Unselfish sewing--winter is coming!

I really have been sewing, I know I haven't been blogging as much as I should but my sewing machine isn't getting too dusty!  

With winter fast approaching, I knew my grandsons needed some winter coats.  I chose this pattern from Jalie.  It's been around for a while, but it's a goodie!  

 

Would you look at how warm and cozy that looks?  

I made this for my oldest grandchild, Simon.  He is just five and getting him to model took some bribery with a piece of Halloween candy.  I have no shame using bribery to get a little kid to smile and cooperate for a photo shoot.  How about you?

Notable differences--my batting wasn't as heavy as what is shown on the pattern.  I had a thinner batting in my hand and thought with a smaller piece, it would be easier to wrangle.  This has plenty of layers--four total (2 of heavy flannel, one of batting, and one of the outer wind and water resistant shell.  

Simon wanted to wear his new hat as he modeled so I let him.  Isn't he a cutie pants?

Color blocking this coat was fun.  I knew I wanted to use the red for him and toyed with numerous contrast choices until I settled on the 'silver'.  The shell fabric is from Mood Fabrics.  They had a nice selection, it was on sale, and wow is this stuff nice to work with!  The red plaid is from my stash.

That collar!  It is so nice and high, snugs around your face and neck to keep the wind out.  Plus with the well-designed hood that is detachable, you are warm and ready for the winter winds and snow.   As Simon is demonstrating, the pockets are very nice and roomy.  He was really shoving his hands down deep.  He even mentioned that he really liked this 'new' coat compared to his 'old' coat.  (I made both, but the old one is getting a bit small).  He loved it so much that when we went back into his house, he took it off and tossed it on the floor.  Nice.

Here is a photo of the insides.  I omitted the elastic waistband on the inside and the toggles at the side seam.  The color-blocking at the front neck area was a fix as I had accidentally scorched the fabric on the collar and front.  I put both the coat and my iron in time-out for a bit and then figured out a fix.  This worked.  Plus, it pulls together the two colors I used.

You can see the elastic and velcroed cuffs below.  What I should have taken a photo of was the ribbing I added to the inner cuff to keep the wind and snow out.  That made the sleeve super thick with eight layers to sew through.  More than once I did question my sanity, but in the end, it will be worth the little bit on agony that caused me.

This was a fun make.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and am going to create a blue/silver one for Elliot, who's two and a half.  It warms my heart to see my grand-kids wearing clothing I've made them.

I hope you are enjoying creating some fun cold weather garments!  

Thanks for reading!

Sue :)

A coat for Simon...more unselfish sewing

I love making coats.  I've made countless coats for myself and others and purchased this Jalie pattern several years ago in anticipation of making it for Simon, and any other grandchildren, numerous times.

Look at all those details!  It really looks like a high-end Columbia jacket that you'd pay over a hundred bucks for, even for a young child.

Yes, it is big, but he is growing so quickly that it will look much better this spring.  I hope he'll wear it next year as well.  

He helped pick out the fabrics.  His favorite color is orange and he also loves Paw Patrol.  The lining is fleece featuring Paw Patrol.  

It's hard to capture details when an overly tired three year is 'posing' for photos.  

I made this coat based on his measurements which equated to a size G.  Still too large but like I said before, plenty of growing room.  

We traced off the pattern pieces using tissue paper carefully making the grain-lines on everything. 

The details really make this coat fun to create and special looking.  

Here you can see the fleece lining he was so excited about.  

I found most of the hardware, velcro, and zipper at JoAnn's.  The orange snaps were applied using my Kam Snap Pliers.  I really love these snaps.  They are plastic but applied correctly they are very strong and durable.  They also come in so many colors and they matched the orange perfectly!  

Here is a glimpse into the double welt pocket that is hidden with a wide flap.  The pockets are plenty deep for a three year old.  

I really love top-stitching and if you don't like it, this may not be a project for you.  

I wish I could have found orange velcro!  That would have been even cooler!

The pattern calls for 1" elastic but I had 1/2" so I created double the casings and went with it.  The way these casing are created is a very clever feat of sewing engineering!  My only other deviation from the pattern was to leave off another flap that covered one portion of the welt pocket.  I just didn't feel like it was necessary. 

I also love the hood with the peak detail.  It looks very RTW.  

Directions for this coat are very good, as you can tell by looking at it, it takes time to construct.  I used rip-stop nylon from Fabric.com.  The fleece is also from Fabric. com.

I highly recommend this pattern if you are an experienced sewer.  Try it!  I hope you make someone's day, just like I did!

Thanks for reading!
Sue

Sewing For Simon! Ottobre and a Monster applique

Simon is growing fast and I love sewing for him.  So, when I was cleaning off my sewing table, I found this very nice gray ponte and it is the perfect weight for a long-sleeved tee for the little guy. The dark gray ribbing is from my stash and I have no idea where I purchased it!

I also had this monster applique/embroidery program laying close by, so I put two and two together and bam--Simon has a new shirt!

 

The pattern is from Ottobre 3/2012.  I modified pattern 4, or the Tigerfish striped top, only I left off the stripe. Wanting to make a size 92cm for him, I didn't have that many choices from this issue, but luckily this one fit the bill perfectly.

Don't ask me about the directions, this is a simple tee so I didn't use them.  I did modify the neckline and made it a bit wider and the neckband a little narrower as he just doesn't like things pulled over his head, and I don't blame him.  I also used my coverstitch from the hemline.

From start to finish, including the applique/embroidery, it took me about 2.5 hours.  The embroidery itself took almost an hour.  The design is from Anita Gooddesign and I really like her software.  I resized the design considerably so it would fit on her shirt.

I am hoping that after I wash this the lines from the hoop will no longer be visible.  Also, you will notice the left-most eye has a little bit of a place where it looks like the thread didn't completely cover the eye, well, the thread kept nesting under that part of the design so I had to move the stitches along a few hundred steps in order to bypass that little problem area.

Two of the thread colors are glow in the dark thread!  I had to loosen the tension even more than normally for embroidery so it didn't continue to break.  I took Simon into a dark room to show him the shirt and he replied with, "OH!"

I love OTTOBRE patterns and this is one I will reach for again.

Thanks for reading!
Sue

Stitch Wear Play, sewing for Simon!

I was so very excited when I WON this adorable book of patterns for kiddos!

After all, I am a grandma and sewing for little ones is great fun!  My first and second project from this book was the Boy's Shorts and the Boy's Shirt.  I love uncomplicated names for patterns.

You may be thinking that these look like pants, not shorts, and you are right!  I lengthened these by about 3 inches as in my neck of the woods, summer is practically over and fall weather is emerging. It was 44 degrees this morning!  Construction was super simple.  The drafting was excellent on these pants with clear directions and illustrations of the steps to put them together.  Easy-peasy!  To dress them up just a tad, I added rivets to one side of the back pockets.

It's interesting that the back pockets are attached after the yoke is stitched on.  I wondered why but then realized the top portion of the pocket overlaps the yoke.  No wonder!

I decided to make the waist band out of the plaid I was using for the shirt.  I attached cotton cording to elastic and that is what will hold the little guys pants up.  He has a rather flat derriere and pants tend to slip down quite a bit.  I thought with the addition of elastic, they would have a better chance of not slipping down.

For the shirt, and BTW, isn't this design adorable?  I changed it up a bit as I realized that I cut it out incorrectly.  I hate it when I do that but I am happy with the end result!  I cut 1.5 inch bands, interfaced, folded, stitched on and viola!  The perfect place for snaps was created!  I like using snaps for children's clothing as you don't have to worry about missing buttons.  Young moms simply don't have time to deal with that sort of nonsense!  The snaps are plastic and came from Got lux.

Since I did cut incorrectly, I added a neck band and again, I cut a 1.5" band on the bias, folded in half lengthwise, pressed, stitched, folded over and caught the underside of the band with topstitching.

The fit is easy and construction is great.  I very much enjoyed putting this outfit together for him and can't wait to see him in it!

Another notes on this pattern book: all seams are 3/8" which makes it easy to sew and there isn't a lot of clipping seams.

Sizing ranges from one to five or a 39.5" kiddo to a 51" child.

I made a size one, which most closely matched Simon's measurements.  I anticipate these to be a little big on him, or rather loose-fitting.  I am hoping they will fit next spring or later this winter.  He can wear a long sleeved white tee-shirt underneath and be warm and stylish!

Thanks for reading.  This was my first foray into Japanese patterns and I have to say that I am impressed!  I will be making more garments from this book.

Sue

Simon is 2--my favorite little man! McCalls 6828

Do you have a little one in your life?  I am so lucky that I do!  His name is Simon and he just turned 2 this week!  He is my first grandchild and what fun being a grandma is!  I stumbled across this pattern and the grandma in me screamed, buy it!  So, I did!



This pattern has a choice of three creatures which can be left to your interpretation.  I think they look like a cat, raccoon, and some sort of bear.  Whatever you want to call them, they are just darn cute!

I made view B, which I call a raccoon.

Wow. for you young moms out there, I have forgotten how difficult it is to get a 2 year old to stand still for 5 seconds!  Sorry for the blurry photos but this little man doesn't want to stop moving!  

Is he cute or what?  

Can you believe I made this based on his measurements?  I would say it runs a little large!  

I'm okay with large because I think/know it will fit next year as well!

He really didn't know what to make of the buttons and do you see the blue foot, leg, and hand?  Uncle Andrew thought it was a good idea to let him use a marker, unsupervised...he doesn't have any kids of his own yet!  

It's almost like he is modeling on a runway with this pose!  

And this one!

Off and running!

Sewing is pretty straightforward.  I made some changes based on my little fella.  He is one hot little kid, so I omitted the lining which would have made two layers of fleece.  He would have just melted in it!

I made this out of gray and off-white fleece.  I think they were from Fabric Mart and Hancock's?  The blue and black cotton were scraps from my stash.  Buttons were from JoAnn's.

Based on his measurements, I made a size three.  It appears there is plenty of ease, so if it's a little big, that will give him some growing room.

The instructions were good and with this very basic pattern, no head scratching moments at all!

I really love to applique and use to do it all the time when my own four kiddos were small and now that Simon is around, I have rediscovered my love for it!

Isn't that tail too much fun?  I only appliqued one side of it and I can't wait to see what he thinks of it!  He hasn't discovered it yet, so I think it will be fun when he does!

For the hood and sleeves, both called for the lining and since I omitted it, I choose to attach bands to finish off the seams.

I also made a huge boo-boo and sewed the face on incorrectly to the hood--how on earth did I manage that?  So I ended up cutting off the stitched applique from the ruined hood and stitching it to a newly cut and correct hod by securing it at the outside edges with a narrow zig-zag.

Grandma-ing is so much fun and if you have a little person in your life, I hope you'll make some fun little garments for him/her!

Thanks for reading!
Sue