Runaway Railway Or the Triumphant Return Home

I've been trying to do at least one shirt a year for my Dad. I don't always succeed - the Peekaboo Yukon is pretty labor-intensive and it can be hard to fit it in. But every shirt I have made him he has worn enthusiastically, to all his most favorite events, and reliably reports back any compliments he receives with pride. So, I have lots of incentive to keep him smartly dressed :-)

He's a big Potter, Disney, and Train fain, so past years have been Harry Potter, Harry Potter, and Christmas Trains. But a Christmas shirt can only be worn so often! So when I saw this Classic Mickey Train Cartoon Print, I knew what I had to do. 

I think I bought it mid-2020, but the real excitement came in May 2021. It was then that - with my parents vaccinated against the Coronavirus and the kids out of school - we were able to book a trip out to see my parents: the first time I'd seen my dad in person since our Multi-Family Disney Trip in September of 2019.

So - wanting to make a big splash on this much-anticipated vacation - I burned the midnight oil HARD for this creation. I started 2 weeks before the trip (usually I plan on three for a Yukon) and literally, I was finishing it up and sewing the buttons on the night before we got on the plane. Fortunately, I did have a backup in that my mom is a sewist and I could have used her machine, but... that would have spoiled the surprise (and the enjoyment of my own machine) just a bit.

I still have yet to get a collar stand on the Yukon so perfect you can button it, but my Dad is retired so he does not care. He loves all the shirts I make him anyway, and I think he looks pretty good in them. Here he is modeling my post-pandemic creation for him with pride: 

And showing off both shirt and maker with great enthusiasm:

I'm pretty sure that mostly, he was just happy to see me, and my husband, and the grandkids. But it certainly did not HURT that while we were there he got to look this dashing for all to see. He even wore it to the airport as he bade us goodbye.

And let me tell you, he was a good-looking man and it was hard to leave!

A Few Sus Hoodies

My daughter has slowly been gravitating away from custom makes (sigh...), but she's a huge fan of Impostor. My son is crazy about it too, so when this fabric came, I jumped in so quickly I forgot to take pictures. My son is very much a hoodie man, so that was an easy pattern choice. I had all sorts of visions of a CKC Delaney (bow back version) or a Girls' Fun Puffed Sleeve Tee for my daughter, but alas, she declared she wanted a hoodie too. Well, OK. 

 

The Max and Meena Max Raglan with hood is my go-to pattern for hoodies these days, and it does not disappoint. They were quick to make and my kids had a blast with the photo shoot. 

The kids may be getting pretty good at ferreting out impostors (or being them), but I think it's Mommy who won the day with these. 

Disney Trip... do the Princess whip!

I'm a huge Disney fan, but the truth is, living in the midwest we don't get to go the "Kingdom of Mouse" nearly as often as I would like to. I accumulate a lot of vacation fabric, but then in the throes of vacation planning, I don't get to sew nearly as much as I would like. However, when my *friends* go to Disney Land or Disney World...

In March, a friend booked a last-minute trip to the Magic Kingdom. Her daughter was aged three, the perfect size for a little scrap busting. So, on a lark I made a copy of the Happiest Dress (Details in the linked post) with leftover scraps.

And when that was done, I still had time for another. So I tried a new, more princess-y look based on the  SLPCo Isla, and using scraps left over from a shower gift for my husband's coworker.  

To create this look I started with the Isla Bodice and added an inch to the bodice height, then added 1/2" to the sleeve length. This was mostly so the double skirt would not have to be so long, but also because the wearer is long-waisted. Then for the bottom I cut out two circle skirts - a plain one that was regular length (minus one inch to compensate for bodice height) and one that I mathed out to be 1/3 of the first skirt's length. This "golden ratio" keeps the skirts looking proportionate.

Putting it all together, I had a big, "fluffy" dress that took a little while to hem, but otherwise was pretty darn quick. It was a huge hit at the park, and even though my family wasn't going, my friend got to give this lovely princess fabric the "park tour."

Sonic Boo-ty

After the Pac-man Pants of Christmas, I was eager to try the Apple Tree Bunny Bottoms again, this time with the most visually appealing option set rather than the fastest. So with the scraps from the Sonic Cardigan I created these little cuties

I had worried that the drawstring would be hard, but it turns out it was just a faux drawstring that, while not functional, looks pretty good and only took minutes to construct. The pockets were also a nice feature, and although my timing was off in making pants right as the weather warmed up. But these went to my local nephew, so perhaps I will see them again as the fall weather cools off. That's one perk of Grow-with-me apparel: it works for multiple years. 

This is the Wardrobe

My husband is a serious Star Wars enthusiast, and so when "The Mandalorian" premiered on Disney+, of course we had to watch. And when "Grogu" (AkA "Baby Yoda") appeared on the screen my kids were hooked. So when I saw a baby Yoda print-and-panel-set on offer, I just *had* to take the plunge.

Of course the panel set had *three* panels and I only have two children, so... just for fun we brought our local cousin in on the action as well. 

My daughter insisted on a long-sleeved shirt (a "regular" one, sigh...), so for her we used the Girls' Fun tee, one of my favorite patterns ever. My son got a MegaMax Raglan (I usually size up one from RTW size) and my nephew got a t-shirt based on Zee's Tee from Tie Dye Diva (I usually lengthen the sleeves a bit to make it more masculine for boys). 

I did have to go to the dreaded B/S/Ts(Buy/Sell/Trades) for the Yellow sleeve fabric, but it was totally worth it. Because for three go-to quick-sew projects, I got three very happy kids!!!

Fireflies for my Little Niece

After completing the Cardigan in my last post, I was on to what I *really* wanted to use this fabric for - a fun set for my newborn niece in California. I've long been in love with the SLPCo Hampton for a while, and despite the scale, this fabric just *looked* like it wanted to be a fun baby set. I picked up the SLPCo Sarah Anne Leggings to complete the outfit.

The Fireflies and the Rainbow Watercolor were from Kammie Lou Lou, and the magenta sparkles were from Wanderlust. On the Hampton (top), I did stray from the written pattern when it came to the cuffs on the sleeves, because when I followed the directions the looked WAAAY to tiny - and even my modified, 1" bigger cuffs were still an adventure to work through on my machine. The 3-6m Sarah Anne leggings went together easily and looked cute, even if they did seem a bit big to go with the 3-6m top from the same pattern maker. Fortunately, it did not matter, because the shorties from last year's Care Bear set fit when the top did! So my niece had rainbow shorts to go with her outfit either way. 

And I got cure pics of her to coo over from my SIL. definitely a win!

Firefly Cardi

This firefly fabric is an oldie but goodie - and it's become ubiquitous in the custom fabric world. That said, it's also one of my first custom fabric purchases; because I loved it so much, I held onto it for 4 years without ever really working up the nerve to cut into it. 

That all changed when my newest niece was born, but that's actually a story for another post. You see, I'd bought this fabric for a selfish sew for me, and if I was going to get two things out of it... well, the big things needed to be cut out first. So it was time to take the plunge.

After much debate, for the pattern I chose a Halla Cozy Wrap Cardigan... the open-front version. I liked the silhouette, and although I don't wear my Essie Much, I do like the way Halla patterns are drafted, with rulers to help with sizing and grading.

Both Fabric and Coordinate came from Kammie Lou Lou (My favorite shop). 

I remain a little surprised at how long these adult patterns to take - to cut out and to sew up, but this time I was much happier with the result. I chose the open version, and found that while custom CL was a bit warm for spring, fall was the perfect time to wear this creation. 

Clearly, I need to try this again!