Hello Kitty Pajamas

Elena has NO summer pj's yet. I have no fabric budget (especially for jammies) right now, so this set came all from scraps. In fact, the shorts are actually pieced together at the top of one front piece. I matched it up pretty well though so it's very hard to see. There are scraps of the hello kitty cotton that came from Walmart last year and then a former volleyball camp t-shirt of Olivia's, and a bit of another t-shirt too.

I did my best to reuse parts and hems to make this as quick as possible. The applique took the most time. The shirt pattern is my TNT Get Your Crap Together Tinley Tee in it's most basic, no frill version. The applique is my first time trying this with the machine. It's rough to say the least but hey, it's pajamas and Elena isn't much of a critic yet. She is thrilled with it.

The shorts are the free Oliver & S Sunny Day Shorts. I had never used this pattern before even though I already had it printed and taped together. It worked out well and I have no complaints. I'm sure I'll use it in the future. It can be hacked in a million ways. Can you see the small triangle piece on the wearer's right at the center seam and waistband? I was so close to being able to make shorts from the scraps and I couldn't let missing that little bit stop me from making Elena so happy. The waistband is jersey knit for added comfort. I added ruffles and cut those from the bottom of the factory hemmed t-shirt. Smart huh? What time was saved in not hemming, was spent on gathering though so not much difference time-wise, but definitely added to the cute girliness.

 So cute jammies out of scraps. I'd like to make a nightgown too but can't decide what style, what fabric, etc. Waiting for the inspiration to hit and hoping it happens this week still. Any suggestions?

KCW - Day 3 - Blouse & Skort

I've been wanting to make a white blouse for a while now and today was the day. This one is Butterick 4176 made from a vintage sheet from my neighbor. I will think of Irene every time Elena wears this. (Irene is now in an Alzheimer's unit and doesn't even realize that her house has been sold. That is so sad to me.) The skort is the free Monkey Bars Skirt from Crafterhours. I moved up to the size 3 width and 4 length this time and the fit is very good. The inner shorts are the size 2 from last year because I was in too big a hurry to trace a new size. (The skirt pieces have all straight lines and can easily be folded to the right size.)

I love the design of this blouse - the pleats and the puffy sleeves are so sweet. It was a pretty easy sew except that set in sleeves in a size 2 isn't really much fun. The Big 4 patterns don't get much love in blogland, but I have 3 I'd say that I just love and have used multiple times. I opted for flat felled seams on most of it. The neck is finished with bias tape. There is a button and loop in the back.

 And yes, Elena is freezing in these photos. It's about 60 degrees but windy as all get out. All done in 2 minutes flat.

I'm still planning on continuing sewing for her each day this week, but I may not blog about it. The list of things she needs isn't very exciting right now - a white t-shirt, some knit capri's in a couple of colors, boring basics. I'd like to get back to sewing for me since Me Made May is right around the corner. Until next time.

Sofilantjes Otium Top & LIV skirt

I have a new favorite outfit for Elena. This outfit is everything I strive for in sewing for her - it's knit so its comfy, it's creative so it was fun for me, it includes handwork so it employs some different skills, and it was very economical. Let's look at those one at a time.

I love sewing knits and let's face it, knits is what we wear most of the time anyway. Good knit patterns are my very favorite patterns to own. This Otium pattern from Sofilantjes Patterns is a great one. It offers lots of options including short, three-quarter, or long sleeves; a normal back or low back with a pretty bow; or a very cool diagonal pocket across the front (great color blocking opportunity here). You don't have to do any hemming because there are neck, sleeve and waist bands so that always speeds things up (and gives more color blocking options). The girls size comes in 12 months to 14 years. The women's version covers sizes XS to XXXL. Both patterns come with layers so you can print only the size you want. And of course, patterns come in either English or Dutch. Putting the pattern together, cutting and sewing all went perfectly. No issues whatsoever.

The LIV skirt pattern is a free knit skirt pattern also available from Sofilantjes. It comes in sizes newborn to 9/10 EN. I only found out about it Friday so I dug out the scraps from the top and added in an old t-shirt and had a matching skirt ready in 45 minutes. Yay! For skinny mini here, I trusted the size chart and went with the 18-24 month size but cut the skirt front and back pieces with the size 3-4 length. Perfection. And I forgot to mention that on the top, I did my usual adjustment to make a size 2 in width and 4 in length. 

Choosing fabric for this top was fun. I was able to pull from my stash. Both the floral and the green are cotton lycra and cotton spandex respectively from Girl Charlee last fall. I've used them both a couple times already so these pieces will be wearable with some other already existing pieces - although it would look very silly to wear this top with matching leggings! Can you imagine? Oh my. (But we do have this outfit from last summer to mix and match with.)

I had time to get fancy with this one and use reverse applique. I love sitting on the couch watching TV and doing something useful at the same time. Much better than spending another evening on Pinterest. This isn't my first reverse applique project. You can see others here and here (a little tutorial on that second link). I think it turned out pretty sweet. I didn't use paint this time. Instead I just drew the pattern on with a disappearing pen and got to the hand-stitching. 

I said this was economical and it sure was. The fabrics weren't much in the first place and these were leftovers anyway. The t-shirt for the skirt was a hand-me-down. I spent $2 on the white pearle cotton for the embroidery, but already had the navy. The skirt pattern is free to everyone. The top pattern I received for free in exchange for this post, but that doesn't affect my opinion at all. This pattern is very versatile and I think I'll make Elena a low back with a bow one once the weather warms up. I may even extend it into a dress or at least tunic length. And how cute would one with the pocket be for putting a dolly into?!

It's economical for you too because, this week, during the tour, the Otium pattern (only the girls' sizes or only the women's sizes)  will be 20% off and the Otium Bundle (inludes girls' and women's sizes) will be 30% off, no coupon code needed at sofilantjes.com.  

Be sure to read to the bottom to enter the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance at lots of patterns!

I did make myself a simple version too. I went with long sleeves but no waist band. I used fabric from the thrift store for a good, wearable muslin. The sleeve length was perfect and the neckband was just the right length. I think I will go a size smaller next time. I was guessing at my measurements because I'm in denial and didn't want to really know what they are these days. Haha. It's a good, comfy basic for me too and will be even better with better fabric. And I like that it has regular sleeves because I have made a couple raglan sleeve tops for myself this winter and I don't think they flatter my wide shoulders. (Sorry for the poor quality photo and dufus look on my face. There was no one home to help take pictures.) 

Let's return to photos of my cutie patootie, Elena. I like those much better and I just love her outfit.

To distract her from the armoire, I gave her a box of bracelets to explore. She was all smiles after that.

Don't miss stopping by all the other stops on the tour to see more amazing versions of the Otium!

Monday, January 26th

Huisje Boompje Boefjes - Pienkel - Straight Grain

Tuesday, January 27th

From a Box - Shaffer Sisters - Friends Stitched Together

Wednesday, January 28th

Mie Katoentje - Lulu & Celeste - Rebel & Malice - Work, Pray, Sew

Thursday, January 29th 

Sew Starly - The Berry Bunch - Sprouting JubeJube - Mllikepoinen

Friday, January 30th

Rebekah Sews - Gloria June -  Sew Out of Control - Jaime Sews

Saturday, January 31st

LisaLisa Designs - Vaahtokarkkimonsteri - DIY Crush - Unikuun Terapiahuone - Golden Rippy

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for reading. I was honored to be a part of this pattern tour. I do highly recommend this pattern.

Folk Art Fireplace Mantel Decorations

The best way to psych myself up to take down Christmas decorations, is to get excited about putting up something new. I try to change up the mantel every season, but just using things we have around the house. It's a fun creative challenge for me. This year, I started things off with a home-sewn stuffed deer head.

This is made from scrap fabric and a great free pattern from Charming Doodle. You can find the pattern and tutorial here. I didn't read the whole thing before I went in search of my fabrics and had already picked out the ear fabric before reading that you are supposed to use felt for those. The felt would be quicker and stands up better. If you use fabric like I did, I would recommend some interfacing if you want them to stand up more.

I love this pattern because it's a fun concept and it's really fun to pick out fabric. Elena recognized the apple print right away as being the same as a dress she has. Those antlers take some time to sew, turn and stuff. I won't lie. If you don't have time, I've seen people use tree branches and that's cute too.

First I hung him up by himself and thought he looked pretty good.

But then I thought I'd play around with the mantel and added in a birch log, some candles, a shell-art piece Olivia made with Elena, and a carved panel. Hanging below is an owl garland I made last year. For more info on that, see this post.

I'm not too sure how long this will stay up. Maybe through February and then we'll start thinking spring. Other than the fact that the deer should be a little further left in my opinion, I think it's a pretty fun look. Do you like to change things up often or do you tend to keep the same decorations up year round?

Training Pants Free Pattern

     I had some time to figure out how to scan my pattern pieces and make it accessible for you all. Remember, this is a 2T and you'll have to adjust if you need bigger or smaller. Make sure to print with no scaling. There are 3 pages total. Let me know how it goes or upload photos to my Flickr group.

Workpraysew Training Pants Free PDF Pattern in size 2T

Edit on 4/25/14:  Please refer to this post for the tutorial.

Totally Cute Training Pants

 


     The time has come. Elena is 2 years and 4 months -a good time to potty train. We have a relatively slow month before things get crazy around here again. Those teens sure keep us hopping with their sports and hobbies. So now, while we have a chance to hang at home more than usual, is our chance.

     I'm getting some resistance from her so I'm trying to keep it light and positive. The Smarties are purchased except I keep eating them and having to buy more. heehee.  I made her some totally cute training pants. The Dora and princess underpants are ready. We have multiple potties on every level of the house. And the big thing - I put her back in cloth diapers. It took only half a day before she brought me a disposable diaper and said, "Different diaper. Too gross." Sorry kiddo, your mama is hardcore.

     We practiced EC (elimination communication) from the time she was about 3 months until she hit a year and started walking. Then she totally lost interest and just wouldn't do it anymore. It became a power struggle so I let it go. But I experimented back then with making different training pants. I searched the internet and tried a couple different patterns. I tried different fabrics - old tees, micro fleece for the banding, using PUL off of leaky cloth diapers I bought off of Craig's List. Those first 5 pairs taught me a few things and now I'd like to share it with you.

     Good stretchy cotton t-shirts containing some lycra or spandex work great. The absorbent soaker can be made from either old prefold diapers or layers of flannel - old receiving blankets can be repurposed or use the scraps from making pajama pants. It just depends on how thick/absorbent you want them to be. You can add PUL to make them waterproof if you want or not.

     My pattern is a modification of a couple I found online. I drew it out and added the measurements so you can make one for yourself. This fits my 2T daughter nicely. It has room to grow. The leg bands are slightly big on my skinny mini with these dimensions so I used larger seam allownances to take an inch or so out. The waist fits comfy and lose enough for her to be able to do herself.

      I wish I could give you a printable pattern, but it's not hard to draw out on your own. Knit is so forgiving that as long as you make this approximate shape, it'll be good. I'd suggest making one complete pair before you start making them assembly line style. That way you can make any adjustments needed.

Here's how I do it:

1. Make the soaker pad. I cut 3 layers of flannel and stack them and pin them together. Overlock the edges all the way around. Or use a serger if you're blessed with one. I used this super soft monkey print in hopes that she will be inspired to not, uh, get the monkeys wet or dirty.

2. Cut the PUL. I trace each soaker just to make sure it matches.

3. Pin the soaker to your panty piece, wrong sides together. Flip it over and lay the PUL right side up over the right side of the panty and pin. Remove the pins from the other side because you'll be sewing from the top.

4. Using a wide zigzag stitch, attach all 3 layers by sewing around the edges. Use your fingertips to feel that everything is lined up. Afterward, check that you caught all the edges on both sides and go back and add more if necessary.

5. Fold the whole thing in half right sides together to sew the side seams. I use a straight stitch here.
Turn right side out. It's starting to look like a panty.

6. Now for the leg bands. Sew the short sides together, right sides together. Finger press the seam open and fold it down on itself wrong sides together to form the band. Pin the band to the right side of the leg opening. Match the seam to the side seam and stretch to fit the rest in. Sew all the way around with a zigzag stitch so it'll give.

7. The waist band works the same way and requires no elastic. Sew the short sides right sides together. Finger press the seam open and then fold it down on itself wrong sides together. Mark the band and the waist of the panty in quarters and pin the waistband to the right side of the panty. I put the seam in the center back. Sew with a zigzag stitch.

8. Go back and trim down the seams of the leg bands to reduce the amount wicking.

    The "waterproof-ness" is not 100% because the PUL layer doesn't cover the entire panty. You could make them that way, but I don't find it necessary. My goal is to reduce the amount of wetness to my furniture and also to her clothes. This way works well for me. Babyville recommends throwing the sewn products in a hot dryer for 20 minutes to shrink the holes made by the needle.

     You could also put that PUL layer between the soaker and the panty piece if you prefer. They make such cute fabrics that I wanted mine to show and then you get the bonus of having the tee do some absorbing as well.

     Elena was not in the mood for a photo shoot so this is the best I could manage for photos wearing them. It's not good at all.