Big Butt Baby Pants

I am in LOVE with this pattern. Made By Rae designed the most adorable wide leg baby pants with a special panel in the bum for cloth diapered babies. It's amazingly brilliant, and I can't stop making them.

When I needed something for Colin to wear at his baptism, I went shopping. I only had a couple of days to figure it out, and all I found was a sweet little cardigan. So, I made some pants. Voila. I'm telling you, this pattern is awesome.

A few months ago, I bought some of this brown and blue collection, not having a pattern in mind, but knowing that I wanted to do some cuffed pants for Colin with it. I think this was the perfect pattern for it. And quite by accident, it coordinates cutely with this elephant sweater that I found at a consignment sale. 

The picture of him wearing the outfit? Is the best picture I could get. That child would not be still. Plus, we all know by now that I am a terrible, horrible, awful photographer. Which isn't a great quality in a craft blogger. At least this time I remembered to actually take pictures. Bonus.

You can buy the pattern licensed or unlicensed so that if you want to make the pants to sell, you can. You just have to give Made By Rae credit for the design. You can add pockets easily, and if you've got a little girl, you can add ruffles to the butt panel. It's the cutest! 

Something else I love about this pattern is that it only takes a half a yard to make Colin a pair of pants. Less, if I'm doing a contrasting cuff and bum panel. So I'll be able to destash a lot of fabrics that I have just because they are adorable.

I've made some monkey pants with a polka dot bottom, and I have several other combinations picked out and waiting to go. I'm obsessed. Baby bottoms are already cute enough on their own, but these pants just send me right over the edge. Darling.

Halloween costumes: Super Why and Baby Toga

I'm not sure at what point I decided that Christopher would be Super Why for Halloween this year. It was sometime after he began running through the house singing the Super Readers theme song, and sometime before he creatively turned baby Moses into a clothespin version of Super Why.

My initial vision of the costume went something like this:

• Find green leggings and long sleeve green shirt.


• Purchase a gold belt.


• Make a cape.


• Use a blue gDiaper over the leggings to complete the look.

Reminds me of the year I was going to be a Smurf. I figured we could just add blue food coloring to some lotion or some Crisco or something. I was only eight years old, but I was already incredibly lacking in my ability to see a craft all the way through . . .

Thankfully, while I was searching the internet for a how-to on making a cape, I came across Georgia's blog, Puking Pastilles. I was then introduced to the beauty of the buy now, download now, print now, business of patterns. 

How could I have not known about this?

Georgia has the most brilliant super hero costume pattern available for purchase in her Etsy shop. You can make it out any combination of colors that you like, and she even has free pdf's of many of your kiddo's favorite hero emblems. 

Thus was born the most non-crappy Super Why costume that I could possibly achieve.

Seriously. I had no idea that I could make anything like this for my sweet boy. As soon as I even mentioned it, he started asking to wear it. The poor dear was tortured every time I made him try on the different pieces of it. He would come close to tears each day I told him it wasn't ready yet.

Finally, on Wednesday this week, I finished. Of course I didn't take pictures along the way because I am the world's worst craft blogger. but I can tell you that the blue shiny fabric ain't so swift for sewing, but it makes a beautiful cape. 

The appliqu�0160;was tricky. I used gold ribbon for the strands around the book. At first, they held on with just Heat and Bond. Slowly but surely, it started peeling off though. Last night, I was hand stitching all of the ribbon on with some clear nylon thread - invisible super hero thread. 

My only complaint with the costume is that it fits so well. As soon as he grows a smidge, he's not going to be able to wear it. I did have to cut the pants twice, as the pattern definitely wasn't designed with tall boys in cloth diapers in mind. 

For the life of me, I couldn't remember what was on the back of Super Why's cape, and I wasn't about to make a second book applique because I was starting to feel lazy. So I put a green question mark. I'm not sure if that's right or not, but Christopher is thrilled with his "mark cape." 

He's a happy Super Why, that's for sure.

 

As for Colin, one day I was staring at his beautiful bald head and the very large ears which protrude from it, when it hit me. Those ears and that head were crying out for a laurel wreath. Thus was born the inspiration for the Baby Toga.

I actually took the pattern for the top of the Super Why costume as a guide to draw my own pattern for the toga gown. I liked the way the back split open and closed simply with a piece of velcro. The end result was a little too short, but seeing as how he'll be sitting in a wagon with a blanket over him, I think it will be fine.

The wrap ended up a little more elaborate than I intended, but I'm quite pleased with it. Again, I have no close up pictures of it, and one of the gold ribbon trim would be quite impressive here, but you'll just have to take my word for it. I hemmed all the edges of the wrap, even though I probably didn't need to. It's not like Colin is going to be requesting to dress as Caesar for the next 12 months of his life.

The laurel was the trickiest, and I'm not 100% happy with how it turned out, but it's alright because he won't wear it anyway. Hats and socks. The boy hates both. Anyway, I covered some craft wire with the gold ribbon trim and then hot glued some fake leaves to it. Today, at the church's Halloween parade, I figured out that if I was holding Colin, he would use one hand to hold onto me, and I could put a cookie in the other hand - thereby leaving him unable to yank the laurel wreath from his head. Brilliant, I tell you.

Not nearly as many people thought Colin in the baby toga was as funny as I do. Meh. It made me laugh, and these days, that's worth a lot.

So there you have it. Halloween craftiness for 2010. Maybe I'll post the treat bags I tried to throw together today. They are horrible. I'm so not ready to go pattern free on a bag. So. Not. Ready.

Teddy Bear Costume

A few months ago, Little Bird started saying the word "Bear." It was so cute with the w at the end of the word, instead of an r. Right then, I decided that he should be a "beaw" for Halloween. Just so I could hear him say it over and over.

Sometime in August, I bought a Butterick's pattern for 99 cents on sale at Joann's. I hadn't used one of their patterns before, and while the zipper instructions rocked, there were some other things seriously lacking. As in, it never told me to sew the inside legs seams. I mean, I figured out to do it, but I wasted quite a bit of time worrying about when to do it.

Really though, it's the best looking zipper I've ever done. I think I finally feel like I know how to do one now.

The costume had four components: the body, the hood, the mittens, and the spats. I wanted to add a round belly in a contrasting color, but I ran out of time, and I also didn't want to mess with my fabulous zipper.

The mittens and the spats were easy enough. I left off the elastic strap that was supposed to hold the spats to the bottom of the shoes. It just seemed like overkill. The spats stayed on just fine without them. I never tried to get the mittens on, because it was so hot here for Halloween. Of course, the year I decide to dress my poor child in a fake fur suit, it's 80 freaking degrees on Halloween.

 The body was pretty standard, and other than them leaving out the inseam instructions, I didn't have any trouble with it. Well, until I got to the neck. I really need a good lesson in finishing a neck. Especially when it comes to bias tape. I cannot figure out bias tape to save my life.

The hood was the biggest disappointment. He looked like a cross between a very cuddly teddy bear and a fuzzy cone head. I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sure it wasn't supposed to turn out so, well, pointy. I lined the hood in some material that would have been better suited for a really soft baby blanket, but I wanted it to feel good on his little baby head. Aside from almost causing him to have a heat stroke, I think it did feel good. I was surprised at how willingly he wore it, honestly.

I guess this is now a tradition. The homemade Halloween costume. Let's just hope my children have simple tastes.

Halloween Costumes, the Pirate Family

Last September, I decided that I should make Halloween costumes for the family. Little Bird and his daddy would be pirates, and I was to be the pirate maiden. It was the biggest undertaking of my short career as a sewist.

I cut the taffeta for my dress wrong the first time and had to buy more. The whole affair probably cost me more to make from scratch than it would have to buy it, but it was a very satisfying venture.

I also made the pattern for Kevin's vest from an old dress shirt of his. That was a first for me, designing something without a purchased pattern.

The biggest mistake I made was setting the bar WAY too high for future Halloweens. Kevin was such a good sport last year, that I didn't expect him to be eager to join in again this year, but he was. Unfortunately, I'm just not up to taking on the whole family challenge again. I'm planning on making Little Bird a little bear, and that will be that.

Blast Off

The tale of the rocket pants. These pants have been in the making for months. I found the fabric in the sale section of Pink Chalk Fabrics and bought a yard, not knowing what I would do with it.

When the fabric arrived, I immediately knew that it had to be pants - with the big rockets around the cuffs.

Instead of buying a pattern, I decided that I could make a pair of simple pants just by tracing some of Little Bird's current pants. I wanted them to be skater length with a simple elastic waist.

I put the pants together in no time. I was so excited to try them on the little guy. The length was great, but the waist was way too small. We sent them to our friend Carter, in hopes that he might be able to wear them, but the waist was still way too small. Maybe some teddy bear might wear them some day.

Not to be outdone, I got online and ordered some more fabric. This time, I also purchased a pattern. I'm obviously not ready to start creating my own projects. The fabric arrived, and I chickened out for awhile.

I really wanted these pants to work. I knew that I had to adjust the pattern some in order to get the border around the cuffs. That made me just nervous enough to stall for about a month. Or two.

Finally, last week, I tackled the rocket pants. They turned out a little longer than I anticipated, but overall I'm pleased with them. The best part is that Little Bird loves them. We learned this little song at our library's Rhyme Time that goes like this:

Zoom, zoom, zoom,
We're going to the moon.
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
We'll get there very soon.
5-4-3-2-1
Blast off!!!!!

As soon as he saw his new pants, he held his little hand up and started counting in his own Bird way, and threw his arms up in the air, crying, "Oooooooooff!" It was awesome.

Another thing I didn't really plan was what Bird would wear with his rocket pants. I found some really inexpensive blanks online though, and they arrived in about two days. This afternoon, I appliqued a rocket onto the shirt and completed his outfit.

I think he really likes it. I know I do.

What's your favorite ice cream?

My poor neglected craft blog. My poor neglected sewing machine. There have been a few projects here and there, but mostly, I've just been collecting patterns and materials and building my to-do list. Currently it stands here:

1. Three handbags. Mail sacks from Pink Chalk Fabrics, to be exact.


2. A pair of pants for Little Bird. With a rocket ship border at the hem.


3. A fleece blanket for Lovely.


4. Two rag quilts for Lovely and Luke.


5. Hand puppets for a new miracle baby's big sister.


6. An apron.


7. Pillowcases for Birds' little crib pillow.


8. Three more t-shirts to applique for him.


9. A birdy quilt, my first foray into real quilting.


10. Some stuffed bunnies.

That's enough for now. I'm sure if I walked up to the sewing room, I would find a dozen more, but anymore on that list and my hobby will start feeling like a weight around my neck.

 I have finished a few things, but forgot to take pictures. I made a tu-tu for Bailey, one of my favorite little princesses, and I made a "Super Juni" shirt for our friend Junius across the street. I thought that one turned out pretty okay for being hand sketched. I am so not an artist.

One of my favorite applique projects was a whim. I almost waited too late to work on this little romper. Bird actually only got to wear it twice before it was just wedgie city. In honor of the ice cream party from Edy's that Cyndi won for our neighborhood, I whipped up this little cutie while Bird napped. Three scoops on a sugar cone, please!

A Robot and a Puppy

I actually have been doing more than just appliques, but I have forgotten to take pictures. I've been making some drawstring bags, just the right size for shoes, as gifts. I like the simplicity of the project and the fabrics I can use. Plus, I just really like bags. All sorts of them.

Another thing on my plate other than appliques is a fabric co-op that I joined a few months ago. It is pretty overwhelming - I don't know exactly what is going on, but I finally decided to just jump in. They were filling bolts of Timeless Treasures, the maker of the pink scooter fabric I used for Tara's apron. I put in for several different fabrics, some of which I have a plan and some of which I don't. I think though, if the bolts don't fill, that I won't get those fabrics. I'm not exactly sure. Did I mention overwhelming?

And now for the pictures. These are the other two t-shirts I bought from Old Navy for $4 each. The first one had the Stratocaster on it, and now to our applique collection, we add a robot and a puppy. The robot is a self-design, which is why I had to tell you it was a robot. I do really like the button eyes, and the zigzag stitch mouth. I also like how he's a little lopsided. I did have an issue with my sewing machine going wonky on one of the arms. Trying to remove all the knotted thread left a hole inthe shirt. Instead of panicking and cursing (well, I did curse a little), I just cut out a new arm, positioned it on top of the hole (slightly lower than the original placement), put some interfacing on the back of the hole, and voila. A wearable robot t-shirt for Little Bird. Only slightly ghetto.

The puppy you can find here on Anna Maria Horner's website. I think it's a very cute puppy. The fabric choice for the puppy took me by surprise, but I love it. I think it goes really well with the shirt, and the pointillistic pattern is reminiscent of fur. It's a fabric I bought on sale at Pink Chalk Fabrics, and had no idea what I was going to do with it. Of course, I still have a lot more . . . I'm going to have to work on knowing how much fabric to buy. It's becoming a problem. A fun problem, but a problem. I was debating on an eye for our puppy, but I think I like him just as he is. The fabric is pretty busy, and the shape is obviously a puppy, so he's going to stay just so. His name is Pupstar.

It's a Strat, not a Tele

The birthday shirts have paved the way into more applique. While I made Little Bird's birthday shirt out of a plain white Carter's onesie, Pippi's mom picked out a cute white t-shirt from Old Navy for her birthday shirt. That inspired me.

I have bought a few t-shirts from Old Navy like the one shown here. I also picked up a color blocked tee from Target.

After collecting some solid Kona cottons, I started trying to decide what to put on the shirts. I was a little disappointed in how the color of the Kona changed once the Heat 'n' Bond was applied. The orange was a bright, sunny orange before, but once on the shirt, it had more of a rusty hue.

Of course, there had to be a guitar. I'm hoping to create a good silloutte of a jazz archtop in honor of Kevin, but for now, we have a Stratocaster. What I can't decide is if it needs detail. If I do humbuckers, then I'll feel like I should do strings. Strings would lead to tuning pegs and then it would look funny with no knobs. So I think I'm leaving it as is. Although I'm open for suggetions.

I used a decorative stitch around the edges. I'm not sure that I like it very much. The traditional applique stitch that I've seen? I don't think my machine does it. At least I haven't found it yet.

There are three shirts left to do. I'm planning a robot, another guitar, and a dog.

Handmade Gifts

One of my favorite things about learning to sew is that I can make things for other people. There was a time not too long ago that I never would have dreamed I would give a handmade gift. Now? It's the first thing I try to give.

My friend Nicole had a baby boy in December. Drew received this tassle hat and scarf to wear next winter.

The mom board I'm a part of sometimes has swaps. You can make a gift or buy a handmade gift. Now? I can make a gift. It's so much more fun now! We recently had a love themed swap. I found some adorable fabric (once again on Pink Chalk Fabrics), and made this apron for my friend Tara.

Here's a close up of the fabrics. The little scooters are so cute!

And because I always like to use a pattern more than once, after all, the first time I'm blindly making my way through, I made another apron for my friend Trish's birthday. The fabric wasn't as nice, seeing as how I waited too late to order it online. I popped by Joann's and just went with "cute." Other than the spot on the bottom where I left the iron on it while I rescued Little Bird's fingers from the drawer he had closed them in, I think it turned out well.

My most favorite gifty project lately though, is this birthday shirt for little Pippi. She turned one this past Sunday, and she is sporting a cutie pie birthday shirt. Her mom picked out an adorable little t-shirt from Old Navy and the two pink prints for the "1" I think from Joann's. I thought the shirt turned out well, but I am probably mostly looking at the model. She's such a sweetie.

First Birthday Party

Even though I thought that the whole of my craftiness lay in sewing, my friend Boo has proclaimed otherwise. She is due with her first child next month (we are holding out for me and LL sharing a birthday on Fat Tuesday!), and I have assured her that the maternal hormones are where craftiness lies dormant until you become pregnant.

Boo said to me this past Saturday at Little Bird's first birthday party, "You are so crafty!" I blushed, and wondered if it were true. Maybe, but I have to acknowledge much help and inspiration from my 12 year old stepdaugher, Mallory. CC's party would not have been possible without her assistance last week.

The party started with a dog theme. We made the invitations with some Microsoft clip art and Publisher. However, we did this on my desktop, and I cannot figure out how to get it onto my HP Mini. Of course, I could get up and go into the other room, but the invitations weren't inspiring enough to warrant actual physical movement.

Mallory and I made these cookies for party favors. The instructions came in the February issue of Parents as an idea for Valentine's Day. We thought they would be perfect for a doggie birthday party.

We looked for a cake pan that was shaped like a dog bone, but couldn't find one. I was alright with that because in reality I didn't want to spend the money on it. However, I am so not a cake decorator, it's not even funny. I can't write on a cake at all. It's horrible. We decided that we would make a puppy paw cake, and even though I had to tell several people what it was supposed to be, I was still please with it.

I also made little puppy ears out of some of the miles of felt I have leftover from our Christmas stockings (don't even get me started about how wrong I was about how much felt I would need for that project. It's embarrassing). We bought children's elastic headbands and sewed the ears onto them. Here are a few of the fabulous models:

And just because I am so pleased with how it turned out, here's one more shot of the birthday boy in his birthday shirt:

About

I have been known to make fun of crafters. It wasn't until I started surfing through Etsy and made some new friends who considered themselves "crafty," that I began to understand that gaudy sweaters and piles of scrapbooks weren't the end of the road for crafting.

There are artists out there.

While I don't aspire to become an artist, I would like to learn how to use my new serger, and how to sew in a straight line. My craft aspirations center around my sewing machine and learning to make things for my family and friends. Things that they won't pack into the back of a drawer five minutes after receiving them.

I began sewing in October 2007. Perhaps I shouldn't admit that, since I don't feel like I have gotten much better since then. I've made a handful of baby clothes, a couple of purses, a half dozen rag quilts, Halloween costumes, and my proudest accomplishment, our family's Christmas stockings.

When I think back on all of the projects I have tackled, I wish that I had been chronicling what worked, what didn't work, what I would like to try again, and most of all, I wish that I had been taking more pictures.

This space, then, is not a "how-to" craft blog. It is simply a blog to document my projects. My failures and my successes. It is a place to collect ideas and hopefully connect with other amateur sewers. I dare not call myself a seamstress.

I am simply someone who sews.