sweet thing(s)

reusable lunch bags

so- cloth snack/lunch bags!  

we've been using these for over a year and i highly recommend making some.  i use them for sandwiches, muffins, apple slices, etc.

these are just straight up fabric without a liner or anything.  I didn't want to use plasticized fabric because i don't like plastic but i was worried things would dry out in fabric bags.  (if you want to buy, we had these bags given to us once and they were great.  they are food-safe plastic fabric but SO EXPENSIVE)  

the kids usually eat within a few hours of leaving home and the food stays moist and fresh.  i turn them inside out to wash and dry them.

the design- it is a copy of the old plastic fold lock top bag and very easy to make.  I take a long rectangle (about 6" x 16") and serge (or zig zag) each short edge.  then i fold it in half wrong-sides-together, fold down the top layer's top 2 " or so, and serge (or zig zag) down each side. The edges are finished at the same time as the seams are made.  each bag takes less than 5 minutes to make.

i made a bunch of these last year and as the supply has started to dwindle lately i made some more today.  ~i also did a bunch of other random sewing today- when Asa came home today he said- "Oh!  Was it your making day today, Mama?  :)

monkey boy!! (or "some stuff i made part 2"- or "from the holidays part 3")

you might remember this monster suit from a few years ago?  (he looks so little!!) well, it's finally too small.

so I thought monkey boy needed a new under-the-radar costume (i.e. he can wear it to school without being "IN A COSTUME")  It even has a snap-on detachable tail!

(photo shoot at the St. Lawrence Market!) 

and I have to share this video- a perfect job for grown-up Asa!!!

it is really funny- it has one swear (the B word) in it but otherwise child friendly (well, if you don't mind hot half-naked men- but in a good way)  and the kids LOVE IT!!

some stuff i made (Part 2: from the holidays)

we were feeding a neighbour's cats over the holidays- I had the brilliant idea (pat pat) to set up all my sewing stuff over there so I could work on my Christmas sewing.  It was so great!  I didn't have to worry about curious children or leaving a mess out- just work and then walk away leaving it all set up.  must be what it's like to have a spacious studio...

aside from the Christmas jammies and bathrobe, 

i made:

a dog coat for my mom's dog (Butterick 4885)

i learned that dogs are even harder to photograph than children

 

i also sewed matching dresses for Maxine and her new dolly

this (sort of dark) picture is the only one I have as Maxine tried it on only the once: unfortunately as a pattern for Maxine's dress I used one of her dresses that is basically too small and I hadn't realized it.  so that is a shame unless I can get some more fabric.  it was from Joann's and it's this super cute owl print corduroy:

:: hint hint to Auntie Mar who was going to look for some in Seattle for me! :)

Maxine's new dolly is a Canadian girl (well, they're actually Maplea Girls but the are the equivalent of the you know-who-dolls in the USA).  

she LOVES HER!!!!!  

her name is Saila and she is from Nunavit. (The girls are all from different provinces)  Max also got a bunch of clothes for 'her girl' (she calls her 'my girl'!) and spends hours daily dressing and undressing her, and making up stories about her.  I enjoy brushing her hair.  (someone else in the family also enjoys braiding her hair but he won't let me say who.)  and i have to say I'm looking forward to making more clothes.

someone asked me, under his breath, 'live vicariously much?' and this may be completely true, but who cares?

girly shirt

there are a few t-shirts that the boys wore a lot that i thought would be cuter for Maxine if they were a bit girlier  

(is that terrible?  sometimes I wonder as she rides down the street on her princess bike in a cloud of pink and purple.  my 20 year old self would be horrified...)

as another of my projects with FOE (fold over elastic) yesterday I transformed this t-shirt:

I cut off the neck and sleeve hem, and apllied the FOE stretching it but not the fabric as I went. easy peasy.

Max loves it, although i had to give her a piece of gum to let me take a picture of her in it

i have a few more to do but I ran out of FOE!

a dress for the teacher's daughter

today is the second to last day of school- and my last day on my own for the foreseeable future. during the school year Maxine has been going to a neighbour's home day care two days a week. (she LOVES it)  And of course the boys have been at school.  while I am looking forward to lovely kid days this summer I have relished my home alone days.  I love the silence (or the radio) with no one asking things of me or looking over my shoulder.  on these days I ran, read a bit, crafted/sewed a bit, worked on my blog, and did quite a lot of my domestic duties.

today, i sewed!

we contributed to the class gift for Lee's teacher, but I have so appreciated her and all her hard work and the experience Lee has had this year that i wanted to do something a bit more.  I sewed her little daughter this dress:

it was made from a frumpy dress i picked up at the Goodwill in Florida- the fabric was so pretty I knew I could make something else out of it.  (from the same dress I also made myself an experimental summer top.  it still needs work- if i can make it turn out okay I'll share it here at some point)  For both items i used fold over elastic (FOE) for the first time.  it was really fun to use!  I first read about it on Angry Chicken's blog- she has a great tutorial here with links to some projects she's used it for.  i used the existing yoke of the dress and its buttons, and used FOE to bring the neckline down to size and gather up the arm edges as well.  i used the ruffling foot on my serger (LOVE it, btw) to make the bottom ruffle.

i hope they like it!  (and thanks Ms. Z if you ever see this!)

yo-yo dress

i saw some fabric yo-yos in a magazine the other day (Living maybe?) and knew I had to make some! I remember seeing them on quilts and pillows as a child.  they are super easy to make- just a circle of fabric, sewn around the edge and  gathered up.  here's a good tutorial

i embellished a top Maxine already had and i made her a matching headband as well.  

too cute!

a fancy red dress

Maxine was given this (adult-sized) vintage dress for dress-up purposes:

she kept asking to wear it so i cut it up and sewed a pint sized version for her.  she wears it frequently- even for playing in the garden (although i had to bribe her to let me take some photos of her in it)

why have a fancy dress if you never get to wear it?

sewing with knit fabric- take 2

okay- this time went better. 

i made a pattern from a long t-shirt i already had and liked (an H+M cheapie)  It is just a front and a back- no separate sleeves.  dead simple.  I had to figure out how to finish the edges.  my machine doesn't do a coverstitch- a typical t-shirt hem- so i did a flatlock stitch which seems fine.  i am pleased with how it turned out, but not LOVING the fabric.  (where do you get good jersey- anyone local know?)  It's a bit loud but kind of fun for a bit.

(oh- and about the picture?  It's not the most flattering but there- that's me- late at night, no fuss.  and I couldn't be bothered to spend a lot of time and assistance getting one that made me look more glam than my regular self.  I thought about cropping out my head like lots of folks do, but i always think that looks too odd.  i like my big melon to be part of the picture!)

my first attempt at sewing with knit fabric

okay, i don't like to wear much that isn't stretchy.  It just doesn't feel like "me"- it feels like I'm wearing a costume.  before I had a serger i never really made myself anything because it's hard to sew stretchy stuff on a regular machine. 

so now: serger= i can make some clothes! 

I wanted to make a long top out of this fabric I picked up (it's a lightweight knit with a graphic rose design- hard to tell from this far) but I didn't have a pattern.  I was going to lift a pattern off of something I already have and love, but then i decided it might be smarter to use an existing pattern.   SO- I used Anna Maria's Socialite Dress pattern (the same one I used for this dress i made for my birthday), which brings me to the main lesson i have learned with this project:  i should really use a pattern made for knits.  Did you know it is silly to make armhole facings to finish a knit?  They don't really stay down and you can't really tack them down either.  hello, Stitch Witchery.  the rest of it came out okay i think.  I'm not that crazy about the fabric- but where do you get nice stylish knits/jerseys?  anyone know?

i have 2 more simple tops i will be making soon- i'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, if you are experienced at sewing with jersey/knits and you know of any good sources for patterns and fabric, or have any tips, I would love to hear from you!

(and did you notice how warm it looks in this picture??  we had 2 days of sun and warmth but now it's back to cold and rainy...  but i now believe spring is coming soon)

dolly shoes

Maxine has been really into dressing and undressing her baby dolls lately.  She had been asking me for shoes for her dollies, so one day last week while the boys were at school she picked some wool from my scrap bin and we set to work.  I traced around each baby's foot and cut out 4 ovals per pair (2 tops and 2 bottoms).  In the tops, i cut a smallish hole closer to the back for the foot opening and then sewed the top and bottom together with a blanket stitch.  the yellow pair is felted wool and was good to go (I wanted to needlefelt a little design on them but Max was adamant that she liked them plain!) The pink pair needed reinforcement around the opening so as not to unravel.  they slip on easily and stay on pretty well.  Next and bigger goal: I'd like to make a bunch of doll clothes for her birthday in June.  Maybe I can do it if I start now!  :)

pajama cuffs for the Christmas jammies

every year i make the kids a new pair of jammies to open on Christmas Eve.

you've seen them a few times now...

(the year Maxine was born i bought them.  last year I was feeling harried and considering doing the same thing.  out of the blue, Lee said "remember the year you BOUGHT our Christmas jammies?  That was the WORST!!!"  I do have to say however that I am SO HAPPY that he thinks homemade is better than storebought!)

i wanted to write specifically about this cool sewing trick i figured out- I used old socks for the wrist and ankle cuffs of their jammies:

i thought it was very clever (if i do say so myself). 

i never did a knit cuff before (they are so much cozier!) because i didn't know where to buy them.  i maybe don't know where to look, but i have never seen knit cuffs for sale by themselves.  if i liked to knit (which i know lots of you sewers do) i could have knitted my own (that would be so luxurious feeling!) 

the sock tops worked out great.  i just winged it, but here's a good tutorial for how to attch them to the garment (it is for attaching a knit cuff to a knit fabric, but you can still get the general drift if you are using a non-knit like flannel). 

now i'm just sorry for all the worn out in the heel and toe socks i have thrown out over the years....

Island baby gowns

whenever i'm checking out other blogs, i always try to remember fun things i've seen to make.  i bookmarked the tutorial a long time ago for these baby gowns made from recycled adult t-shirts. (really great tutorial- clear and easy)

such fun!!  and since we are having a mini baby boom on the Island, i got to make a few for gifts at the two baby showers i've attended recently. 

these for twins who have already entered the world:

here they are in the newspaper with their mom in an article about donor breastmilk banks (they were born 10 weeks premature and their mom didn't have enough milk yet)

and another for a baby who is due any day:

Maxine's 'baby Ergo'

Maxine spent more time in than out of the Ergo in her first few years.  it was always one of her favourite places and it meant comfort and closeness!  (btw, i have no affiliation with the company- i just love that carrier!!)  she kept asking me for an Ergo for her babies- i'd tie a baby to her chest with a sarong, but it was never very satisfying.  I finally made her a baby carrier on the weekend.  it's really a mei tai (a traditional Chinese baby carrier)- but she's happy to call it her Ergo.

now she can cook and eat in peace!!  phew...

to make it, i cut out 2 rectangles using a piece of standard 8.5 x 11 paper for a pattern (seemed like the right size!) and then made 4 straps and sewed them up.  the whole thing took under and hour and i used fabric from my stash (i made her a dress from this sunflower corduroy when she was a baby) This link gives you a good idea of the mei tai construction- i actually used this pattern and made one when Maxine was a baby.  after using it for a while I decided I needed more padding and bought an Ergo.

summer sewing

i made this bag for myself- my man called it my 'messenger purse' and i think that nails it. 

i like a cute bag as much as the next gal, but i have to be able to carry a large amount of stuff and be hands-free.  also the length of the strap has to be practical for bike riding.  i made up the pattern after perusing what was out there- nothing was quite right.  i also made one for my sister and one for a good friend for their birthdays.

i also made this little play dress for Maxine. 

she is wearing pink gingham bloomers with it- you can't see them, but trust me, it's cute.  (also note the kitty nose and whiskers to match!)

i would like to do way more sewing for her, but she has so many cute dresses already-thrifted, gifted, and hand-me-downs.  but her Auntie saw this fabric at ReproDepot and couldn't resist!  the style is such that it should fit as a top after it's too short for a dress. 

pillowcase dresses

an idea from the Depression Era- make a dress out of an old pillowcase! 

i usually check the linens section when i am at the thrift store (last year i made Maxine's birthday bunting partly from thrifted pillowcase fabric- it's a cheap way to get a yard or so of nice, possibly vintage, fabric)

i first saw the idea here, but tutorials are all over the web.

I made this one for Maxine's friend Lily

and one for Maxine

sewing notes: 

the pink and white checked one has elastic across the chest and bias tape sewn under the arms and up to make the ties.  the yellow one has a casing at the chest and the ties fed through and tied at the shoulder.  these are two different ways you will find tutorials for- they took about the same amount of time, so it comes down to whatever look you prefer.  these dresses were super quick except for the bias tape.  i made my own single fold bias tape from the pillowcase fabric, which took a while.  if you used pre-made bias tape or ribbon you could sew one in a 1/2 hour or so!

my one year shirt

last spring i took a class at The Workroom- Make A Reverse Applique Corset from the Alabama Stitch Book: Projects Celebrating Hand-Sewing, Quilting and Embroidery for Contemporary Sustainable Style . 

Now for sure i could have done this on my own, but it was really an excuse to get out of the house.  (i would love to have a monthly craft get-together- anyone in Toronto interested?!)   the end of the class coincided with both Asa and Maxine's birthdays, and the project got bumped.   I finally finished it!!

(the colour is actually somewhere in between these two shots- and i may dye it a brighter green still)

some conclusions:

it's very hard to take decent pictures of clothes while you're wearing them - mostly i am including this photo for the cuteness of my assistant

this project took a really long time.  and i don't mean the fact that it took a year to finish from when i started-  it took many many many hours to complete.  like maybe the same as making something big like a quilt.  while i enjoyed making it, i'm not sure yet if it was worth it...

monster suit, etc.

more Christmas sewing!  i think y'all know about my dress up boy?

I made a monster suit for Asa:

 

as toddlers, all the kids have worn this 'monster for sale' suit:

this is Lee- age 1 1/2 or so!

this suit was handmade by ?? (it was a mystery hand-me-down found hanging on our doorknob one day) - pants and a hoodie with ridges down the back.  Asa loved it the most.  i had to wash it every night or so because he wore it absolutely whenever possible.  Before Christmas,  Maxine was wearing it and he said, longingly, "I wish that still fit me!!"  

Asa LOVES his new monster suit!! 

it is such a success that the pants are now in my mending pile because he has already worn a hole in one knee!!  i better get on that...

I also made him a royal cloak and crown which have not been so popular!  this is Asa on Christmas morning trying them both on- i kind of like the Dragon King look. 

 

he had seen very similar items at a fancy museum shop and was DESPERATE to have them- but i guess it was the moment and the packaging more than an actual desire to dress as a king. 

i don't really mind though, because the thrill of having him 'love the monster suit SO MUCH MAMA!' is worth it! 

sewing/crafting notes:

monster suit: i sort of just made it up, using clothes that fit him to pull a pattern off of, and a pattern i had for a hood from his Halloween costume.  the ridges were supposed to be from the same fabric, but i didn't have enough, so i used this green sort of furry fleece to make them and to line the hood.  to make the ridges i sewed two long rectangles that were lined with fusible interfacing and then drew a zig zag pattern on the wrong side to follow- clipped the corners, turned it right side out and hand sewed it on the hoodie.

king: i really winged it for the cloak- cut a square of the red brocade that i had in my stash (thrifted curtains) and a square of red fleece, sewed them together with a folded strip of white faux fur inside (i did it wrong the first time and had to unpick it- ahem), then put a few pleats at the top and sewed on the collar- after it was all done i put on the black spots with fabric paint.

oh, and happy new year!!!

the annual Christmas jammies

(the posed shot in front of the tree- but i have to do it!)

every year i make the kids jammies and they open them on Christmas Eve.  (okay, one year i bought them- when i was pregnant, a full-time student, and my man was working across the country!  a few days before Christmas this year, Lee said, "remember that year you bought us the Christmas jams instead of making them?  that was the WORST!") 

the boys loved theirs.  Asa remembered he had some tiger ears and and a tail, so of course those completed the ensemble.  Lee was thrilled with his 'first grown-up jammies' (the oh-so-sophisticated argyle flannel) 

i hope you're enjoying this betwixt-Christmas-and-New-Year's-week as much as we are- hanging out with family, playing with new toys, and enjoying the lack of routines- toasty and content.

bucket

 

i've been seeing these fabric storage buckets around a lot lately. 

i am planning to make one for myself to hide all the crap on my catch-all shelf near our kitchen table but i haven't found the right fabric yet. 

however, i made one for someone special as a gift.  it's quite large with vintage barkcloth on the outside and canvas on the inside.

on the subject of making things:  i just finished reading the December Martha Stewart and now i just feel like making little pinecone elves, homemade lollipops, snowflake decorations, lumps of coal gift boxes, etc but i'll stick to the things on my to-do list of Christmas gifts.

happy halloween!

no surprise i guess, but my kids LOVE Halloween so much.  costumes, trick-or-treat, jack-o-lanterns- pure fun.

here are a bee, an Ewok, and a gangster:

 

 

i resisted the temptation to make something original for Maxine- she wore a bee costume i made for Asa when he was little.  she was fine with that- for weeks she's been saying, "I bein' a bee!!!!"  she was too cute.  I made the Ewok suit for Asa but my man said no one knew what he was.  come on folks!  haven't you seen Star Wars?  But Asa was happy with it so that's what counts.  Lee pulled together his whole costume himself (another good thing about growing up!) including inking his counterfeit bills.

we had about 100 trick-or-treaters.  i made chocolate chip pumpkin cookies (i posted the recipe in last year's Halloween post) as is my tradition.  it pleased me to hear one kid walking away saying, "oh- these are awesome! i remember them from last year!" 

last night's big sort:

the kids have a 24 hour candy fest and then they 'trade' the rest of their candy (minus 2 pieces to save for later) for a new small toy.  we figure a ton of candy for a day is better than a little every day for months and they like getting a new toy.

i'll leave you with Lee and his 8-year-old-idea-of-funny pumpkin. 

Happy Halloween!

fall sewing for my girl

 

a poncho for Maxine- perfect for twirling

details for you sewers:  made with fabric from my stash, no pattern (i always do that and nothing ever comes out exactly right- i may have to modify it a bit.  when the hood is down, it pulls the neck back too far and chokes the poor kid).  reversible: pink wool plaid (thanks Meredith!) and cotton animal (giraffe? leopard?) print flannel with a layer of polar fleece sandwiched between.  green satin binding.

fun!

...and now on to Halloween sewing.

bumblebee sweater love

i sent off a custom order sweater today.

i love the ribbon trim so much.  it is recycled- off of a dress i got at the thrift store for Maxine.  

it's always fun seeing how each sweater turns out.  the design and the ribbon trim and buttons pull together at the end.  sometimes it seems they have lives of their own!

pants' patches: check!

i've got such a long list of things to do around here (now that the dollhouse is done).  one of those things is patch all the boys' pants!  if you have a boy (sorry, the girls don't seem to blow out the knees in the same way) you may want to look at this method!

(there's no way around it- i'm sorry- this is a post about patches.  oh- what could i have done to follow my last post?  anything would seem dull!)

i cut out patches of strong fabric (corduroy, denim) and zig-zagged around the edges.  then i used a really strong iron-on adhesive to bond the patches to the pants.  i don't mind sewing, but i find it realy hard to get up into the legs of kids pants.  this was a quick and easy solution!

kitty

i made this little guy for Maxine's friend's first birthday. 

i'm working on a tutorial for it if you're interested...  you'll see it in the sidebar when it's done.

bunnies

i made the kids bunnies for Easter this year (I told you i like the craft possibilities).  all the materials were from my old sweater stash, and the faces and details are all needle-felted.  i tried to match the age and personality of each child to the design i chose.

For Maxine and my nephew Xavier, I made this Wee Wonderfuls bunny out of cashmere  (mmmm...)

for Asa, my quirky guy, i made this funny rabbit.  it's from my own pattern, inspired by the japanese style monster stuffies i've seen around.

I made Lee this 'fat rabbit.'  i wanted to make something a bit more sophisticated since he is eight now!

 

now i have to catch up on all the other stuff i neglected while i was making them!