Monday, December 31, 2018

Gone to the Dogs II

After finishing the Always shirt for my Dad, I set my sights on a gift for my brother. When I'd bought the fabric for Gone to the Dogs I, I'd gone for a panels-and yardage set, but ultimately decided that the panels and the yardage were... a bit much together.


That said, the panel did make a pretty awesome front for a T-shirt by itself. This time I used the SUAT Huntsman pattern (a first) which I paid to have printed in A0 format by PDFplotting.com. I'm definitely becoming a huge fan of A0 patterns, because I like to transfer from a master pattern to tissue paper. I print all sizes at once  (it helps with grading) and having the pattern on one large sheet  eliminates the need for tape and speeds up the tracing process.


The Huntsman was an easy pattern to use - I stand by my wish that SUAT patterns printed in true one-color-per-size, and not just black & white with red options, though. At this point I can assemble a T-shirt without looking at the written instructions, so I have to admit I didn't really pay much attention to the tutorial as I went.


I do think the final product turned out nice, though; and my parents report back that the fit based on my brother's measurements is great.


Overall, this was a quick sew, but a fun one. Definitely a make-again!


Friday, December 28, 2018

Gamer Onesie (Power Up!)

One of the most exciting developments of this year has been the announcement of a new nephew! His parents are consummate gamers, and the mom-to-be (My SIL) has been admiring my clothing handiwork for years. Long before ever getting pregnant, she watched me complete a Mario Sleeper, a Pac Man Hoodie, and a Mario Dress. Of those, it was the Mario Dress fabric she admired the most.


So, I gotta admit even though that was 3 years ago, I've been hoarding the scraps for her ever since: "just in case." And luckily, babies start out small, so a onesie can be gotten from... not a lot of fabric, because that's what I had left.

For this project, I picked the Peek-a-Boo Lullaby Line Bodysuit. PaB is quickly becoming one of my go-to-pattern makers, and I'd seen (and admired) the promotions when it was released, so it was fresh on my mind. My nephew obviously didn't need the skirt option (which I think is pretty fun and unique) but I did like the lapped shoulders for ease sliding over big baby heads.



After purchase, I was pleasantly surprised to see how quick a make this was! I think I pretty much whipped the majority of the onesie out in one sitting, although it did then take me a couple of days to work up the nerve to put the snaps on the bottom. I used the same interfacing for this onesie as for the sleeper, since I had it lying around.

And, as with the original dress, I used bits of the brick for all the binding. My engineering heart is a little offended by the inefficient use of fabric when the featured scene disappears into a seam allowance like that, but I can't argue with the appeal of the finished product. I auditioned several solids for bands, and they... just didn't seem to look as sharp.




Overall, I have to say this pattern is definitely a make-again. It's fast, it's cute, and PaB is definitely on their A-game  here with a tutorial delivers a nice, finished product the first time around. I did mess up a little on the shoulder-binding (note to self, next time transfer the dots that tell you how far to stretch the neckband at the shoulder vs. neck, rather than forgetting until you've already pinned and then rationalizing that they can't be THAT important), but overall, this was a pretty time-effective project with good end results. I'm really happy with how this onesie looks, and hopefully my SIL will be too!

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Always Serendipitous?

It's been a little over a year since I made that Harry Potter themed shirt for my Dad, and honestly, I've been wanting to make another for a while. But, finishing woven seams on my sewing machine can be quite the time-consuming process. Followers of this blog may note, however, that I recently received a serger as a gift, and after a Serger Basics class on August 10th, I was dying to try it out. I know everybody uses sergers for knits, but wovens are what I'm hoping to get more efficient at!


This fabric first caught my eye in a a feminine violet colorway, but when I saw it in "midnight blue," I knew I wanted it for my Dad. When all is said and done, he's a romantic at heart, and stories like Snape's love for Lilly really resonate with him. Plus, the fabric IS just gorgeous. I wasn't *quite* able to get enough for another bowling shirt - this was precut in 36 yard increments, and I was going to need 40 continuous inches for the back. But, I ran into the Peekaboo Yukon, which has a back yoke and a pleat for ease, and so I thought what the heck. It's all an adventure, right?


As it turns out, this was a LOOONG adventure. I started it immediately after my August 10th class, and didn't get everything pieced together until well into September. And then I still had to put the buttons on! But I will say, the Peekaboo Pattern was really well described, well constructed, and easy to follow. I'm not sure I will EVER do the long sleeved version, because even without the long sleeves, the pattern was still a 31-steps time investment. But I will definitely make this again, because I was VERY pleased with the end product after all that work.


Also, I have to give a shoutout to Amy Hindman, the designer at Peekaboo patterns. She happened to  come online when I was getting nervous about my pocket placement, and talked me through it. I had my mom measure another of my Dad's shirts to be sure, and everything Amy said was absolutely true. But it was really flattering and exciting to get that level of customer service and designer engagement. Amy was patient, encouraging, and didn't seem to mind my beginner's paranoia. I'm sure it's just luck of the draw that she happened to be logged in while I was soliciting advice on the Pattern Chat & Support group, but it was a positive experience that reminded me of the value of purchasing from a small business rather than a big corporation. Peek-a-Boo definitely moved up on my "favorite pattern shop" list after that.


And the Yukon may in fact be a favorite pattern! Mind you, not one that I'm going to tackle without a *significant* block of time available, but it was fun to learn the ins & outs of how a dress shirt is made, and it required a variety of new/interesting skill sets. I'd worked with interfacing before but never in a collar, and I got to try out the button foot on my machine for the first time. My button holer is still a dicey experience sometimes, but I'm definitely getting more proficient with it. And my serger! This time instead of finishing the woven seams with a zig zag stitch - which is always a pain, and tends to result in fraying at the edges anyway - I used my new-to-me serger to finish the seams. It went WAY faster, and resulted in a finish I was much happier with.


And speaking of happy finishes, I made the bulk of this shirt in September, but waited until November to gift it to my Dad in person. Unwilling to trust this labor-intensive beauty to mail service, I hand carried it out when we visited for Thanksgiving. And what did Dad think?


Well, he wore it for Thanksgiving and vowed to show it off to all his train-club buddies, where apparently the other shirt I made him still gets a lot of compliments and wear.


And from the collar to the back pleats in the back, I think it looks like the kind of shirt he often chooses for himself.  I might be able to size down for the next one (this time I sized up in an abundance of caution), but overall, I am pleased with how it turned out, and I'm optimistic that this shirt will get a lot of love going forward!

Monday, December 3, 2018

Another Selfish Sew

I have been promising myself a selfish sew forever, and this Halloween finally provided me with the things I needed to eke one out; a pattern I wanted to try (the Shirtzie by Stitch Upon A Time), fabric that had a "deadline" (since I obviously wasn't going to make a Halloween shirt for Christmas) and actual, honest-to-goodness time to sew over the Columbus Day holiday. Egads!


I stashed this particular beauty last year after a sale at Kammie Lou Lou's. With my limited sewing time I don't do muslins, so this was the perfect combination of "pretty enough I want to wear it" and "Not SO pretty that I can't cut into it for an untried pattern." Plus, if my first try wasn't that flattering, I'd only be wearing it 1-2 months a year anyway.


SUAT mostly promotes the t-shirt front option on this pattern, but there's a cross-front option that I think is absolutely gorgeous. And bust-enhancing, which is exciting because 2 children later my tummy isn't as flat as I might hope. The construction wasn't overly complicated, although I still wish SUAT created their cutting guides with different colors for the different sizes, and actually numbered the steps rather than letting you guess which sections to skip over based on the headers.


The shirt came out alright, and it was definitely bust-enhancing. A little TOO bust-enhancing, as it turned out. As fate would have it, I (who have spent a lifetime thinking of myself as flat-chested) wear a D-cup and have a 4.5" difference between my bust and my underbust: the instructions said "do a full bust adjustment for differences of a DD or larger (4" difference)" and so I, thinking "D cup, but barely" skipped the adjustment based on my cup size. Apparently, I should not have. The resulting cross front fit over my girls, but just barely.  


I'm also tall (5'7") and carry my height in my upper body, so I normally have to adjust my bra straps to be as long as possible - that too may have had an effect. At any rate, the shirt still turned out nice, but I definitely have to wear a cami under it if I want to take it to the office. I also don't think it's flattering as it could be, with the waistband as close under my bust it is, and the skirt poofing out so generously


But hey! It was a learning curve; I do think I plan to make this again. Next time I will use the full bust adjustment, lengthen the band a little bit (or use a fabric with less contrast), and probably take some of the volume out of the skirt. That's one of the perks of sewing, being able to figure out what works for you and implement it.


And in the meantime, kiddo #2 and I get fresh, new handmade outfits for Halloween. Not a bad deal!

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Spooky Dinosaurs

Having been well pleased by the results of my first experience with the (Hooded) Max Raglan, I impulsively went for a second. I've always had a slightly strained relationship with the Made By Jack's Mum Explorer Raglan because I love it but always have to shorten it, meaning I'm too nervous about sizing to use it for gifts. I was eager to see how the Max & Meena Raglan compared.


I got some amazing Dinosaur fabric from Heartthrob Threads, and at the time it was October, and so the perfect time a Halloween shirt. Although my son measured a 2/3T, I went for the 4/5 size - the same size as I made his hoodie, which I thought fit nicely. I paired it with a great orange solid from Purpleseamstress, and away I went.


The shirt turned out great, and this time the proportions looked more correct. But, a 4/5 *did* end up being a little big on my 3T son without the bands to rein it in. To be fair, my kid *measured* a 2T/3T in the Max Raglan, even though I've been making him a 4 in the Explorer Raglan for over a year now. Therefore, M&M still wins the "runs true to sizing" competition, and the main take-home lesson here might be "make the size the kid measures for the plain raglan, but if you're doing the banded hoodie size up."


It's all good though, because my son (and his daycare teachers!) love the shirt. He has fun naming the dinosaurs, guessing at what they're dressed as are for halloween, using them to blend in with our other decorations from halloween


Here's to a spooky Dino shirt that might actually still fit next year!

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Lego my Batman!

I'm not even sure how we ended up with the DVD for Lego Batman - maybe one of the kids picked it out at Wal-mart - but around our house, that movie is a huge hit. So when this fabric came across my FB feed, I knew I had to order some.


I've been feeling guilty that all summer long, I sewed dresses for my daughter, but my son always seemed to get the short shrift. It helped that his superhero shirt from last year still fit, but... It's been time for something new for a while.

Enter the Max & Meena Max Raglan - this hoodie is all the rage in my custom fabric circles, and for obvious reasons. It cuts a really nice silhouette, and the pockets are pretty eye-catching and unique in photos. I bided my time and waited for a sale, and on Labor Day they offered 25% off, so I splurged and downloaded the pattern.



Once I got it, I realized I hadn't anticipated the following complaints:

1) 1/4" seam allowances. Yes, I'm from a quilting background. I still hate 1/4" seams on knit.

2) Pocket lining attaches with a seam straight across the front of the shirt. I don't know where I'd THOUGHT the pocket linings would attach, but "through my center design" wasn't it.

3) "Double sizing" - ie, 2T/3T = one size, 4T/5T = one size, etc. I guess they're room to grow when the kid is on the small side, but they're scary in an bigger-end kid.

So... not the panacea I had hoped for, but hey: I'd admired it long enough that I couldn't give up without actually MAKING one. So...


I'm glad I did!  This hoodie was very nicely proportioned, all the parts went together without a hitch, and the pockets really DO look sharp in practice. I did fussycut the heck out of my fabric to get the batmobiles on the sleeves just so, and the art on the hood where I wanted it to be.


I also altered the stitching line on the pockets to avoid a line through Batman and Robin's feet. The green line indicates where the pattern WOULD have had me put a stitch line, but the red line is where I actually put it.


Lowering the bottom stitch line on the pockets put it very close to the band, so I just caught the pocket lining in the band rather than make a separate stitch line. It made for a slightly roomier pocket, but my son doesn't seem to mind. The pockets still work fine!


And my son seems to love his new hoodie. I did size up from what was recommended (he measured a 2/3, I made a 4/)5, and the fit is (IMO) about perfect. Using the featured print on the raglan sleeves and the hood is quite eye-catching; with the stitch line modification above, the front showcases the panel quite nicely.



I'm also lucky that I ended up with JUST ENOUGH extra panel to make the sleeve bands, and pocket lining. I'm also lucky that the Royal Blue solid I bought from Purple Seamstress (used on the back and in the hood lining) was such a perfect match.


So despite my complaints with the pattern, this is a definite make-again. Here's to a happy (and well-dressed) kid!




Thursday, October 11, 2018

So Awesome

My daughter might be a My Little Pony Fan, but she's got NOTHING on a friend of hers, N, who found out last year that she was going to be a big sister. N (who has received 2 zombie dresses from me already) watches the My Little Pony Movie every day, and can sing most of the songs from the movie.


When I bought these panels, it wasn't clear if N's sibling was going to be a boy or a girl. But, N's dad is a bit of a Brony himself, which made the artwork a pretty safe bet. It wasn't until well after purchasing these panels that I learned Baby #2 was a girl.

As is usually my way, I was still working through OTHER backlog projects in my queue until about 2 weeks before the Baby #2's baby shower. Sewing dresses with a panel is pretty easy - but I was loathe to repeat my mistake with the BubbleGum Dresses and try a new pattern with a deadline looming. Longtime readers of this blog will already guess what is coming: yes, the Tie Dye Diva Easy Peasant Dress (Pattern Link).


I'm lucky I had plenty of Purpleseamstress CL solids left from other projects. Both dresses were blocked and backed with black to keep it simple, and for Baby #2's sleeves I went with a Rainbow Dash blue to add a pop of color. The diaper cover is also a Tie Dye Diva pattern, which typically drives me nuts in woven but actually turned out not half-bad to make in knit.


For Big Sister N, Purple like Twilight sparkle was the way to go.

If anyone is still counting (I am, assisted by my blog) these are TDD dresses 10 and 11. They were gifted in late September but sized so to be worn early the following spring. N already loves hers, and we'll see what baby #2 thinks when she arrives!







Thursday, September 27, 2018

Mario Memories

My brother D and I are both children of the 80s, so we have plenty of memories of the great 80s classic, Nintendo. I don't know how many hours we logged on Duck Hunt, Super Mario Brothers, Legend of Zelda, and when the SNES came out, Mario Kart. For the most part D did the playing and I did the watching - to this day my hand-eye coordination is kind of unimpressive, even though sewing has helped some - but by the time Mario Kart rolled out, I was up for direct participation in the fun.

So, when my brother announced that he and his wife were pregnant THE DAY before this preorder closed, I knew what I had to do: 



Order it, and not look back, of course! I cannot describe how lovely this print is in person - something about the look of watercolor on fabric just gets me every time - and when I found out it was a boy, a sleeper seemed an all-purpose logical thing to make with it. I went for the CKC Spencer, which I had grabbed on sale during a spring promotion. I had long suspected it would become useful eventually, and so it was:


I will say, CKC's approach to the lining (aka the yellow parts) of the Spencer was problematic. The lining was too short for the sleeper, and while Cotton Lycra stretches, the knit interfacing required to back the snaps did NOT. Well, not as much as it *needed* to, anyway. I was able to MOSTLY account for the difference by stretching the lining a little extra in the neck area, but if I'd had more interfacing I would have *liked* to put one more snap further up.


And, speaking OF snaps... This project was another great chance to try something new. Back when I'd made the Bears that Care Kimono set, I'd used metal snaps, but they... hadn't seemed very stable. The sewists in CKC's Facebook Group recommended Kam Snaps, and though I'd initially balked at the price ($28 for a starter kit plus $12 for the color cards) It turned out to be a pretty good investment. The snaps are way better looking than your standard Joann's metal snaps and they FEEL more stable. Plus I think the males are easier to tell from the females, and there's less scratchy parts to harm a baby if a snap comes loose.


I also thought these snaps were pretty easy to use, and though I procrastinated a bit on trying them due to nerves, I was overall quite happy with the end product.

By the time I finished this sleeper, my nephew W was already born. D and his wife asked me to be W's godmother, so traveled to California for his baptism, and brought this with me as a gift.


Here's me with my tiny new nephew - easily the most chill of my brother's 3 babies - and with my brother and his wife. It was a great visit, and you can read more about it in my SIL's blog. It'll be a little while before W can wear it - I made it in size 6-9 months, and he's about 3 months old in this photo - but I look forward to they day he does.

Also, I'd like to include a link to the image I used for little W's card. while googling "baby sleeper snaps," I got this gem of a comic from Fowl Language by Brian Gordon:


I already read this comic erratically (I am, after all, a parent), but this particular installment just HAD to be passed along to my brother. In my defense, this sleeper only used 16 snaps. I know because after I saw this, I counted.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Zany to the Max

Before there was Ohana, there was Animaniacs. I bought this fabric in February thinking to make dresses for R and C - since their mother and I were Animaniacs fans together in middle/high school.


The fabric itself is pretty busy, and panels are always a challenge. But when I ran across the Candy Castle Patterns BubbleGum Dress on Etsy, I knew I had a winner. There are SO MANY stunning dresses made with this online!


Of course, it's also a more ambitious dress than most of the ones I've tried so far. Puffed sleeves, bias tape hems, a wrap closure... I printed & taped the pattern, read through the instructions and... promptly realized I wasn't going to be churning 2 of these out in the week and a half before I went to visit the girls, no matter what all the reviews on Etsy said. D'oh! 

Instead, I made my Ohana dresses that week, which worked out well. But I was still left with  a gorgeous, taped out pattern, a craving to learn puffed sleeves, and some fabric for which I had a vision. Oh, and plenty of time to shop for bias tape.


I picked this beauty up at Charm Cottage Fabrics on Etsy. I loved the crochet edge and thought the polka dots were about perfect. Cutting these dresses out took a while (there were lots of parts) and as with every sister set I have made, having to do everything twice can turn even a short project into a long haul.



I'm not entirely happy with the way the sleeves turned out (I forgot to take a picture, but let's just say you can tell the direction I sewed from where the gathers on the puffed sleeves ended up; and I am a consummate pin-er), and making sure that the second row of bias tape stitching covered the first was harder at some points than others. So, anyone online who ensures me this is a delightful and easy beginner dress will from now on earn some instant side-eye from me. Like, it's a beautiful dress. the construction steps are straightforward. But it is NOT a beginner's dress by any stretch of MY imagination. Oh, and bias tape isn't *cheap*, either.



That said, will I make it again? Absolutely. It wasn't EASY, but it was GORGEOUS. The wrap construction makes it flexible for all sorts of body types. The shape of the skirt is great for showcasing a panel. Being able to use a different fabric on each side of the bodice made for a nice/fun touch, and toned down a fairly wild print. despite the imperfections, I was happy with how they came out.

And as for the recipients? Well, they're looking sharp in their new dresses!


I get the impression these dresses come out about once a week. And R (the eldest) dresses herself, so I *know* that means her dress is well loved. C also looks cute as a button in hers, and that I have to admit when I see those kids so cut and happy, I can't help but take pleasure in a job well done.







Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Gone to the Dogs

My Brother is a Disney fanatic, and one of his favorite Disney movies is 101 Dalmatians. He's also a dog person in general, so when I saw this fabric, I immediately thought of him.


Fabric this cute just had to make its way to my sewing room! I don't do a lot of sewing for adults (fabric is expensive, and adults are pickier about fit usually), but I do own the Cole's Creations Jerry's Raglan pattern, which I keep swearing I'm going to try out on my husband one of these days. In the meantime, it would do nicely for my brother.


The Jerry's Raglan is GINORMOUS when printed out - 49 pages, I think - and having taped it together once, I think next time I buy a men's PDF pattern I'm going to splurge on something with an A0 format. That said, the raglan came together nicely, and I loved the Doggie details.


I even put a "custom" tag on the back, to assist my brother in finding the front of his shirt. It's just a small rectangle of Cotton Lycra, but it's soft and it gets the job done.

Mailing the shirt was a bit nervewracking, but it made it to its destination safely. Here he is modeling it in his signature Green Bay Hat! I'm glad I went with a size 44 (one size larger than measured).


The shirt made its maiden voyage on a bowling date with my parents, where it was much admired.


Hopefully that wearing is the first of many to come.