Sew a Straight Line

Ruching for Skirt Week

2012-05-22T04:00:00.000-06:00

Crafterhours is one of my all time favorite blogs. Not only do Susan and Adrianna share amazing things to make and admire, but they are seriously entertaining. I love reading their posts and especially their little on-going conversations in the sidebar. You know they’d be a riot to hang out with. Or at least they pretend convincingly. But really, I love Crafterhours, respect Susan and Adrianna so much, and I’m honored to be a part of their Skirt Week this year.

Maxi skirts and dresses. They are comfortable and flattering, and so easy to wear. The maxi is a total staple in my wardrobe these days. Today I’m going to show you a really quick and easy variation you can either add to an existing skirt or throw in as a fun detail while making a new skirt.

All you need is a yard of 1/4” elastic and a few minutes of time to make your basic maxi skirt a little bit more unique and fun

And to prove how easy it is, I did the bulk of mine with a small child tied to my body.

It’s like my baby is my shirt.

So.

First you need the skirt. For my skirt I started with my Pregnant Panels Skirt. Only I’m no longer pregnant (see baby shirt above), so I used fewer panels and made it extra long (my panels were 45” long for this skirt).

After nearly completing the skirt, all but the hems, I cut two strips of 1/4” knit elastic 11 inches long

Starting about an inch from the unfinished hem (if working with a finished hem, start directly above the hem), pin the elastic in place at the side seam.

Stretching the elastic as you sew, use a stretch-stitch to sew the elastic in place along the side seam. I find it easiest to firmly hold the back of the fabric/elastic with one hand, while pulling the unsewn elastic with the other hand in front of the foot/needle as I sew things in place. Use your side seam as a guide, staying as close to the actual seam as you can with your stitches.

Repeat for other side seam.
And you’ll have this on the inside

And this fancy fun on the outside

Ruching, add it to a skirt in your life today!

my Mother's Day Easter skirt

2012-05-17T07:30:00.000-06:00

My baby has a slight obsession with nibbling on my fingers. It’s both adorable and unsanitary; two words summing up my experience with motherhood thus far.Anyway.
I finally finished my Easter skirt, just in time to wear on Mother’s Day. It’s a light lavender and white striped seersucker, so very summery and easy to wear. I used vintage Simplicity 9807 , View 3 .

source

Obviously I changed things a bit, such as omitting the entire top of the dress and coming away with just a skirt. Tricky. I put an invisible zipper in the back, skipped the buttons in the front, and stole the sash-tie-belt from views 1 & 2. And that’s pretty much it. Happy Mother’s Day to me!

And speaking of skirts, those crazy kids over at Crafterhours are hosting their annual Skirt Week. Prizes! Tutorials! Inspiration! Good Times! And rumor is they’re even going to let me judge. So go check it out and get sewing some skirts

good women

2012-05-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

Three years ago my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. After chemo and radiation, she has been cancer-free for two years. Last year, however, her older sister passed away due to complications aggravated by breast and pancreatic cancers. Every year since her diagnosis my mom has walked the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure with her children and grandchildren.

This year, I decided that I wanted to make something special for the granddaughters to wear. Using past Race for the Cure tee shirts and scraps of fabric, I made three little scrappy dresses, inspired by Little Blue Boo’s style.

It was a very last-minute project, but they turned out fun and the girls loved them (see Ivy reaching for a little high-5 action?)

But the boys were jealous.

Next year I need to make something for them, too.

My mom, her daughters and granddaughters
We walked in celebration of Lorraine and in memory of Patricia.

root for the home team!

2012-05-10T07:30:00.000-06:00

We are in the middle of Little League and Tee Ball Season around here.

With two boys playing up to five games a week, it’s all baseball all the time. My husband is in heaven. I’m having fun with it, too. So it seemed a good time to repost a fun little project I originally shared a couple of months back on Whatever Dee Dee Wants as part of her Spring Fling series. These shirts are getting tons of use from all four of the boys in my house. It’s so fun to have even my husband wearing one of my projects! If you’re looking to do something more handmade for Father’s Day, these screen printing ideas may be the answer for you!

At my house, spring is the mark of an all important event: Baseball Season. My husband lives and breathes Chicago Cubs, and is doing everything in his power to raise our kids to be loyal baseball fans. Today I’m going to share a fun spring project for the boys (and girls) to get them ready for Opening Day:

By using a homemade screen print technique, you get a reusable template so you can make matching gear for the whole team. Using bleach instead of paint or dyes gives a simple but graphic effect that looks cool and professional.

There are quite a few tutorials on the web for homemade screen printing and bleach-graphics, so I’ll just go over the basics and add some of my favorite tricks and tips.

For the screen print, all you need is some sheer fabric (cheap-O curtain fabric from JoAnn), NON-water soluble craft decoupage, an embroidery hoop, and a bold image.

Place your fabric in the embroidery hoop, trace your image onto the fabric, and then completely paint in the negative space with the craft decoupage. Let dry and you have an awesome, completely reusable screen print template.

Now you’re ready to transfer that image onto anything and everything!

I wanted a subtle, worn, kind of retro-look to my shirts. To get a watermark effect, look for shirts that are “heathered”. They’re super popular this season, so easy to find. I bought all of mine at Old Navy.

I use Fun Foam sheets under my projects when screen printing. The foam is flexible, reusable, and doesn’t get soggy or let anything get through.
I always use a bleach pen. You can find them in the laundry section at the store. The bleach in the pens is suspended in gel, so unlike straight bleach from the jug, it stays in place and doesn’t run as much, or evaporate as quickly.

Place your template in the desired location and use the “scrubbing” side of the pen to really press the bleach through the screen.
I always have my sink full and ready with warm water and about a cup of vinegar. The vinegar neutralizes the bleach, stopping the reaction. So after you’ve bleached the image, remove the screen and let the bleach sit for a couple of minutes. It really doesn’t need long at all. Three minutes seems to be the magic number for me. Then just submerge your project in the water/vinegar and watch your graphic appear.

Now just wash as normal and you’re ready to outfit the dugout!

If you use a non-heathered shirt, your end result will be much more bold, as full-dyed fabrics bleach really well.

But don’t stop at shirts! If you’re a true fan, you need to really declare your loyalty! Plus, the templates are reusable, so put them to work!

I picked up a drop cloth for about $7 at the hardware store.

and my three-year old and I spent a morning screen printing.

I let him choose the colors out of our stash of paints.

And just held the stencil in place while he did the rest.

And now we have somewhere to relax and cheer on his older brothers during their games this spring. Or just nap in the sun.

Baseball screen printing, it’s a homerun!

Come on, you had to see that one coming, right?!

later, gator

2012-05-02T07:30:00.000-06:00

My six year old was assigned to do an Animal Report for his kindergarten class. In addition to the report, he needed to make a model or drawing of the animal. He chose alligators and decided that he needed a stuffed alligator as his model. I tried to sway him towards a clay sculpture, but this boy is not easily swayed.

We found some fun outdoor fabric in my stash that he decided looked just like alligator skin and we got to work. He traced out a basic body shape on the green fabric and I cut it out. Then he showed me where the “spikes”, or ridges of the alligator should go. I made tucks in the fabric along those lines. The underside was made using some brown fabric that we traced the be-tucked top piece out on, so that it matched. Then I made some oversized feet with jumbo ricrac for the claws.

Seth was super skeptical of the ricrac for the claws at first. So after making the first two, I handed them over for inspection

They passed!

Seth sat on my lap while we sewed it together, helping me to direct the fabric and critiquing my technique. White ricrac served as the teeth and he picked out blue and red buttons for the eyes. The alligator needed one blue and one red because “sometimes alligators just lay there and sometimes they attack and are scary”. Makes sense to me!

He says his favorite part was stuffing it. We ran out of fiberfill and ended up using various fabric scraps I’d ~~horded~~ conveniently saved. Due to the scraps, Seth ended up with a very heavy alligator for his project, which he decided made it even more authentic. He also couldn’t stop giggling when I showed him that since it was made of outdoor fabric, water beads on its “skin” just like a real alligator.

Seth was so proud of it, but had a hard time leaving it at school for a week on display with the rest of the reports. It took a while for his teacher and myself to convince him he really would get it back at the end.

It was so fun making the alligator with Seth, and all the models made for an impressive display outside the classroom.

So now this kid is an alligator expert

And possibly a future taxidermist.

For any interested parties, here is Seth giving his oral report. His teacher is asking him questions that he answers using his written report.

I love his description of the ricrac teeth, “this cool…white…stuff”

Cloth is Boss!

2012-04-30T10:26:00.001-06:00

Ivy and I participated in The Great Cloth Diaper Change a week ago. It was fun to see so many local cloth diaperers all in one place. And hopefully we helped to break the world record for most cloth diapers changed at one time worldwide.

I didn’t bring a “real” camera, so all I have are a few cell phone pics. Ivy before, during and after the change:

Her adorable knit wool longies (pants) were made by my amazing sister-in-law. We got so many compliments on them! Thank you, Robin!

The rules, as per Guinness, were that the diapers had to be commercially available. So we went with GroVia diapers. They are my current favorite diapers. We use the All In Ones and the fit is amazing. Really. If you are looking for a trim, easy to use cloth diaper, I totally recommend GroVia! AIOs (all in ones) have always given us leak and wicking issues, but these have been awesome. I also like their covers over our fitteds. No sponsorship or anything, I just am really impressed with these diapers. But hey, GroVia, if you’re reading, I’m open to negotiations on the subject! Anyway, yeah, I like them a lot so that’s what we went with for The Change.

The shirt, I designed.

At the last minute, I decided Ivy needed a shirt for the occasion . So I put together this little ditty

*If you say it with a lisp, it’s even better*

And thought I’d share it with you all. If you click HERE or on the picture above, it will take you to the image for you to download (free). Use as you want, just please don’t sell it or pass it off as your own design.

I slapped it on a little white tee we had hanging around. I think it would be adorable on a romper made using THIS free pattern I found on All Free Sewing (love that sight!).

I normally like to use homemade silk screening for this sort of thing. But with my limited time, freezer paper and a stippling brush worked just fine.

Anyway, just thought I’d share the diaper love today.

So, have you tried cloth yet?

Well, you totally should. Cloth is Boss!

just a little somethin’ I threw together

2012-04-24T10:06:00.001-06:00

I’ve had the fabric for this top for over a year. I’ve had the idea of exactly how I wanted to make it for over a month. I didn’t get the motivation to actually do anything about it until 11:00 Friday night. But once I decided it was time, there was no way around it. The top must be made!

Because all the kids were in bed and I wanted them to stay that way, I set up my work station at the furthest corner of the house from the bedrooms.

My foot pedal became a knee pedal and I did the entire top on my serger, sitting criss-cross-applesauce on my family room floor.And it was super easy and not uncomfortable at all. Granted, this was quite possibly the quickest, most simple garment I’ve ever thrown together for myself. But still, floor sewing? Not as bad as it sounds.

So this was my fabric

It’s some sort of super stretchy lacy stuff. I got it at Fabric.com and it was cheap. I know, a regular font of useful information. But I did take pictures with measurements. With both of my last tops I had people ask how much fabric I started with and I had no idea. So. This fabric? About 45 inches by 26 inches. Sorry that’s all I know about it.

I took the fabric and cut it in halfMeasured about ten inches down for the sleeve openings, marked
And then measured six inches from either end at the top, marked, for the shoulder width and, by default, the neck opening.I folded the two pieces of fabric in half, after matching up the lacey stripes, and used a French curve to trace out a body shapeCut, unfolded, and ended up with something that looked like this

It reminds me of a snow angel.

I serged the side and the shoulders. And that’s it. No finished hems at all. Four seams on the serger. Lickity split.

Speaking of which, this baby is super fond of licking my shoulders. And getting her tiny fingers caught in the lacey holes. It’s just a super fun top for the both of us.

Real Diaper Week

2012-04-18T11:54:00.001-06:00

What!? You haven’t heard?!

It’s Real Diaper Week!

We’ve been using cloth diapers since our first was 18 months old, so going on eight years now. I love cloth! In celebration of Real Diaper Week, I had planned on doing a really awesome cloth diaper post. But then I didn’t. Yeah. But! You can read my previous posts regarding cloth diapering by clicking the links below

Cloth Diapering 101

Fitted diaper tutorial
All cloth diaper posts

Wet Bag Tutorial with guest A Lemon Squeezy Home

Appliqueing prefolds

And on Saturday you can find Ivy and myself at the Great Cloth Diaper Change!

I’m super excited! Like, maybe more than I should be. I’m trying to convince my pregnant sister to come with me, too. She’s decided to try out cloth with her new babe due this summer and I’m hoping this will fully convert her to the fold. There will be tons of vendors and freebies. It’s a great opportunity to meet other cloth-diaperers in your area and get hands-on information about cloth. And then of course, there is the Change itself, where we’ll try to beat the world record for most babies changed into cloth diapers at one time. The catch is they have to be mass-produced diapers, so no homemade cloth (boo!). No idea why, but I’m sure the good people at Guinness have super valid reasons. I think it’s lame. But I do have name brand diapers we love, so we’ll play fair and follow the rules. There are locations participating WORLDWIDE, so check it out and participate!

And if you are at the SLC Change, come say hi and we’ll compare stashes or something super awesome like that!

bright stripes top

2012-04-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

I bought a ton of this fabric for a song off Fabric.com last year. It’s a thin cotton jersey knit with super fun graduating stripes. Love. One day soon I hope to have a maxi dress out of it. But for now, I took two squares of it, serged the sides partway, serged the top with a hole for my big ol’ head, used a French curve ruler to give it some shape before serging the sides again, then just serged the hemline and finished the arm and head holes with a stretch stitch.

Wham bam!
It took all of 30 minutes, and these days, that’s about all the time I have for sewing projects.

Wish I had spent a bit more time fixing my necklace and pulling the shirt down to avoid that obnoxious fold in the pictures, though.

Christie at A Lemon Squeezy Home has an awesome tutorial for a bit more finished top with more fun details.

Procrastinated Easter

2012-04-12T10:59:00.001-06:00

I went back and forth on making Easter outfits this year. It took me so long to decide, that I ended up with less than two hours to sew anything. My husband’s tie and my skirt didn’t get any further along than the cutting-out stage. But the kids were well dressed for the holiday.

My two older boys wanted bow ties, like last year. Jonas chose a long tie. Both versions were made using vintage Simplicity 8785, just graded down to fit my smaller men. Ivy’s dress is based off a doll pattern I picked up at the thrift store. I didn’t realize it was for dolls until I got it home. But it was easy to size up, with only the bloomers giving me any trouble. I had plans to shirr the front, then add a button placket down the back with just two buttons at the top to make a pinafore-like look. Then I looked at the clock and the button placket idea was scrapped and I just sewed up the back seam. I had already hemmed the bottom and only shirred partway, so the back looks pretty funky. But it was passable for the day and I can easily cut the seam open and fix it.

You know, when I get around to it.

multitasking

2012-04-03T09:16:00.001-06:00

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Christie took these pictures while I was working on Ivy’s blessing gown in February.

They remind me of some from 2008 when my third son was six months old.

Busy hands and an occupied lap. Life is so good.

a quick fix

2012-03-30T10:11:00.001-06:00

Spring in Utah translates to sun-snow-sun-snow forecasts, making layers are a must. Ivy has quite a few little dresses she’s growing into, but most of them are of the warm-weather variety. We have lots of long-sleeved onsies, but not really any leggings to complete the outfits. And that’s just sadWhat we do have are a few pairs of these little knit pants
But I didn’t like the look of them under the dress. So I snipped off the cuffed leg bottoms

Grabbed some pretty trim

Sewed the trim to the new cuff, stretching as I went

Top stitched

And now Ivy has some cute layering pants.

So exciting!

Spring Flinging with Boys

2012-03-27T07:43:00.001-06:00

I’m over at Whatever Dee Dee Wants today playing along with her

Sharing some baseball-inspired screen printing.
So run on over

To see what all the fuss is about!

READ HERE!

a paisley top

2012-03-23T23:16:00.001-06:00

I’ve had this fabric for a couple of years. I bought it at JoAnn on clearance with intentions of making it into a skirt one day. That never happened. So instead, the other day I folded it in half and threw it on my new-old dress form that is too big and smells kinda funny and started pinning and playing around

I cut off the selvage edges, took in the sides, made a slouchy neckline, easy dolman-style sleeves, hemmed it up and made an amazing hair bow
And also a fun little top

Good stuff.

Mischief

2012-03-17T10:35:00.001-06:00

Yesterday the boys decided to make Leprechaun houses instead of traps.

They wanted the Leprechauns to feel welcome. They even had a swimming pool and a glass of root beer ready for the tiny guys.

When the kids woke up this morning, in the words of my nine year old, they “sought out the mischief”.
As usual, the toilet water was green. And there were some thoughts on the bathroom mirror.

The kids’ pictures were decorated.

And a note was left thanking them for the houses and asking for their help in finding a lost hat.

It took a long time, but eventually it was found

My favorite, though, was the pedicures the boys received while they slept. This little trick blew their collective mind

Of course the Leprechauns left a thank you gift for each boy.

My sister in law had provided us with green eggs from her chickens that we saved for breakfast this morning. We added some food coloring, and had a very green and orange meal.

I’ll leave you with a special holiday message from my six year old:

Have a great Sex Patrick’s Day!

Messy Ribbon Reverse Applique…TEES!

2012-03-14T16:48:00.001-06:00

A couple of years ago I shared an idea to use scraps of trims and whatnot to do a Messy Ribbon Reverse Applique for my spring holiday decorating.

And then a few days ago I used the technique to decorate my baby for spring

She liked it so much, it seemed I should share it. So let’s make a Messy Ribbon Reverse Applique Tee…Any image with a large open space will work well: shamrocks, eggs, sheep, flowers, rainbows. Really, anything.
Trace your image onto your tee in the desired location (this is great if you have a stain you need to cover up…)Cut the image out of the teeCut square of interfacing so that the cut-out will easily fit within itLay strips of trimmings: ric-rac, ribbons, selvage edges, etc on the interfacing. Iron to secure. I like to layer my trimmings, so after ironing down the first layer, I’ll add another layer that I just have to hold in place and adjust during the next step.On your sewing machine, sew diagonal, parallel lines across the be-trimmed interfacing. Place your trimming square inside the shirt, and figure out the best placement. Pin in place. I didn’t, but I’m a rebel, Dotty. Also lazy. Sew along the raw edge of the image, securing the trimming square. When sewing with knits, you want to use a stretch/jersey needle. A walking foot is also super helpful, if you have it.Outline your image in embroidery flossAdd a word or any other extra sumthun-sumthuns for detailingAnd lucky, you! You’re done!
To see the original Messy Ribbon Reverse Applique tutorial, click the button below:

blessed

2012-03-06T11:11:00.001-07:00

Ivy was blessed this past Sunday. It was a beautiful day full of family and friends. Even the weather cooperated and gave us probably the nicest day of the year so far. At one point we had nearly 60 people at our little house, so being able to have all the kids outside playing made it seem much less crowded. Ivy was perfect for the blessing, awake but quiet through the entire thing. I think it helps she loves her father’s voice, and that she is the sweetest baby ever. There was a time earlier in my life that I wasn’t sure I wanted a girl. I see myself so much as a “boy mom”. But I am so smitten with this little daughter of mine. There’s just something about her and we’re all in love.

The blessing gown was made using Simplicity 2457, view B. I ended up scrapping the booties. My sister had given us a pair of tiny white shoes that we used instead. I was so totally over sewing by the time it came to make any, it seemed silly to not use the ones sitting in a box in her closet. You can’t see them anyway. I may use the pattern to make some non-white variation down the road, though. The rest of the pattern came together really nicely, other than that infamous hole. I stayed right on pattern with the whole thing, and I love how it turned out. The tucks, pleating and other details were exactly what I wanted.

I’m super happy with the linen blend I used. The texture and drape are perfect for the gown. The bonnet seemed a bit much after it was all completed. It’s very pretty, but that’s a lot of look for one tiny 11lb baby! I wish I would have made a headband or something. She does wear it well, though.

I wanted to thank you all for being so supportive and encouraging. Your comments and emails helped me to see the hole and patch in a new light, and pull things back into perspective. I almost like the patch now. Almost. So thank you. Thank you for reading, for commenting, for keeping me grounded and building me up at the same time.

I am so blessed.

and then this happened

2012-03-01T07:35:00.001-07:00

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So there I was, attaching the collar to the blessing gown’s bodice. The bodice had already been sewn to the skirt, button plackets in place. I just needed to finish the collar and then set the sleeves. I put the collar in, trimmed the seam allowance, snipped curves, and then realized I’d somehow caught part of the bodice front in the seam allowance of the collar.

Quick intake of breath. I unpicked the seam

Tears. Lots of them. I felt sick to my stomach. I cried and cried and then just went to bed, too depressed to even try to think of my next steps.

In the morning, I decided to just try to patch the thing. I had no time and certainly no energy to make a new dress. The hole was pretty much completely under the collar. So I had high hopes of it being completely hidden once things were all said and done.

So I patchedAnd the collar hides

Still heartbroken, but it is what it is. And what it is

is finished!

Weekend progress

2012-02-27T10:41:00.001-07:00

Things are going well with the blessing gown. I did a quick fitting of the bodice on Ivy (the weird ribbon loop is for the future sash).

We both seem pretty happy about the fit, so that’s good.

I got the slip done on Friday. So now I just need to finish the bodice, attach it to the completed skirt and we’ll be set! YAY!

Oh, and I guess make the bonnet and shoes, too.

Now tell me how adorable my baby is, since we both know that’s why I really made this post!

slow and steady. okay, maybe just slow

2012-02-24T07:38:00.001-07:00

In my church, babies (and sometimes older children) are given a name and a blessing before the congregation. So I’ve been working on a blessing gown for Ivy. Blessing gowns are just christening gowns, just to clarify the vernacular. Anyway, I’m making one. Slowly.

My normal way to work on a project is to throw it together while ignoring everything and everyone else in my life until it’s completed. Even if I haven’t procrastinated (rare), I still much prefer to see my sewing through to completion all at once. This is why I don’t knit, well, that and the complete lack of talent for it. But having a newborn messes with things, as does a three year old in need of a Jedi sparring partner for his light saber practicing. And so I’ve been working on the gown on a schedule. And I think I kind of like it.

The pattern I’m working with is Simplicty 2457, view B.

It took me way too long to decide on a fabric for the dress. I wanted something heirloomy and classic, but also locally available. The decision seriously kept me up at night. I finally went with a linen blend. Tell me it was a good choice. Even if it’s not. Please.

Earlier in the week I cut out the tissue pattern pieces. Then I carefully folded them back up and put the envelope aside to make dinner. It felt weird, but right.

Yesterday I cut out the fabric, organized the pieces by specific project (gown, slip, bonnet, shoes), and again, folded them up nicely and put them away for the rest of the day.

Today I hope to sew the slip and put in the tucks and pleats for the gown. Even if things are going well, and the baby sleeping, I’m making myself put it up and walk away. Painfully slow, but I’m hoping this way I’ll get better sewing results and my house will stay running relatively smoothly instead of falling to complete chaos while I pound out a project all in one or two days.

Wish me luck.

Nesting with Delia

2012-02-15T07:20:00.001-07:00

Good news! I haven’t completely forgotten how to sew! In fact, today I’m over at Delia Creates sharing a fun little project for her Nesting series. Delia is preparing for the upcoming arrival of her new little one and she’s sharing the nesting love. She’s had some incredible (like, really!) projects going on the past couple of weeks. So if you have a baby in your life to sew for, or if you just like to look at pictures of tiny, adorable clothing and accessories, you really need to skip on over to Delia Creates right now!

where’ve I been all your life?

2012-02-09T15:10:00.001-07:00

Holy crumb! time is flying by. I keep meaning to get something together to post, but then the sun sets on another day and it just doesn’t happen. So what’s occupying my time, since I’ve obviously not been sewing?

Mostly thisThough sometimes she lets me get away with thisI’m not complaining. But cradling a seven-week-old doesn’t really make for easy sewing or blogging. Thanks to Christie volunteering to hold a certain someone all afternoon for me, I did get the machine out yesterday and crossed a couple of projects off my list. I was surprised how much I missed sewing, once I got started on something again. So as long as I can keep luring people to my home with the promise of cuddling a sweet baby, maybe I’ll actually have a completed project to share again someday.

Anyone want to sign up for tomorrow?

Guesting and Mending

2012-01-26T08:31:00.001-07:00

Hey all! I’m over at Me Sew Crazy participating in Jessica’s New Year’s ReSEWlutions series.

She’s been having amazing guests all month, sharing their sewing resolutions. Come on over and read the fascinating details of my long-ignored mending pile!

Adjustable Buckled Waistband

2012-01-18T09:18:00.001-07:00

Here’s a fun little a tutorial I shared at Train To Crazy last summer. It’s one of my favorite techniques to use with my boys’ pants and it seemed time to share it over here. Enjoy!
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When Andrea told me about Dress Your (School) Boy, I knew I wanted in. I love to sew for my boys. I have three sons, and have never once felt like I had a lack of things to make for them. They are constantly inspiring me and suggesting new ideas to me. One thing I love about sewing for boys is the challenge of coming up with details that aren’t frilly, but still add interest and uniqueness to a project. I think the trick with details and boys’, and men’s clothing is that form has to meet function. No matter how superfluous the function is, if it can be justified utilitarianly, you can slap it on there. Just look at cargo pants! My boys are skinny. No, *really* skinny. Like don’t even register on the charts, nurses-checking-to-make-sure-their-scales-still-work skinny. Skinny. Adjustable waistbands aren’t just a convenience, they’re a necessity around here. But plain elastic waistbands are boring, full-on fastening flies are a chore to sew in, and belts are not so easy for busy boys to manipulate. My solution:

I’m going to show you how to take pretty much any basic pattern for simple pants and/or shorts and give them some masculine, functional flair. You can even retro-fit existing pants with this update. As I said, you can add this to any pants or short pattern you want instead of a drawstring or elastic waistband. You could even retro-fit a pair, if you unpick the waistband seems first. So all you need to do the Adjustable Buckled Waistband is - a pair of bottoms with an unfinished waist - one-inch webbing (found in the notions of any fabric store, usually by elastic) - one-inch braided elastic - a center release buckle (found in notions of any fabric store)

Begin by finishing the edge of the waistband. Here I did a serged edge, then a 1/4 inch hem. If you’re retro-fitting, the edges might already be finished for you.

With the bottoms wrong-side-out, pin the waistband over about 1.5-2 inches all the way around.
Flip the bottoms right-side-out. Place the buckle in the center front and use as a guide to mark two parallel lines at either end of the buckle. Use the webbing to mark the top and bottom of those lines you just made.
So now you have two “I”-like markings at either side of the front center seam. Unpin the waistband and pull the front center area out and away.
Using those “I” markings as guides, sew in two buttonholes at either point. Fold the waistband back over, repin, and sew all the way around. Get your webbing. Measure the bottom-wearer’s waist all the way around, then add about five to six inches. Cut the webbing to those measurements. Then cut that length of webbing in half.Cut about four to five inches of braided elastic. Sew the webbing to the elastic, forming a fun little elastic bridge between the two webbing pieces. I like to do a crazy-thick zig-zag stitch at every raw edge. Thread the one open end of the webbing through the female side of the buckle. Fold over, fold raw edge under, and do a sweet little box-stitch design to finish that side. Thread the other end of the webbing through one buttonhole… And come out the other. Use a safety pin to aid in drawing through the waistband. Now thread that open end of the webbing through the male side of the buckle. Fold raw edge under twice, to hide, and do another box-stitch design on that side. Buckle and… GO! Thanks to the adjustable webbing, pants stay on (and can fit the next kid down the line, if needed, too!). The extra bit of elastic helps small hands to take on and off by themselves. And the exposed buckle adds just a little bit more awesomeness to a basic pair of shorts keeping your kid looking good.Form and function, it’s a beautiful thing. Adjustable Buckle Waistbands get the thumbs-up from the resident males around here. Now you go try them out!

To Do

2012-01-06T10:39:00.001-07:00

I’m a list maker. Lists motivate me. Or really, getting to check off things on my list motivates me. I even will write down things I’ve completed after the fact, just so I can have more check marks on my lists. It makes me feel productive and in control.    If I’ve had an especially productive day, yielding a list with a significant number of checks, I’ll totally leave it out, all nonchalantly, so my husband can see it when he gets home and marvel at the amazing woman he gets to call Wife.

This past week marked not only my baby’s second week of life, but the two older boys went back to school and the husband went back to work. I began my day on Tuesday with a list of basic household chores to get done. Tuesday I made this list. Today is Friday and I’m just now checking off the last of that “daily” To Do. Apparently Ivy doesn’t really put much importance on lists. Or at least not on the fun of checking off. And the girl is seriously persuasive in her apathy.

One thing I have been able to get done all week is some mild daily exercising. Don’t be too impressed, we’re talking walk-around-the-block type of stuff. But I’ve been feeling great. So this morning I decided to try out the basic level on the Kinect Zumba I received for Christmas. Before we go further, you should know, I have no rhythm. Like, at all. I took guitar in high school. When I went to pass off my first song (Proud Mary), my instructor grabbed my fret board, looked me in the eye and in a forced-calm voice asked, “Do you even know what rhythm is?!”   But once that disc was in the console this morning, I’ll be damned it I wasn’t going to see it through to the end of the beginners’ work out. I need that check mark!

The routine started its warm up and Ivy started her crying. After a minute of competing priorities, I picked up my baby and moved to the beat (and my own rhythm) holding her at the same time. I received game-given compliments on my in-time movements! Ivy calmed down. Back into her bouncy seat. Back to Zumba. Compliments stop and the onscreen instructor turns a discouraging red color. Ivy cries again, this time more demanding. I start to nurse her, taking a break from the workout. But if I don’t finish, I can’t check it off. So I decide to Zumba with baby attached.   How’s that for a visual. And guess what?! The game started complimenting me again! And so it went until baby was asleep and I could lay her back down and get back to Zumbaing with full rhythmless relish.

Then the three year old joined in.

Thankfully, his sporadic “dancing” didn’t garner any more compliments from the TV than mine. I don’t think my ego could have handled that. But we got through it. One check mark on the list for today at least.

All this is to say, sewing may not be discussed as much here in the immediate foreseeable future . But I do have a few projects on my list and a pen itching to make another check mark, so it will happen. I just have to get a better daily rhythm figured out first.

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