Pretty awesome, hey?
This one is my favorite! Isn't it cute?! It is a baby cord. I love all the cute little vintage-y animals prancing all over it!! Myra will be getting a jumper out of this. I'll be on the search for some knit in one of those colors to make her a shirt to wear under it. So fun!!
Mitch already has a great pirate shirt. Here he is at our first Ren Fest together. He doesn't like these pants, though. They are too hot for Texas in October. And I agree that the look isn't very pirate-y.
Mitch wants some pants like this guy, who we saw the last time we went.
The tunic is Butterick 4632 and the leggings are Ottobre 04/2004, #38. The leggings went together without a fuss. Yay, Ottobre!
I have to say, this tunic was MUCH more complicated than it should have been! The neckline/collar is all in one piece with the front, then faced with a two piece facing. There are CB and CF seams as well, but the pattern instructs you to construct the tunic, then add the facing, matching it fussily at the point of the front opening. I think that should I ever need another Peter Pan tunic, I will construct the two sides, including the facings, then seam them as a whole at CF and CB.
Myra's own Lightning McQueen dress. Ever since I made Logan his Cars shirt, I have had this little dress in my head.
It is nice to finally see it in fabric. This is a great pattern. Fun and easy. I'll definitely be using it again. The only difficulty I had with it was the neckline elastic. The pattern includes a guide, which I used initially, but when I tried it on Myra it was waaaay too big. Of course, as do all Big 4 children's patterns, it runs unbelievably large. By measurements, I should have sewn a size 2, but this is a size 1/2. Just be sure to flat pattern measure, and you should be fine.
And last, some gratuitous cuteness.
I think she likes her dress. I know I do!
Myra wanted to pose, too. I don't know why I am making that funny face. Just look at the pants and the cute baby!
Here is the casing and the front detail. The computer monitor does not do justice to the colors. The teal is very saturated and rich while the facing and ribbon are a delicate, pale pink. The topstitching is cream.
Pants front. Did I mention that I love how they fit? They are awesome. I admit that this is a pattern that I would never have purchased if it weren't for this pants~along, but it is a great basic pant (and skirt) pattern, so I am glad that I have it! The only changes that I made were to straighten the legs from the knee down. I'm not a fan of tapered pants at all.
Here is the back. I love the little bit of ribbon peeking out between the grommets in the back. Nice touch! I had a hard time deciding on the length. When I cut out the pants I had just enough fabric for this "clamdigger" length, but I had knee length capris in my head. Once I tried them on, I really like this length, so I decided to keep it. I can always shorten it later or just roll them up if I want.
Here is my fun Cars bunting!
Cute, eh? I think Lightning McQueen looks excited!
I also found this fun arrowhead shaped stitch in Janome's arsenal. She may not honeycomb, but she's still got a few cool stitches. I think this one makes for a nice "boy" touch, if Cars and checkered flags aren't "boy" enough for you!
Anyway, I'm actually glad that it ended up too big. It is so long that crawling in it is quite a challenge, so it is a good thing that Myra is a walker now.
Here she is accessorizing. You are never to young. I think this is a perfect LBD. Now she just needs a nice pair of stilettos and we're ready to go!
Here is the front, with my round pockets and double needle topstitching. As you can see, I decided against the faux fly. I think there is enough going on with all the pocket stitching, and there is more stitching to come as we add the facings and drawstring.
And the back. I elected to topstitch just a single line along the crotch so that the rear would be a little simpler, since I'd rather folks not focus all that much on my rear thank-you-very-much. The next step will be back pockets, but I think I will sit that one out (so to speak). I like the simplicity of the pant sans pockets and as aforementioned, don't really want any more focus on my rear than necessary.
Here is my fabric. The teal is a cotton/poly woven with a bit of stretch, which I think will give it a nice fit. I am using this delicate pink eyelet for the linings and facings.
So, that said, I made my pockets first. Since I was using that delicate eyelet for my lining, I decided to do rounded pockets and to line them as well. Besides, lined pockets means no curved hems. I hate curved hems!
There is the pretty lining.
And here is my right leg - all finished! I love all of this topstitching! I decided to really make mine pop and used a light cream embroidery thread. It is nice and thick, so it really shows up well against the teal. I love it!
Here it is with the ties in front, which is generally how I wear an apron. I like that this pattern has nice long ties!
And with the ties in the back. I think it looks almost like a strappy formal this way. I love that black fabric! I only had a teeny bit and I used nearly every shred making this apron. I think I may have to head over to Hobby Lobby and get some more. It is so cute!
First, line up the facing with the band, matching notches, blah, blah.
Now, feel for your strap inside the two pieces and mark the edge on the wrong side of your facing piece (where you will be stitching). Then make a perpendicular mark from the apron edge to your line. 
Same thing on the other side. You can see that this one is a little tricky due to the curve. Follow the edge of the strap only for a few millimeters here and then come back up to your seam allowance. You can see where I drew in a little curve to remind myself. These are your new sewing lines. Ignore your seam allowances for this bit - they will only get you in trouble. You can grade back up (or down) to your seam allowances once you have cleared the strap.
After you have stitched, but before you trim your seam allowances and finish your seams, turn out your strap and be sure that the corner is tight. If it isn't, stitch again. You can see that I had to add an additional line of stitching an eighth of inch or so in.
Trim and turn - Viola! Perfect squares with straps coming out exactly where they should and no fabric hanging over the edge.
And at the waist. Also perfect!
Start with your trimmed loop.
Get a big 'ole needle. I use a giant embroidery needle. Thread it with sturdy thread. The color doesn't matter. I used fluorescent orange so that y'all could see it.
Put a stitch into the seam allowance near the stitched corner.
Tie it off snugly. You don't want this to come untied while you are trying to turn your loop!!
Gently insert the needle between the two layers of fabric and in between two stitches as close to the point where you pivoted your stitching as possible.
"Thread" your big needle through the loop. Be careful not to come through the fabric. This is why I use a big needle. It is easier to keep a hold of!
Here is what is likely looks like up top. You can see my orange knot at the corner. The fabric is bunching up around the knot, trying to turn!
With your fingers, gently tuck the knot into the loop.
Then VERY gently so as to not break your thread or your knot, pull the needle while working the fabric over itself.
When you see the corner coming out the end, you can just yank it the rest of the way. You're home free!
Now you just have to straighten it out and press it. An added bonus is that since you pulled the loop through at the corner, your stitched corner comes out nice and sharp, with a very professional look.
