2020 Completions

Well, 2020 was the year of the pandemic, I think the pandemic plus general learning/increases in speed led to my most productive sewing year ever, even if you don't count all the masks. And oh, were there a lot of masks. But also, plenty of other fun things. It was a year where ambitious projects took a backseat to comfort sewing - and the year my daughter started to lose interest in custom fabrics, sigh - but I did still get a lot done. 

So without further reminiscing, here are my completions from 2020:

Gotta Catch More Fluff (link)

Completed: Jan 2020

My second foray into Double-Sided Minky, after the first was a raging success.

Bayou Cardi (link)

Completed: Jan 2020

Pattern: Halla Essie Cardigan

A selfish sew.

Baby Romper Doo Do Doo Doo Doo (link)

Completed: Feb 2020

Pattern: Brindille & Twig Baby Polo Romper

My Son outgrew this fabric before I cut into it, but it was perfect for one of his teachers who was having a baby.

Plumber Polo (link)

Completed: Feb 2020

Pattern: Brindille & Twig Baby Polo Romper Modified

More fun for my local Nephew, with fabric imported from Japan!

Power Ranger Tee (link)

Completed: Feb 2020

Pattern: Tie Dye Diva Zee's Tee

A fun one-off for my Power-Ranger-Loving son

My Little Brony (link)

Completed: April 2020

Pattern: Cole's Creations Men's Raglan

A fun con shirt for a Brony Friend!

Entering a New Groove (link)

Completed: April 2020

Pattern: Hey June Lane Relaxed-fit Raglan (modified)

Masks and a fun shirt for an old friend.

At Last a Selfish Sew (link)

Completed: May 2020

Pattern: Halla Amanda

Another one of my first-purchased, long-hoarded customs turned into a shirt for me!

Peplum... Go! (link)

Completed: May 2020

Pattern: modified SBPP Girls Fun Tee

Fun gift for my daughter's best friend.

Thankful in Summer (link)

Completed: May 2020

Pattern: SLPCo Hamption w/ Isla back

Ostensibly a first-day-of-summer-camp shirt for my daughter, but she chose a fall print!

Leopard Kyra (link)

Completed: May 2020

Pattern: SLPCo Kyra

A versatile next try on a summer camp shirt for my daughter.

Baby Nephew (Doo Doo Do Doo Doo) (link)

Completed: May 2020

Pattern: Peekaboo Lullabye Line Bodysuit

For a non-local Nephew.

Gotta Catch Some Cousins (link)

Completed: May 2020

Pattern: Tie Dye Diva Zee's Tee and PeekaBoo Tide Pool Tank

A shirt for my Pokemon loving nephew that turned into a set when my son took an interest in the fabric.

Seeing Green 1 (link)

Completed: June 2020

Pattern: Peekaboo Tide Pool Tank plus Ruffle Tutorial

A green shirt when my daughter was assigned to the green group at camp

Seeing Green 2 (link)

Completed: June 2020

Pattern: SLPCo Cami

A second green shirt whipped up with leftover scraps from the first!

Muscle shirt Mania 1 (link)

Completed: June 2020

Pattern: Peekaboo Tide Pool Tank

Because the Tide Pool Tank is fast, and why should Sister have all the fun?

Muscle Shirt Mania 1 (link)

Completed: July 2020

Pattern: Peekaboo Tide Pool Tank

A late night 4th of July sew because in shopping for green scraps I found some blue ones I could not resist!

Back to School Droids (link)

Completed: August 2020

Pattern: SBPP Girls Fun Tee Modified

A back to school outfit inspired by the Inky Bluebird.

Have The Courage II (link)

Completed: August 2020

Pattern: PeekaBoo Lullabye Line Bodysuit

A shower gift for my nephew in Colorado

A Hot Shot Rescue Bot Hoodie (link)

Completed: August 2020

Pattern: Max & Meena Max Raglan

For My Son

Care Bear Siblings (link)

Completed: Sept 2020

Pattern: SLPCO Isla/Adelyn mashups + Max & Meena Max Raglan

A 4-sibling set to celebrate the birth of my Brother's 4th child

It Has Pockets 1 (link)

Completed: September 2020

Pattern:  SLPCo Zoe

Couldn't resist a top with Pockets for my daughter!

It Has Pockets 2 (link) 

Completed: September 2020

Pattern:  SLPCo 

First one came out a little small so I tried again. This time with her favorite LOLs

Oh Baby Princess (link) 

Completed: October 2020

Pattern:  SLPCo Isla

A shower gift for a coworker of my husband's

A Jolly Holiday (link) 

Completed: November 2020

Pattern:  Cole's Creations Men's Raglan

A Christmas gift for my Mary Poppins loving brother!

Miraculous Pair (link) 

Completed: November 2020

Pattern:  Peekaboo Bonnie Knot Top

A best-friends set for my daughter and her BFF!

Christmas Blankets for my Fellow 80s kids (link) 

Completed: November 2020

After feeling the Luxe Minky blankets I gave to my nephews, I just had to give some to my friends for Christmas!

Sewing's a Rainbow (link) 

Completed: November 2020

Pattern:  SLPCo Isla

A sister set for a friend's girls

Merry Mogwai to Me (link)

Completed: December 2020

Pattern: Peekaboo Varsity Cowl Neck

A handmade Christmas outfit for my local nephew

A Sonic Cardigan for Christmas (link forthcoming) 

Completed: December 2020

Pattern:  Apple Tree Grow with Me Classic Cardigan

A Christmas Gift for my local nephew

Pac Man Pants (link forthcoming) 

Completed: December 2020

Pattern:  AppeTree Bunny Bottoms

A last-minute Christmas challenge while my nephew's pants were in the wash

Stats:

Garments: 36

Woven vs knit: 36 vs 0 (!)
Kids vs Adults: 31 vs 5
Garment Sets: 5
Baby sets w/ Blanket: 2
Other projects: 6 (blankets)

WiPs without any progress in 2020: Star Wars II, Christmas Traditions. Quilting is shelved while there are so many fun outfits to be made!

Pac-Man Pants (A challenge accepted)

On Christmas Day, my one-year old nephew surprised his parents with a blowout. They reached into their diaper bag and found that the one pair of pants they had brought was old, uncomfortably small, and kind of scratchy. I'm not usually the sort to just "whip up" an article of clothing in one sitting, but on a lark as we laid about and watched the children play that afternoon, I challenged myself to see if I could come up with a pair of pants in the time it took his original pants to go through the washer and dryer. I had enough large enough scraps from my son's first hoodie to make a go at it.

To complete the challenge, my chosen pattern was the Apple Tree Grow With me Bunny Bottoms. Apple Tree specializes in Grow-with-me patterns, and while it's not the aesthetic I would have picked out of the catalog, as I've looked at all the things people have made on the Sew For Boys Facebook Group, the pattern has ... grown on me, pardon the pun. As usual, I paired my leftover main with a solid from PurpleSeamstress. 

The pattern was straighforward, and the whole thing (taping, cutting, and sewing) probably took a little over an hour.  I opted for the gusset to increase diaper space, and Construction-wise I appreciated that there are two side seams rather than one crotch seam, meaning fabric can be continuous in the front (and back!) view. the 12m-3T size fit my 2T nephew about perfectly, and I beat my washer/dryer combo by a good 30 minutes.

Overall, not bad for a holiday challenge! Would that every project could be started mid-afternoon and done in time for Christmas Dinner.

A Sonic Cardigan for Christmas

For Christmas this year I wanted to have a handmade gift under the tree for my nephew. My SIL mentioned an interest in Grow-With-Me Patterns, so when Sew For Boys users pointed me to Apple Tree Patterns (for a different reason), I took notice.

Browsing their site I found the Grow With Me Classic Cardigan, with a turned over (rolled neck?) collar that reminded me instantly of the sweaters my grandfather used to wear. It was too great a detail to resist!
 

Again, this is the nephew with very dedicated gamer parents, and after a a year of Mario and Zelda, I at least was ready for a change. I didn't own a Sega as a kid, but I did figure Sonic The Hedgehog was a universally well-loved classic at this point. The yellow was, as always a PurpleSeamstress buy.

I'll admit I was not prepared for how labor-intensive this pattern is. The placket needed interfacing, and a few tries with my button-hole foot on knit convinced me that, interfacing or not the odds of my getting 4-5 button holes in a row lined up was... not good on knit fabric. Fortunately, Kam Snaps came to my rescue as a practical - if less grandpa-adjacent - alternative. 

I till think the buttons would have looked sharp (and I have made them work on a number of CKC Havens over the years), but that's a challenge for another time. For now I was glad to have this all adorable and ready to go under the Christmas tree!

A Happy Holiday indeed.

Merry Mogwai to Me

When they were running all the Christmas rounds in July, I casually asked my SIL what her favorite movie was - and she said "Gremlins." Well, guess what *didn't* run that summer? Sigh. Custom Fabric always FEELs like it has everything, until you search for a specific thing - especially a specific Non-Disney thing. But fortunately, late in November I went on MK*Designs BST, and someone was destashing exactly what I needed.

My son helped me pick two panels from the Merry Mogwai Collection, and he was happy to hold them up for me when they arrived. Of course, they *did* arrive just before Christmas, so with ... (checks calendar) 10 days to spare I was printing, cutting, and taping the Varsity Cowl Neck Pullover pattern by Peekaboo Pattern Shop . 

I briefly entertained the idea of a hoodie, but the idea of Mogwai on one side and Gremlins on the other was just too good to resist. Plus my SIL and BIL love a good, classic silhouette. 

 

Like all Peekaboo patterns, this one runs a little small but is easy to follow and gives good results. Wrestling with the Cowl was a little awkward (and nervewracking!) for my tastes, but the end product was absolutely worth the effort.

Especially since Christmas Morning this little charmer showed up on my door, decked in, off all the possible Christmas clothes, his Auntie-made pullover.

Merry Christmas to me!

Sewing's a Rainbow

My friend has two Spongebob Squarepants loving kids who've received previous dress sets from me. As they've grown the girls' aesthetics have diverged, but their love for Spongebob has remained a constant. So when I saw this, I had to jump on it! 

Advised that the oldest sister preferred shirts but the youngest still loved dresses, I embarked on a quest for complimentary-but-not identical plans for clothing. I lucked out when the oldest girl (who usually likes her stuff plain) looked over the styles page of the Sew By Pattern Pieces  Girls' Fun tee, and decided she like the one with the ruffle shoulder... ruffles were a unifying element I could work with!

Here's the proof of concept for the shirt:

And here it is completed with its sibling piece, an Simple Life Pattern Co Isla. Isla has its own shoulder ruffle template, but I used the same one from SBPP to keep them looking similar. 

Overall, I really do enjoy putting together sibling sets with a unifying element - and I'm getting better at doing it quickly. These went to the girls right before Christmas 2020, and I was pleased to get a set of thank you texts that showed 2 happy faces.

Love those smiles!

Christmas Blankets for my fellow 80s kids

Earlier this year a beloved Fabric host ran a blanket-themed round for Christmas. Having recently discovered my love for Double-sided (Luxe) Minky, I got brave and decided to participate - and I'm so glad I did! 

With Christmas staring down the barrel at me I took a day off from work and knocked out not one, not two, but THREE Christmas presents in a day - toddler toppers for the Care Bear Lover, the Strawberry Shortcake Lover, and the Rainbow Brite Lover in my life. 

The Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bear blankets went to a friend and my SIL respectively, but I'll admit the Rainbow Brite lover in my life is myself. Hey, it's a comfy blanket, and it'll keep my feet warm when the house gets cold!

Miraculous Pair

Is there anything more fun than sibling sets? Perhaps matching friend sets - or as my daughter calls them - "twinsies." Still on a quest to make my daughter some shirts she would actually *wear,* I lucked into this amazing Miraculous Print, and bought 2 yards. 

Wanting badly to make something that would actually get worn, I refrained from all my favorite patterns, and consulted with my daughter to come up with the Peekaboo Bonnie Knot top. I figured if I made one for her - and one for her friend - they could have fun wearing them together.

As it turns out, the knot top is kind of a page-heavy pattern to print, tape and cut, because it's asymmetric and cannot be cut on the fold. The ties also make it a little harder to use fabric efficiently, (they point downward), and I wasn't a big fan of the rolled-up sleeves look. But on the balance these were pretty small nit-picks for a pattern that was straightforward and turned out *very* cute. I did size up from the recommended size chart size again (2x for my daughter, once for her friend), because when Peekaboo says a pattern is "slim fit" they MEAN it. I Also added my own contrast cuffs by putting a 1:1 band around the sleeve. 

My daughter - a consummate Cat Noir Fan - got the green sleeves and tie, while her Rena Rouge-loving friend got the orange accents. 

And me? I got two smiling faces, and a pair of shirts that they wear at least every other time they get together. That's a win for me!