Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Christmas Jammies for the Boys


I have wanted to make Christmas jammies for my boys since last year.  I don't know how but I came across a link to Melly Sews and she had posted about how to use her blazer pattern and make it into pjs... I was in!  I had bookmarked the free pattern over at Sewing in No Man's Land but it is only in one size and my brain is pretty fried right now... I didn't want to deal with trying to resize.  I purchased the pattern right away and within hours was making jammies #1 for my 3 year old.  (I had purchased fabric already....I told you this was on my to do list for a while!)


Ok, I don't know how many of you are like me- the first attempt at a pattern or project is always slewn with mistakes!  First of all I probably should have gone a size smaller because my kid is a string bean... but tall so I made him a size 4... it kinda hangs off him.  Oh well!  The major mistake that really bugs me is that I cut the pants wrong!  The pattern is going the opposite direction as the top.  More importantly than the look is that the stretch is wrong!  Luckily I made them big enough that they still work! 
I often have to tell myself to
LET GO OF PERFECTION!


All this boy has asked for from Santa is a "long, long choo choo train"! 
I'm not sure what he calls the gazillion of tracks and trains on his train table! 
He got this really nice wooden train on Saturday at a family Christmas party...see the little wooden logs!  He calls them Jobi wood (all of you that are familiar with Thomas the Train will know what that is!)


...and the train is off! 

This train was handmade locally and my mother in law found out about him and hunted him down to get this train!  I've seen similar ones on Etsy.

I added the ric-rac at the bottom and am torn whether it looks 'gingerbread boy-ish' or just plain girly! 

Ok, so the 2nd pair for my husky 17 month old turned out pretty well!  Remembering how big the first pair was I did slim down the pattern a bit (not too much since he is still a little husky).



I decided not to do the trim and just the ric-rac along the collar and really like it! 

I added a cuff at the bottom with some more ric-rac.  I had about 2" left otherwise I would have liked to put it around the wrists. 

He is following in his brother's footsteps and also loves his choo choos!

I just want to squeeze those cheeks!


Even though 99% of the time they are both annoying each other, deep down I know they love each other!

I just finished their major gift yesterday and will try to take some pictures during naptime today to put up here!  It turned out amazing!
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Haul out the Holly Tutorial {Santa Pennant Garland}

Haul Out the Holly,Gwenny Penny,Christmas tutorials

Hello there & welcome if you're visiting from Gwenny Penny! 
I was so honored when Gwen asked me to participate in Haul out the Holly this year! 
It honestly didn't take me very long to come up with this idea. I was preparing for my first craft fair around the time she asked me to participate and I had pennants on my mind.... thus:

Santa Pennant Garland!


Let's get started!

Materials:
1/4 yd red flannel
1/4 yd white or cream flannel
desired length of 1" black satin ribbon (3-4 yds)
coordinating thread
spring loaded scissors (not required but recommended)
cardstock and marker

Let's make our triangle pattern:

1. draw a 5" line which will be the top of the triangle
2. draw a 5" line perpendicular to the first line (creating a T)
3. connect the lines to form your triangle

Cut out your pattern and grab your rotary cutter and we'll cut out our fabric.


I folded my fabric and cut 4 layers at a time.  You need 2 triangles of each color for each finished pennant.  The number depends on how long you are making your garland.

Now lets layer our pennants. 
Bottom layer- red
2 middle layers- white
Top layer- red

Pin your layers together. You should have a stack ready to head to your machine.

 

Sew along the 2 sides using a 3/4" seam allowance (mine fluctuated between 1/2"-3/4" but in the end you won't notice if they aren't perfect).

Grab those spring loaded scissors (great if you do rag quilting... which is why I bought them... still haven't made a rag quilt yet though! haha)


Start snipping 1/4" segments along both sides of each triangle.  Leave the top uncut & do not cross the line you sewed.


I went ahead and sprayed it down with water and threw it in the dryer to shrink it.

Now we'll add the ribbon along the top.  Leave a tail of 6" before your first triangle.  I just folded the ribbon over the top of the triangle and pinned it in place. I did not leave any space between each triangle.


I started sewing at the first triangle making sure to backstitch (at the end too) so it wouldn't come unraveled. 


Now I threw it in the washing machine to really get it to fluff up.  You might want to do this a couple times... the more the merrier!


Isn't it lovely on my banister?


I thought I'd try it on our large front window... tried taking a picture of the whole window but the light outside was playing tricks on my camera! 

Oh, and you might be wondering where the bow came from.  When I went to unwind my ribbon off the spool it was in 2 pieces so this is how I remedied it... I really like the bow!

Thanks Gwen for allowing me to participate in your 2nd annual Haul Out the Holly series! 

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Monday, November 14, 2011

My First Craft Fair!

By chance I signed myself up for a craft fair!  I've never done one before but have always been interested.  My main hesitation has been my boys...like what to do with them!  My husband works. ALOT. He runs his family's business and then farms on the side (like the few hours left in the day once you've worked a full time job). So we really don't see him much.  But things all fell into place because my wonderful mom & her husband are coming down for Thanksgiving!  They will be here from Wednesday night through Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend.  Yay! help!  So, knowing I'd have coverage for my boys I am going full steam ahead getting ready for this thing.  It's in a small town near me & the whole town does an 'open house' type thing so I think there will be plenty of traffic. 
Here's what I've done so far in preparation:
1. I got a smart phone & ordered the 'Square' device which will allow me to accept credit cards.  I got the phone for free since I was available for an upgrade and I went with the iphone 3 (older version).  The 'Square' is free and came pretty quickly.  The app is also free and I downloaded that right away.  It took a little longer to set up the bank account you want the money deposited into. 
2. I've been sewing in bulk!  I think I've made 2 dozen burp cloths & have another 1 dozen to make, and have about 60 t-shirts that I'm doing reindeer & ties.  I've made other things too (did I mention I signed up for another craft fair the following weekend!  It was only $10 so I figured I'd take whatever I didn't sell at the first one).
3. My main focus for this post was to share the child size mannequin I made today.  I bought the pattern here.  It came together really fast & didn't take very much fabric.  It is size 2T& will be a great prop for my table.  Here is how I want to pose it:


On this cute tiny red chair we rescued... it needed a little TLC & still does but the mannequin hides some of the flaws.
With or without the Santa hat?


The tie is one of a set I whipped up last night for my boys' Christmas card photos. 


I feel like this little guy is a part of our family now!  He's a little lumpy because I stuffed him with scrap fabric but with a t-shirt on nobody will ever be able to tell.  I think I'll make a couple more since I have a couple t-shirt designs to display. 

Here's my next project to finish:


A pennant banner to hang on the table. 
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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Christmas Wedding Present



So last weekend my hubby and I got a much needed little get away (from the boys) for a family wedding.  We had a fantastic time.  I thought I'd share the gift I made for the couple.  I was inspired by all the awesome Mr. & Mrs. gifts I've seen on different blogs & Etsy... just do a search for Mr. & Mrs. wedding gifts and you will see so many amazing wedding gifts! 
His and Her stockings! 
 I thought how perfect for them to hang up on their first Christmas!
I went for a very classic red, white, and black color scheme.. wanted them to feel formal.


The lipstick kiss is embroidered by my machine.  I was torn whether or not to also go with an embroidered applique like the mustache but I really like how you can see all the ridges with the embroidered kiss. 


The mustache pattern I purchased from Etsy for my embroidery machine.  I am slowly getting the hang of the embroidery possibilities. The key was realizing that I could transfer the designs... myself!  I was under the impression that I had to go back to the shop to get them transfered to my sewing machine. That just wasn't going to happen with 2 little boys tagging along!


 I wish I had my Christmas decorations up... so I'd have better pictures. 
I am not a pre-Thanksgiving decorator.  Now that I've created the pattern I might be churning out some more stockings... I've always wanted matching Christmas stockings for our family! 
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Thursday, October 20, 2011

Pumpkin Patch Outfit


This outfit actually started as just the pants. 

But that creative itch overtook me & I was needing a break from sewing costumes and needed a quick little creative project. 

Both my boys are going through their fall growth spurts.... you know when your kids' old pants are a little too short and the next size up are a little too long?  I had just been rolling up the bottoms so they wouldn't trip and it occurred to me that it would be neat to add a little detail to make them look lined and therefor kinda cute when rolled up.  The verdict is still out on whether they look a little too girly... my husband immediately unrolled them! 

The shirt was super simple.  I found the pumpkin applique online and to make the sleeves just made 2 tubes and attached them along the seam of shirt. 

Wanna know how I added the faux lining?  It was pretty simple.

Take your kid's pants (they need to be too long).  I bought these a while ago on clearance for $4 at Target. 

Measure your child's inseam.


Measure the pant's inseam (so you know how much to roll up).


Measure across the bottom.  Double the measurement and add an inch for your seam allowance.

Cut 2 strips of fabric which are about 4" by whatever your last measurement was (double the length across plus 1").


Iron one edge or each strip and run a zigzag stitch along it.  I am not worried about fraying because this will be tucked up in the pants and won't be seen. 


Now iron the other edge over about 1/2" then started at the inseam, pin the ironed edge just along the bottom seam of the pants.  Make sure to leave a 1/2" loose at the beginning and end so you can close the loop when you're done.


Make sure you are using a heavy duty needle (for denim).  Slowly sew along the pinned edge.  I didn't worry about thread color in my bobbin because it won't be seen.  I also used a pretty loose stitch so I can rip it out later when the pants no long need to be rolled.



Now pin and sew the short ends that you left - make sure the right sides are together.



I added a row of stitches toward the top so the lining would stay up in the pants when rolled.


I think it turned out just as I imagined!

Take your little guy to the pumpkin patch to enjoy!


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