rainy morning lounging

Perfect comfort for a rainy day book reading session. Mason's ice cream farm pants were just completed, and now we have to go get some.

Oh, our cherry tomatoes on the kitchen window sill were too cute to resist, waiting to be grilled this weekend...

Enjoy!

I love t-shirt pants!

These have been brewing for awhile, so I finally grabbed an hour here & there to get them done. Tons of creative possibilities.  They can be long, short, or in-between. They can be simple or layered with details. These are all sized 2-3T, so one shirt is all that's needed, even a large child's sized t. A great way to use some neat graphics from a shirt you no longer - or just don't, wear. Even hand-me-downs, thanks to cousins Tommy & Kevin!

All of these shirts were given to me & had been hanging around in one drawer/bin or other, just waiting. When the weather started getting warmer & my boys needed some lighter weight pajamas, I started on these. Everything I used was already in my studio, including the elastic. Gotta love that! The pattern is the same Kwik Sew I very loosely used before - on these the adjustments were on both length & width, blending sizes, all kinds of crazy stuff. It would be easier to copy a pair that fits or just needs an adjustment you can handle. That being said - these are very simple & quick. Once you do one, you'll want to make more.

You really can go nuts with details on these little pants. I created & added the pockets, and love how they came out -  especially the leftover neck band at the top edge, (on the striped pair) and the pleat that makes the other look like a cargo pocket. The leg banding I also added - on the white pair it's leftover from the polo shirts turned into hoodies project from my first post. It's the ribbing from the sleeves. Love that detail - it makes a nice clean finish & the contrast topstitching ties it together. The blue pair uses the neck band from the striped shirt, but there wasn't enough for both legs. It adds to the overall personality, I think.

Anyone interested in more sewing details or a tutorial, just comment on this post & I'll give you the info you need. I'll try to get some action shots posted, too!

hoodies in action

So, we were playing in the yard yesterday before the rain came and I thought I might be able to get a few good pics of the boys with their hoodies on. How many of you are laughing at me right now? Anyone who has littles & specifically wants to get decent photos - yeah. Well, this is what happened before the batteries died on me. At least there's one of Mason's head! Nate was not feeling so cooperative.

Have a great weekend!

coming home

Well... I started sewing again, and creating things again (outside of work projects) since my boys were born.

I've missed it more than I had even realized. 

It felt like coming home.

So... here's my first old beginning that I have to share. These hoodies for my boys were made from polo shirts given to me by my mother-in-law. They were too big for my husband, but a bulb went on when I saw them. The XL shirts had enough fabric to do something long-sleeved (in a 2-3T size) - and with a bit of finagling I squeezed  in a hood. I'm a sucker for hoodies on my little guys!

The before of one of the shirts (they're both the same except for color) ...

It all started with careful deconstruction, keeping intact the front button placket to use and carefully removing all other details that would be reused, but altered. Some elements were not used again here, but saved for future use. It's amazing how useful all the parts can be once you get into that mindset.

I loosely used Kwik Sew pattern# 3150 - and I say loosely because I almost, pretty much, never follow any pattern or even recipe to the letter. Just can't do it. There are too many tweeks & ideas running around in my head for that. The pattern is also too simple for the results I wanted so lots of details were added. (like covering the back neck seam with twill tape) Besides, one size fits all is not my style. It all has to be better fit for the intended use/person. Also, when you are repurposing fabrics or any materials, really - there are limitations that you have to work with. 

It's about getting the best you can from what you have, and rising to the challenges that the item or project presents.

In laying out the pieces, I used the hem of the shirt for the sleeve ends, but couldn't do that for the body because I used the button placket at the top. And matching up the stripes at seams was not really possible, either - but I've learned to live with that. (my two year olds aren't that fussy yet!) In sewing these I learned something interesting - my machines didn't like stitching through the printed-on stripes of the grey shirt. The multi-color shirt was fine since the stripes are woven, not printed. The serger did ok, but mainly the issue was with topstitching on my straight machine. I had to topstitch upside down on half the hem, not really fun. And only a little bit better.

I realize that the finished item is not the same one as from the before & during pics... that's what happens when your main focus is two energetic little boys! I will post pics of both. These have been great - our go to cover-up for the beach or cool evenings. We've had plenty of cool temps here in the northeast this summer! They were such fun to work on, it sparked a slew of other wearables for my boys. Stay tuned.