Ottobre 01/2012-21 overalls

Duncan's next desperate wardrobe need was for pants. Since we lived in Texas when Logan was this age, we don't have many winter clothes to hand down, and while Duncan has tons of shorts, long pants are few and far between.

These overalls from the 01/2012 issue of Ottobre caught my eye when the issue came out. I love the 70s retro vibe they have and they look so cozy! Last year the smallest size was too big for Duncan, but this year they are just right!

The fabric I used is a stretch twill that was hanging out in my stash, provenance unknown. I only had a yard and a half or so, so it was perfect for small guy overalls. The color in the above pics is the most true. It is a military green, reminiscent (to me at least) of fatigues from the world war era. I used a cotton batik from Hancock for the facings and pocket linings.

These overalls have so many cute details!! I'm not usually a fan of a centered zipper, but that big zip front and center makes these. The topstitching is great as well. I used my Singer to topstitch, with Upholstery weight thread to make it pop.

Ottobre's instructions for inserting the zipper were great. It was all done by machine - no slipstitching the facing to the tape! And it is so clean on the inside. When I first read the instructions, I had no clue what they wanted me to do. I went forward with faith, and it came together perfectly, but there were a few moments... If you are making these, I posted a little picture on Flickr of what the facing assembly looks like. You can see it here.

The front pockets are lined, which is a nice easy way to get a clean edge, I used the same fun batik that I made the facings out of, and you can just see the edge peeking around the sides of the pocket.

In back is another set of patch pockets. The waist is snugged in with elastic and the straps are held in position with a little beltloop. I love the way this looks, but it is also very functional. The straps stay where they need to be without sliding off Duncan's shoulders.

We tested them out tromping around at the park, and they are awesome! I was worried that the slim fit in the leg would be troublesome for climbing, but not at all. He was all over the place, typical Duncan style.

When I put on his overalls yesterday to check the hem, I realized that the shirt I was planning for him to wear these with (a cute striped henley) was now too small. So I made him a quick raglan tee (Ottobre 04/2011-1, the Papana tee) in some leftover yellow interlock. Looks like shirts for Duncan are next up on the agenda...

Linked up.

Ottobre 02/2005-12

I mentioned in my last post that Myra had already destroyed one of the dresses I made her last month. It was this one, and we both really loved it. She wore it constantly, so I knew it had to be replaced.

I used the same pattern as the pink version, Ottobre 02/2005-12. I did add a bit more fullness to the skirt, although the skirt as drafted in the pattern is nice and full.

For the bodice I used a women's button down shirt that I found at a yard sale for a quarter. It was really lovely, with pintucks and fagotting on the bodice, but much too small for me and stained. It was perfect for this dress. The skirt is quilting cotton from Hobby Lobby, left over from a dress I made for my niece.

Here is the bodice, close up. Isn't that pretty?! I underlined the front only with Imperial Batiste, as the fagotting is open. The placket is stitched closed along the original stitching line.

The back of the shirt was darted and had a shoulder yoke. In order to avoid the darts, I had to cut into the yoke for the bodice back. It was total seredipity that the yoke seam lined up perfectly with the edge of the sleeve. I don't think I could have made that happen if I'd tried!

OK, Mom. I'm really, REALLY ready to go to school! It's almost time and she is so excited!

Ottobre 06/2011-21 & 04/2004-35

Myra starts preschool in 2 weeks, and despite the several dresses I made her last month (one of which she has already ruined), I suddenly freaked out and decided she needs a new school dress.

My mother sent me this adorable fabric and as soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be the jumper on the cover of the 06/2011 issue of Ottobre. It's even intended for bias cut plaids, so I thought I was in the clear with regards to pattern matching.

I did manage to chevron the dominant pink and orange stripes at the zipper, which was no mean feat and involved a lot of basting and wonder tape.

I also managed to chevron one side seam, again matching the pink and orange stripes. Unfortunately, since the dominant stripes are only in one direction, this works out like an uneven plaid, so there was no way to match all three seams. I decided the CB matching was more important, so I had to sacrifice the left side. I'm not even going to show you. It's too embarrassing. I almost decided to just cut this on the straight grain, but I just couldn't talk the fabric into it. It really wanted to be a bias cut jumper. Don't you hate it when your fabric gives you sass??

The pattern is designed for wool, and is lined, but for this fabric, I decided a facing was a better option, so I drafted an all in one facing from the main pattern pieces and used Trena's all machine, clean finish lining method. It was a little tricky getting the dress through those little straps, but it worked out. I also finished the facings with the interfacing, using the Sunny Gal method. I really need to take the time to finish more of my facings this way. It really looks fabulous. I made a narrow, serged and topstitched hem instead of the 1 inch hand sewn hem the pattern calls for. I'm glad I did, as it turned out a bit on the short side. I'll lengthen it an inch or so when I make it again.

I made a quick long sleeve tee to go under the jumper. Can you believe that child doesn't already have a long sleeve hot pink tee? I used Ottobre 04/2004-35, which I have used before for Logan. It is the same as the Creative Workshop 301 tee pattern, which is what the jumper is paired with in the Ottobre magazine. I keep thinking it needs an embellishment on the jumper, but I'm going to leave it be for now. Looking at that print for long is a little dizzying! Myra loves it. She's a bit dizzying at times herself.

Ottobre 03/2011-21

When I was in labor with Duncan, I bought this awesome piece of Echino helicopter fabric for Logan. Isn't technology amazing? Between my iPhone and my epidural, I was fabric shopping between contractions. I only got a yard, since it is a bit pricey and was planning a sport shirt out of it, but when the summer issue of Ottobre came, I knew it needed to be the "Art Camp" shirt.

How awesome is that?! It is design #21 from the 03/2011 issue of Ottobre. It is very economical of fabric, since you don't have any facings and only a short placket at the neckline. I think it is a great design to showcase a fun, large scale print like this one, since the front is not broken up. For further fabric conservation, and to place the print to best effect, I cut this out in a single layer, rather than on the fold. I also cut the plackets and pocket flap on grain rather than on the bias. I didn't want my helicopters flying in different directions.

Here is a closer view of the pocket and front placket. The pocket is pleated on the sides to give a bellows effect. Plenty of room for "stuff" in there. The buttonholes are worked at an angle, although it is a bit hard to tell. I matched the thread to the helicopters so the buttonholes blend in.

Here is a better look at the placket and inside the neckline. This was actually a really easy placket to do, much simpler than a sleeve placket. There is also a very helpful photo of the placket construction here in the Ottobre Flickr pool. The neckline is finished on the inside with a bias strip. I used a piece of linen the same color as the wrong side of the fabric. I also added a little piece of the fabric selvage as a tag. For some reason the word "helicopter" on the selvage tickled me and I had to put it in there.

The pattern also includes a hip vent and has a back yoke. I only did a single layer yoke for this one, which is what the pattern called for, as I had limited fabric, but would generally do an enclosed double layer yoke. I really like this pattern and how well it went together. Logan was excited about it throughout the process. Of course, now that it is done, he won't try it on for me. He says it is a Sunday shirt, so I guess I'll just have to let you know how it fits after church.

Stash question and Ottobre 01/2009-21 Valentine "Teku"

What a fun response to my last post about stashing!  Or rather, collecting.  Thanks for the reminder,  Carolyn!!  You guys are awesome.  I'm glad to see that I am in such good company  :-)  I did want to get some feedback for Sister's question about buying for your collection.  Here is what she said -

"I'm a back-of-the-envelope person - I didn't even know what "stash" meant! And my burning question for you stashers is how do you know how much to buy? I used to sit in the store and flip through catalogs, then walk around with the envelope getting supplies. But now I see that's not satisfactory when the craving hits and I can't get to the store. On my way to stashing!"

So, all you stashers and collectors - How do you know how much to buy?  For me, I know that generally a simple knit top takes about a yard, a skirt a little more and pants generally 2.  I often end up either overbuying, or with not quite enough because I've decided that the fabric that I thought I wanted to make a blouse out of suddenly screamed dress to me.  That's when we get creative with layouts...  I've seen a cool set of cards that help you decide how much to buy based on your size and the general style of garment you think you will make from the fabric, but I've never used them.  You can check them out here.

*****
And in other news - Logan's Valentine pants are all done!

They look a little pink in this picture, but I assure you, they are a vivid, true red.  Mitch would have a bit of trouble with pink on his manly boy...  I like all the crazy pockets,

and as an added bonus, they are the perfect size for a Matchbox garage.  Sweet, eh?

Next up is the matching skirt for Myra.  I'm using the twirler skirt pattern that I drafted for her, but adding the cute heart shaped pockets from Ottobre 01/2009-19 - the Herrta skirt.  It's gonna be cute!

Ottobre 01/2009-21 "Teku"

I really couldn't wait to try out one of my new Ottobres!!  This is a sort of mock-up for the pants I'm planning to make Logan for Valentine's Day.  I wasn't confident of his size, so I decided to make a basic pair in the size I think he needs (92) to try them out.  He also has been bugging me to make him some more fleece pants for naptime, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone.

So, here are the fleece version of the "Teku" pant from the 01/2009 issue if Ottobre.  I didn't do any of the embellishment or pockets, so they were a crazy quick sew.  This is the basis for like four different pairs of pants, so Logan is about to seriously upgrade his wardrobe in the pants department!

The fit in the straight 92 is good, so we're going forward!  Logan really likes these.  (You'll find his dump truck shirt here.)  I already cut out the "real" pair from some red rayon/poly "Linen Look" fabric.

Perfect for naptime.