Ottobre 01/2010-24: 100 day shirt!

Today was a big day, scholastically speaking. It was the 100th day of school!! The Kindergarteners each year make a big deal of this day, mostly as an excuse to work on counting in a fun way. Myra has been excited about 100 day, and Logan caught the excitement, so I made them both something to commemorate the occasion. More on Myra's tomorrow, but today... Logan!

When I asked Logan what kind of shirt he wanted, he just said he wanted it to be blue. I took a little liberty by using two different colors of blue. Risk taker, that's me.

The pattern is from the 06/2010 issue of Ottobre. It's a basic tee, but with shoulder yokes both front and back.

I topstitched the yoke and neckline with the lighter color thread, so the stitching would pop.

I appliqued the '100' with the darker blue jersey and topstitched it with the same lighter thread. I used a triple stitch. When I applique jersey to jersey, I like to keep as much stretch as possible, so rather than fusing the piece with heat and bond, I use a glue stick to place the applique, then just stitch around it. The glue washes away, leaving the applique just as soft and stretchy as can be.

Logan likes his 100 shirt, and I am very pleased with this pattern. The yokes mean I could eliminate the shoulder seam, so the shoulder area, where he carries his backpack, is nice and soft.

Logan insisted I show you that it looks just as good upside down...
Tomorrow - 100 day in pink!

Advance 9938: Barbie out on the town

I picked up this Advance pattern (9938) for the great chinoiserie inspired sheath dress, but Myra has been asking for a new coat for Barbie. This cute 60s swing coat was a must.

I made it out of fleece, which I think looks much more luxe at Barbie's scale. It almost looks like fur. It is a bit bulky though. Her collar is pretty full, even though I used black batiste for the undercollar. I also made her a quick little clutch to go with her outfit. It's just a square of satin with a pointed end for the envelope opening. I sewed a silver bead on as a "closure".

The coat closes with snaps, but I was thrilled to find these fab little buttons at Hobby Lobby. Aren't they perfect for a Barbie coat? Myra will love the sparkle.

Of course, I HAD to make the dress, too! Isn't it fun? The fabric is a prepleated polyester. It was a bit fussy to sew, but looks fabulous. I'm really pleased with how well this pattern fits as compared to other patterns I've used. The darts are all in the right place, and the amount of ease is much more appropriate. Even on the modern body type (which this Barbie has) the dress looks great.

The Asian style "opening" at the neck is actually just a decorative element. The dress is closed with velcro at center back. Much easier to get on and off than a traditional neckline opening! The ribbon is stitched on by machine, but I added the beads by hand. I also hand stitched the armhole hems. This was actually much easier and faster than doing it by machine.

The final piece of her outfit are her sleek black "satin" gloves. I used this pattern, but slimmed the wrist area significantly. The pattern comes out looking more like oven mitts than the elegant glove I was going for. The fabric is a heavy tricot, so it has a lot of stretch, making these easy to get on and off the doll, but still have a sleek fit. They were the devil to sew though. The finished gloves look pretty awesome, so I'm pleased.

Ottobre 06/2010-15 tee shirt

Several months ago, Logan started drawing pictures of a rocketship. They always look like this. Then Amanda unveiled this fabric. I'm not exaggerating when I say my jaw dropped when I saw it. It's Logan's rocketship!!

With the collision of the #sewbluefebruary Sewcialist theme and the Stashbusters Sewing for Others theme, it seemed the perfect time to pull out Rocketboy and make up a shirt.

The pattern is from the 06/2010 issue of Ottobre, and I've used it before here. Lillestoff fabric is a wee bit spendy, so I like to use it on a pattern that I know is a winner, and Logan wears his "fire shirt" all the time.

I used a nice beefy interlock from Chez Ami for the white contrast, and topstitched all the seams with a chainstitch. You can barely see the white stitching on the raglan seams, but the blue around the neckline shows up in the sleeve area.

While I had the white interlock out, I made a bunch of undies as well out of various scraps of "boy" printed jersey. This is the Kitschy Coo Boy Cut Brief. I love, love, love this underwear pattern. There are only two seams in the body and the bands are soft jersey - no elastic to bind and pinch! Logan has sensitive skin and some sensory issues so these undies are a godsend.

So Logan, do you like all your new clothes? Yeah? Give us a funny face!

I love this crazy kid.

Simplicity 6208: a jumpsuit for Barbie

Obviously, the next step in my adventures in Barbie couture was to branch into vintage.

So I hit up Etsy and picked up a couple of super cute vintage Barbie patterns. This one is Simplicity 6208, printed in 1965. I asked Myra which outfit she wanted to me to make, and she immediately picked this mod jumpsuit.

The design is extremely simple, with only 2 pattern pieces. There is a single bust dart, which you can see is a bit low for our perky girl. The back closes with velcro, although the pattern calls for snaps.

I used a tip from Sharon's blog and finished the neckline and armholes with seam binding. It is a much cleaner finish than the clipped and turned hem that the pattern calls for. It was a bit easier too.

The fabric is a rayon shirting left over from this dress. The scale of the dots is fun on Barbie. Much more graphic that it was on a human sized dress. The dots are actually a dark navy, so this totally counts for #sewbluefebruary! Woo-hoo!

The look is completed with a ribbon tie belt. I left the ends long so that the weight would give the ribbon some drape. This pattern was a fun one. I'll definitely use it again - once I raise that bust dart.

Monthly Roundup: January 2014

Well, here we are at the start of 2014. This month has been kind of awesome, both on the sewing front and on a personal level. I hope 2014 continues to be great!

So, I sewed...
1) Jalie 2908 jeans for me
2) McCalls 6232 dress and coat for Barbie
3) LouBee Hosh Pants for Myra
4) Sewaholic Renfrew for me
5) Ottobre 05/2009-5 top for me
6) Jalie 2908 pants for me
7) Simplicity 8333 top, pants and jacket for Barbie
8) Burdastyle Magazine 04/2011-105 blouse for me
9) Sewaholic Renfrew for me
10) Ottobre 04/2004-12 dress for Myra
11) Deer and Doe Plaintain tee for me
12) McCalls 6232 gown for Barbie
13) Kitschy Coo Penny Pinafore tunic for me

That adds up to a huge (for me) total of 18 items! I'm so thrilled! I sewed up a 28.5 yards of fabric. Now, I bought a bit of fabric and won a fabric contest before I made my pledge, so I did have a bit of yardage in - 25 yards. But that means I'm actually still negative for the year stash wise, which makes me pretty happy. Next month I'm going to try for a fabric no-hitter. I have not given  myself a pattern or notion buying restriction, so that's keeping the shopping demons at bay.

Here is a little collage of my makes for the month. I'm pretty pleased with the variety overall. I made a lot of tops, but both knit and woven. I also made several pair of pants and a couple of dresses. I used some much beloved patterns, like the Penny Pinafore and the Renfrew, but also tried some new ones. You'll also likely take note of my newest obsession - Barbie clothes! As many of us did, I sewed for Barbie when I was a kid, and for some reason I've picked up the desire again. Barbie clothes are really fun! They're small, so they use teeny scraps of fabric, and since they aren't worn by humans, finish work is pretty minimal, so they're super fast to whip up. And Myra loves them!

For next month, I'm looking forward to the Sewcialist Blue February theme! I really love these theme months. They give me a focus, but allow enough creative freedom to do what I want and need to do. Speaking of themes, the Stashbusting Sewalong also has a great theme for February, which is Sewing for the ones you Love! This is a great theme, as I enjoy sewing for my loved ones. In fact, I already have a piece cut that fits both themes. Woo-hoo! Getting February off to a fabulous start!!