Care Bear Siblings

My brother and his wife were a happy (if tired) family of five, and then this summer they made an announcement: they were soon to be a family of six! After we congratulated them for this latest addition, my brother made a comment that "not everyone congratulates you on the fourth child" which just convinced me that *I* - Auntie of Great Handmade Swag - needed to not just congratulate but actually celebrate the announcement of my brother's newest soon-to-be-arrival, and PRONTO.

So how best to celebrate? With fabric, clearly. And not just ANY old clothing would do; what I really needed was a sibling set. For four children. Fortunately, I had the fabric...

Care Bears have been a constant theme for my SIL since before my nieces were born. First I made her a cat, then some dresses for the girls, and eventually a maternity shirt and a matching kimono footie set for kid #3. To be fair, this was interspersed with other non-care-bear creations, but still. It's a fun call-back to a childhood nickname, and I stocked up on this fabric a few years ago. Even their cousin (my daughter) has gotten in on the action with a Care Bear Solis. 

For the littlest cousin, who is still gestating at the time of this writing, I went with my go-to creation, the Simple Life Pattern Company Isla - it's cute, it's fast, and it's comfortable. 

For the older girls, I wanted a little more pizzaz. I've been dying to try the SLPCo Adelyn for a VERY long time now, and I thought its long, elegant lines would look cute on the baby's older sisters. I do so love the puffed sleeves of the Adelyn, but in this case, since little sis already had plain sleeves I decided to mash the sleeves of the Isla with the neckline of the Adelyn. I like that look, it reminds me of dancers in their low-backed leotards. 

For the eldest niece used the Adelyn scoop back and the wide bow; for the soon-to-be-middle niece, I used the modest back and some inspiration from the SLPCo Molly to adapt the largest Adelyn bow as a waist tie.

The only challenge left was my nephew - he needed something that worked with the set, but was maybe a little more masculine. He got a Max Raglan with my one remaining panel, and some coordinating rainbow sleeves. It might be a little big yet - he's growing at a much faster clip than his sisters - but hopefully it will fit when little sis is born!

Here all 4 creations are together:

And here my nieces are with theirs on! This photo stunned me with how big they've gotten, but those are definitely two smiling faces!

Now I can't wait until January when our littles niece comes, so brother will wear his (at least once) and all 4 will get some use! 

A Hot Shot Rescue Bot Hoodie

I guess in retrospect it hand't been *that* long since I made my son an article of clothing, but putting together a back-to-school Droids shirt for my daughter and nothing for my son put me in a hoodie-for-my-son state of mind. My son was definitely in a Rescue Bots phase at the time, and when offered, this was the fabric he picked:

For a fall hoodie I went with my usual standard, the Max & Meena Max Raglan. It's a fast sew with close-to-in-store sizing, and it looks nice when finished. My son loves everything I make with that pattern, and this creation was no exception.

The front features a red Hot Shot panel, and I used red for the lining and black for the back since it turned out that Hot Shot red was... kind of hard to match. But my son loved his new outfit and I loved that it was so adorable and so quick to make!

As my son would say. "Score!"

Have the Courage II

My husband has a big family, and technically I have not one, but TWO brothers-in-law that are crazy about Legend of Zelda. The first is the father of baby W, who received his "Have Courage" Magic Blanket and Polo Romper last year. The second is my Colorado-dwelling Brother-in-law C, who just announced he and his fiancé were pregnant this past spring. C is such a fan he even has a triforce tattoo, so after coming through as I did for W's Dad, I certainly could not let C down!

Scoring more Zelda fabric did prove a challenge; there are more choices out there now, but having such an amazing first find last time has left me pretty picky art-wise. Also, this time I was fixated on seeing if I could replicate the sleep-inducing cuddliness of W's "Magic Blanket", which meant "Fluff" aka Double-Sided Minky (DSM). Fluff/DSM is a rarer find than just regular Minky - but it's also a lot easier to work with. 

In the end, I lucked out: the hostess of the original fabric I bought for W had a few extra toddler topper sets available via retail. The original artwork, I could get in traditional Minky, which is 2-way stretch, thinner, and sheds a bit as you sew it. I think the artwork was a little bit "longer and leaner" on the traditional minky - and the fabric is lighter/the fur feels a little more directional. Traditional minky would not have been my first choice for a fabric base, but now having worked with it a bit it does seem like a reasonable summer-weight alternative to the (super-thick) Fluff.

And for "Magic Blanket Material," the hostess had this "Best Friends" topper that could be gotten in "Fluff." Call it what you will - Fluff, Double-Sided Minky, Luxe Minky - but I am definitely a 4-way stretch Minky Addict. It is heavier, thicker, and more expensive than regular Minky, but it's also IMO softer, and WAY easier to work with. And my inner 13-year old was pretty excited about the horse artwork, I gotta admit.

Now, as for getting the fabric here... Shipping from Japan to the US Mid-pandemic was its own adventure: in the end I paid half as much for the shipping as I did for the fabric, and waited almost 2 months before it got to me. But the sense of satisfaction I got from having it in hand was definitely worth the wait.  These blankets were both sewed up in a day, and I still had time to tackle a onesie from the stacked print I'd stashed from my now-a-year-old nephew.

On that score, The Lullabye Line Bodysuit by Peekaboo Patterns remains my go-to shower gift. It's easy, it's efficient for precious fabric, and it consistently turns out nicely. The snaps are from kamsnaps.com, and the evergreen solid bands are from Purpleseamstress.com. 

Here's the whole set together...

...and here's my BIL receiving his gift: Now that's a happy face!

Back To School Droids

One of the first and most ubiquitous custom knit shops I got into was Knitorious - years ago I bought some Floral Wars on a May the 4th sale, and it sat unused on my shelf, just too pretty (and expensive!) to cut into. 

Fast Forward to this summer, when pandemic-related stress (and amazing price reductions on custom clothing) turned me (temporarily?) from fabric-shopper to finished-object shopper. One of my favorite places to window-shop is Custom Collective on Facebook. Their designs are stunning, and for a few months when everyone was home and saving up, the price points were just too good to resist. While I was trawling and admiring one day, my daughter looked over my shoulder and saw this dress:

It was love at first sight for her. The Inky Bluebird is an amazing designer: I bought a hoodie for my son from her on Club Pixieville, and the craftsmanship and cuteness factor are both top notch. Unfortunately this particular piece sold at auction for a price point WAY higher than I was willing/able to pay. But with my daughter's excitement, I knew I had to do *something* with the fabric I had.

Already being in possession of the yardage, I needed only to find a way to procure the matching panel. As I have said before I *usually* try to avoid the fabric Buy/Sell/Trades, but again I made an exception for this one. A kind soul took pity on my (well, maybe not THAT much pity on me - I'm sure she made out handsomely in the transaction) and I scored not only a matching BB8 panel for my daughter, but also a matching R2D2 panel for my son. Did I mention I love sibling sets? Because I really do love them. 

Anyway, these panels made their way to me right before school started for the year, and so my daughter enthusiastically picked this fabric for a back to school outfit for herself. And, she definitely wanted it just like the Inky Bluebird dress: except she's more of a shirt-and-jeans person, so she wanted a peplum rather than a dress. And she's not really into spaghetti straps, so could it have puffed sleeves instead? And of course, mom's fabric was black and not purple, but other than that...

Thank goodness for the Sew By Pattern Pieces Girls' fun tee - this patter came to the rescue for what feels like the 100th time. I'm about to the point where I can do this pattern in my sleep (the gathers do still take a while though!), and this time I did skip the cute Delaney back for efficiency & better coverage against a cool fall breeze. I pulled this together at the very last minute, but in a late-night photo session she was all smiles after receiving it.

She wore my creation proudly to the first day of school, and came home with a "my first day" booklet where she'd carefully hand drawn her "BB8" shirt over & over again... 

...definitely a parenting win for me!

Muscle Shirt Mania

If I had one go-to pattern this summer, it was definitely the Tide Pool Tank by Peekaboo Pattern Shop.  It provided the backbone for my son's Pokemon Hoodie and my Daughter's Lucky Charm Camp Shirt. In fact, my son loved his "Pokemon muscle shirt" so much I couldn't resist adding to his tank top collection.

My entire family is huge Marvel fans, and my son is no exception. When I showed him this print and offered to make him a "muscle shirt," he was very excited for the idea. My son runs long and lean like the pattern maker's kids do, but even so I still sized him up 2x from what the size chart said to get this fit; his Pokemon hoodie fit a little tighter than I would have liked.

I also couldn't resist trying for a fourth-of-July hoodie for him: a scrap of this Kammie Lou Lou original fabric turned up while I was searching for my daughter's green camp shirt fabric, and I couldn't help myself: I had to buy it. Which in turn meant I HAD to sew it up quickly if I didn't want it to become part of my guilt-laden to-do pile.

So, I stayed up to sew this hoodie the night before we traveled out to a family 4th of July celebration. It's basically the same modifications as the Pokemon hoodie, although it's sized like the Marvel shirt above. 

After all that labor my son insisted on wearing his Captain America PJs for the actual holiday (sigh...) but he was happy enough to put this on for photos/goodbyes on July 5th. He didn't live in his 4th of July one as I had hoped, but he did have fun wearing it a few times and modeling it for pics!

And, Marvel was a definite reach-for-it-first kind of win, so I really can't complain.

Seeing Green

I try very hard to stay off the Buy/Sell/Trade market for custom knits because 1) it's expensive and 2) the thrill of near-instantaneous gratification is hard to resist 3) I really really don't need more fabric. Usually. That said, this summer my daughter learned that green would be her "class color" for the year,  and so I found myself in need of green (knit) fabric. Which, surprisingly enough, I did not have. 

Fortunately, a kind soul on Kammie Lou Lou BST came to my rescue. I posted an ISO for an old Kammie Lou Lou St. Patrick's day collection I had admired, and she had a few things from a scrap pack that she didn't plan on using. In the end I bought a half-yard of green Brushstrokes (a KLL signature line) and an incredibly adorable panel from her.

I got this package on Tuesday and my daughter wanted a green top to wear on Friday. Immediately I thought to pull out the speedy-and-cute Tide Pool Tank. Initially I hesitated a little because it wasn't very feminine, a quick trip to the PeekaBoo Pages changed my mind. I was inspired by this flutter mod.

I have a serger, so adding the flutter mod didn't take very much time at all (I love the serger gathering method). I also sized up a little and added the bottom band to give shirt a more "stylish" look. and I was very pleased with the result and So was my daughter, who happily wore this on Fridays for the duration of her camp. 

But of course, one good turn deserves another - I had just a *little* bit of the brushstrokes left - not enough to make another tide pool, but I'd also been eyeing the Cami's Tank Top from Simple Life Pattern Co, and the 18" scrap I had left was *just enough* to cover the bodice of a Cami's. 

So, a bonus shirt was born! This was my first time with the Cami, and it was fast & easy. It turns out my daughter is not that into strappy tanks yet (her father will be relieved...), but it's also great for layering under cute sweaters or her TaeKwondo Gi. Maybe in a few years.

Gotta Catch Some Cousins

After my success with the Zelda Blanket, I knew I'd hit the jackpot when my beloved Japanese Fabric host ran a Pokemon round - as passionate as my BIL is about Zelda, that's how passionate my SIL is about Pokemon. Initially I was just going to buy a Pokemon blanket, then I thought a shirt might be cute and... 

It was not my proudest moment in terms of self-control. Sitting in my kids' Takwondo class the day before the round closed, "one blanket" became "one blanket, one yard, and two panels." Oops. The Blanket - made of "Fluff", which I have since learned is a brand specific term for double-sided minky - was a rush gift in January. But the shirts followed in June when my son saw this fabric and said "Woah - Pokemon!"

I hadn't even known he was interested in Pokemon, but the idea of sewing him and my little nephew a cousins' set was just too tempting to ignore.

For my son I decided to try a new pattern, the Tide Pool Tank by Peek-a-Boo Patterns - Peekaboo is fast becoming one of my favorite shops for simple basics. It took me a little research to decide between the Hudson Hoodie and the Tide Pool Tank, but in the end the less-boxy shape (and more gender-neutral silhouette!) won out. Because the panel was not very tall, I ended up having to colorblock the front (my own modification), and then I figured colorblocking the back would be fun as well. Also, the Tide Pool Tank doesn't call for lined hoods but I prefer the look of them, so I cut out a hood lining and hood using the pieces from the tide pool tank, and then joined/attached them using the techniques from the Max & Meena Max Raglan. 

For my nephew, I brought out my old favorite, the Zee's Tee by Tie Dye Diva. This too needed to be colorblocked (on an 18-24m baby! Kira Kira panels are awesome but they are short!), but this pattern had the colorblock built in, so adding it was trivial. 

In the end, it was a cousin set I was proud of. My son loves his "muscle hoodie," and getting it OFF him to hem it was a challenge. My only regret is that I did not size up - my son runs slim and the Tide pool tank is plenty long so the body fits him nicely, but the neck hole on a properly sized shirt is just a *little* small for his head. His cousin also looks very sharp in his tee. Here they are together with some super-wide grins.

Glad I caught this one on camera!

Baby Nephew (Doo Doo Do Doo Doo)

I have to admit, despite how complicated it looks, the PeekaBoo Lullabye Line Baby Bodysuit (onesie) is actually a pretty fast and rewarding sew. So, when my Brother-in-Law announced he and his girlfriend were pregnant (his first, her third) I immediately thought "Oh, here's my chance to torture him with a little Baby Shark before the baby even gets here."

Originally I'd bought this fabric for my son when he was in HIS baby shark phase, but time marches on. Longtime readers will remember the romper I made for my son's teacher, but I didn't have enough fabric to pull of THAT particular feat again. Fortunately, the Lullabye Line Bodysuit takes less fabric and is less labor intensive, so I could speed through that pattern in short order. 

Making it, I wash struck by how *little* it actually is in a 3m size. I wasn't into sewing knits when my kids were babies, so I they missed out on homemade clothing during that phase. They were, however, were happy to hold it up for a comparison. It blows my mind to thin of how much *they've* grown in the last 7 years, especially in comparison to their soon-to-be-newborn cousin!

The final product came out quite nicely, if I do say myself. Everything from the main to the green to the Kam Snaps came from stash, so this was a quick and efficient make. It was well received at the shower, and the expectant parents got a good laugh when I told them "Thank me now, hate me later."

Here's to a fun and fast classic baby gift that I know will get some love!

Leopard Kyra

Although I really loved the way my Thankful Hampton turned out, I felt a little bad that it was supposed to be a first-day-of-summer camp shirt, but it didn't turn out very summery. Looking to make a quick save on the concept of a 'fun summer shirt,' for a still peplum-crazed (make that *drop waisted* peplum crazed... ) daughter, I turned to a previously used fabric I knew would be a hit - the Rainbow Cheetah Print from Oh So Pretty Fabric. 

And, needing a quick sew, I splurged on the Kyra from Simple Life Pattern Co. Honestly, I went back and forth quite a bit on buying this - I already had the Stitch Upon a Time Aurora, and both patterns' defining feature is the cross-back straps that add interest to what's otherwise a basic summer staple. But I liked the thick straps of the Kyra, and the crisper geometry in back. So, I indulged. 

If you're looking for a comparison, the overall effect of both patterns is pretty similar - the Kyra has thicker straps and a triangular area between straps, where the Aurora is rounded. 

But, the construction methods differ quite a bit - although there is a seam in the straps on the Kyra, the straps are created in one continuous stitch line then turned, then the bodice is closed via seams on the side and back. With Aurora, there's no need for a back seam because the bodice is created and then the straps are joined to close it. Both have methods that leave all seams enclosed, so the real tradeoff is a the lack of a back seam in the Aurora vs. the relative ease of getting Kyra's straps to look smooth and straight. Well, and since the straps join at the shoulder for the Kyra and in the back on the Aurora, the Kyra is a little more efficient to cut out, which is nice. I do think Kyra was the quicker, easier sew of the two, but either one is  pretty good pattern. You can see my review of the Aurora here. 

For this Kyra I did add some length to the bodice because my daughter is long-waisted. The the Kyra was a one-afternoon project for me, which is pretty quick by my standards. It came out fast & cute, and my daughter loves it. 

It goes well with jeans - and that's how she prefers to style it, but just for fun we also brought her fluffy pink skirt out. 

Hats off to such a quick & versatile top - and a model who knows how to work it to its every advantage :-)

Thankful in Summer

To celebrate my daughter's first day of summer camp, I told her I would make her a shirt. I didn't have time to curate a particular selection for her, but I figured I didn't need to: knowing her, I expected she'd probably head straight for one of the Aurora or Baby Yoda Prints I'd recently bought with her in mind. Oh boy was I wrong.

Instead she headed straight for a collection of fall prints that I've been hoarding for a couple of years. This collection - run by Kammie Lou Lou and titled "Thankful and Grateful" - is a collection of THOSE fabrics for me, the ones you just *can't* cut into because you haven't found a pattern majestic enough to showcase their amazing glory. I wasn't *opposed* to sharing these fabrics with my daughter, mind. But as a first-day-of-summer-camp shirt well... they weren't a very summer-y print. But, I said she could pick, so there I was. She went for the maroon-and-pumpkin plaid, which WAS a pretty fabulous pick if I do say so myself.  And she said she didn't care that it was a fall print at the start of summer. Well, OK. 

Fortunately (for me, or so I thought), my daughter didn't have a pattern in mind; so I told her OK, she could pick the fabric despite its seasonal bent, but *I* would pick the pattern. She agreed. I'd been admiring the SLPCo Hampton and when I presented it to her, she said she liked it. Of course, never one to leave well enough alone, I decided that for a fall top, I didn't want a back cut out, but I didn't want it plain either. There's a tutorial for an Isla back cutout with a Modesty Panel, and I'm not a afraid of a little pattern mashing so... it. was. ON.

I used the Isla Cutout & tutorial on the Hampton back bodice, and I'll admit I had to do the modesty panel twice because I got a little overconfident on sewing (and trimming) small seam allowances. And, note to future self: next time I do a symmetric cutout on a plaid, I should center the cutout on the plaid so that I can better tell what's asymmetry and what's optical illusion in the cutout itself. Drawing an inner heart on the pink panel helped me keep things straight(er), but of course as it would turn out, the Frixion Marker I used to *make* the marking didn't entirely iron out at the end. Sigh. Still, since I make for love and not profit - and because it was a first attempt - I was reasonably happy with the end result nonetheless.

The rest of the Hampton - like most SLPCo patterns - went together smoothly & looked good. The Hampton's puffed sleeves are definitely PUFFED SLEEVES - with way more volume (and fabric use) than the Girls' Fun Tee I usually use, but I thought they still managed to look stylish & fun. 

My daughter, unfortunately, was less than impressed. Remember this was *supposed* to be a summer camp shirt for her. I think she'd envisioned another drop-waisted SBPP peplum, and was therefore disappointed with the fall feel and high waist.

I, on the other hand, think it came out pretty awesomely. I figure I can always try to sell her on it again come fall; Maybe I'll even make a matching Cardigan for myself. Mommy & Me outfits always sweeten the deal a bit. And, even if it's not love at first sight, I made it big to there's plenty of time for it to grow on her.