannel or other wovens is that I really dislike putting buttons, snaps, etc. on pajamas, so I thought I’d try out a v-neck top.
I drafted up this top yesterday afternoon, and I love the way it came out! It pulls on over the head really easily and doesn’t look huge in the neckline once it’s on. The pants are from my own AJ Bottoms pattern. (They’re my favorite for PJs!)
These new jammies fit so well, and Jamie loves them! He insisted on wearing them last night, even though it’s still sweltering here.
IBOL & a Good Start on an Organized Stash
Okay, first off, a challenge for my lovely readers! Is your fabric (or knitting) stash overwhelming? Does it need some cleaning out? Well, now’s the time to get working on that! You can have a beautiful organized stash, and give to someone else who loves to sew and doesn’t have access to the incredible fabric stores we have here in the US. Iraqi Bundles of Love is an amazing project that will warm your heart! Check it out here:
Yesterday, I went through my wovens stash and put together these two bundles:
(There are some knitting supplies hidden in these, too.) Aren’t they pretty? They’ll be heading out to Iraq this morning!
What did I get out of this, you ask? Of course, I don’t feel like I have to get something back for giving to others, but this time, I was rewarded with neat, clean, organized fabric cabinets . . . well, at least, my wovens and miscellaneous fabric cabinets . . . we’re not discussing the wardrobe that holds my knit fabrics. It’s on my list for next week.
I’m actually a little embarrassed to post my before pictures. Don’t judge me, please. I had terrible morning sickness and a house full of little ones to care for. Okay, here goes:
Cabinet #1-Cotton Quilting Fabrics. Before and After:
Cabinet #2-Flannels, Diaper-making PUL, some misc. fabrics on top shelf. Before and After:
Cabinet #3-Solid Cotton Quilting Fabrics, solid knit scraps for neckbands and such, misc. sewing supplies. Before and After:
In addition to the packages for IBOL, I packed up three paper bags of fabric for my church’s sewing group and a bag of fabric for the local thrift shop.
Now, it’s your turn! Clean up your stash and put together a bundle or two for IBOL and be sure to come back here and comment. If you blog about it, I’d love to see, so be sure to add the link! And, hurry! The deadline for shipping packages for this project is September 7th!
Upcycled Diaper (and Trainer) Swap
This was so much fun! I participated this month in an “Upcycled” Diaper Swap on a sewing moms board where I post regularly. The object was to create a diaper (or trainer, cover, etc.) for our swap partner that was made completely of recycled materials.
My swap partner told me that she would love trainers for her toddler son, and she said that he loves Sesame Street. So, I set out to find something SS that I could recycle into trainers. I scoured thrift stores, consignment shops, resale stores. I posted on my local homeschool yahoo group. I even looked at EBay. And, I found nothing! Then, I walked into a friend’s home for a church meeting one Sunday night and saw her 3-year-old daughter wearing an Elmo shirt. I said, “I need that shirt!” jokingly, of course, and explained why I needed it. She disappeared a few minutes later and came back with the shirt! (Thank you, Rachel! You’re the best!) I feel a little like I stole it right off of her child’s back. LOL!
Here’s the shirt:
And, the resulting trainers:
The rest of the swap is not nearly as interesting. Here are the things I started with:
Two used cotton knit receiving blankets and a cotton stretch terry baby towel . . .
. . . made one more pair of trainers . . .
. . . and a medium Fattycakes fitted diaper for my swap partner’s infant daughter.
The package that I received from my swap partner was amazing. Here’s what she sent to me! Two NB Hippy Hippy Snap fitteds (for the little one we’re expecting) and four wipes made out of recycled t-shirts. I absolutely love the simplicity of the t-shirt fitteds! I want to make some more.
And, a small wool Seraphim Soaker that she frogged from an Everlasting Wondersoaker and re-crocheted.
A New Pattern
Things have been busy here, but I’ve squeezed in a little time to work on a new pattern. My excitement over sewing for our new little one just might have given me a little motivation! The pattern went out to my talented team of testers a few days ago. Here a few things that I’ve sewn up with it:
A Very Special Quilt
A very sweet online friend lost her baby during childbirth a few months ago. A number of mamas on the board where we post wanted to do something to bring her some comfort during this difficult time. We all sew, so the decision to make her a quilt was obvious. Each mama sewed a block (or several blocks). Some mamas were experienced quilters, some were sewing their first ever quilt block. Each block was sewn with an incredible amount of love and prayer for the mama the quilt is going to. I really think the end result is just beautiful. And, I was honored to get to piece it all together.
The whole quilt:
Closeup of the block that I put together for the quilt:
My Favorite Superheroes!
What sewist has watched The Incredibles and not thought, “Edna Mode has the coolest job, dahling . . . “? Hee-hee! There’s nothing quite like sewing for superheroes, and I got to sew for my own two superheroes this week!
My middle two headed off to camp on Thursday morning where they’re having a superhero costume contest. They’ve been working on their costume designs for at least the last month. (Of course, mom waited until two days before camp to start sewing and was up at 5:00 a. m. Thursday morning finishing up the pants.) The outfits were totally designed by the superheroes themselves! I just did the sewing part, with plenty of consulting to make sure that I did them the right way.
First up is Star Streak. His outfit is mostly black and purple with “webbing” under the arms and a special pouch on his belt that holds stars that he apparently tosses out at . . . um . . . the bad guys, I think? He also has a cape despite Edna’s warnings. We’re pretty sure he won’t confront any jet engines at camp.
Next is Fireflight. Her outfit is lime green and black. (The top is a modified Miss Madeline). She really wanted wings, so my dear hubby, upon finding me on the verge of a nervous breakdown late Wednesday night, went online, figured out how to make her wings, took off to Walmart to buy the stuff and came up with perfect wings. The wings snap on and off of the back of the shirt. The pants that were supposed to be capris turned out a little long, but by the time I discovered it, I just didn’t have time to shorten them. Samantha . . . I mean Fireflight . . . doesn’t seem to mind.
My favorite superheroes ready to battle for truth, justice and plenty of fun at camp.
