Sew a Straight Line

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.

looking back at 2011

2011-12-31T15:48:00.001-07:00

Since this is all I’ve really done for the past almost-two weeks

(and loved every minute of it!), I thought it might be ~~ego-boosting~~ fun to end the year with a review of times I actually showered, dressed, and worked on being productive. So here is a little list of most of the projects I’ve completed over the past year. There were a few more things that I never got around to posting, but I’ll save those for next year. If things continue as they have been, I’m going to need some padding in 2012 to make it look like I did more than snuggled sweet babies all day.

(click on individual pictures to be taken to individual posts)

tutorials, original patterns and shared ideas

completed projects and other fun stuff

Little Man Ties and Cal Patch Review

Mod Dress and Shirt Placket PJs

Easter 2011: skirt for me and ties for the men

SCIENCE CAMP!
A couple of tops that doubled as maternity wear this past year

Halloween costumes for the Husband and me

And Ninjago for the boys
A completed nursery

Nine pairs of matching Christmas pajamas for some crazy kids

And of course, her

It’s been a pretty good year!

Happy New Year!

the night before Christmas…

2011-12-24T22:52:00.001-07:00

I’ll be honest.
The thought of Christmas seemed a little anti-climatic this year. I spent so much time and energy preparing for and looking forward to the new baby, that I let most of our family holiday traditions slip. My poor kids. The past few days they’ve been declaring, “We still haven’t…” insert individual favorite seasonal activity here.

So I’m really glad that my mom didn’t let me out of doing the Christmas PJs this year (and I tried). We did nightgowns for the two older girls (modified Simplicity 2831) and my oldest sister knit them leg warmers to match, two-piece PJs for the boys (Simplicity 5271) with some homemade silk screening, and one of my favorite designs for the baby: a kimono-style bunting from this Japanese blog.

Though I do regret that we didn’t get in more of our usual traditions, at least we were on track for Christmas Eve. Friends and family, white chili and fried bread, gift exchange, and matching homemade pajamas for the grandkids.

Sure we may not have gotten in all the fun we usually try to get in leading up to Christmas, but he family is gathered, the stockings are hung, the pajamas are matching, and I think we’re ready for this Night Before after all.

Merry Christmas!

home for the holidays

2011-12-21T22:22:00.001-07:00

Ivy Elaine

19 December
7 lbs 7 oz
19.5 inches

and now, we wait

2011-12-14T08:38:00.001-07:00

I have projects that could easily take me through the end of the year. Most are even partially finished, or at least started. But I’m having a hard time finding the motivation as the one I really want completed isn’t really showing signs of cooperation. Maybe I should pull out the sewing machine after all and work in a medium that doesn’t come with its own personality and opinions on potential birthdays.

In Flight Mobile tutorial and PDF

2011-12-08T10:14:00.001-07:00

After making the baby quilt, there were 18 charm squares left from the three packs used on the quilt top. Just enough to make a fun little mobile for above the crib. I went through a few sketches of how I wanted the mobile to look. In the end, I came up with a topsy-turvy free-flight kind of thing. I wanted the rings to resemble tree limbs, but I’m not so sure the “twigs” reflect that. Oh, well. I still really like the finished project.And if you do, too, here is how I did it. Click on the button bellow to download the bird template PDF.

Materials:
-18 5*5 inch fabric squares in coordinating patterns and colors
-Batting
-Metal rings in descending sizes from 14 inch or so diameter down to four. Give or take. I threw away the tags. Sorry. You can find the rings at a craft store. They were by the mirrors at my local store.
-Two 1/4 inch round wooden dowels
-Duct tape
-Yarn
-Fishing line
-Glue Gun
-hook for hanging
-PDF bird template

Begin by coordinating your fabric squares. You’ll need two for each bird, so mix and match as you want.
Cut out template.On wrong side of each square, trace the bird body and the bird wing. You’re going to be using the contrasting fabric’s wing for the body, so you want the traced wing to lay opposite on the fabric than the body. See above picture.
Also, see above picture to note how I messed up the first time I traced the wing.

So you’ll have pieces like below for each bird
Take each wing and stitch 1/8-1/4 inch away from the raw edge all the way aroundTake contrasting wing and sew, using zig-zag stitch at the flat end, onto body of each bird body pieceWrong sides together, match each winged-body’s raw edgesBeing careful to keep wings out of the stitch lines as you go, sew around the body of the bird, leaving 1.5 to 2 inch gap at the bottomStuff with batting through open gap. Make sure to get the tail and beak.Stitch the bottom gap closedRepeat for all 18 squares, making nine finished birds.
I wanted my edges to fray, so I threw the birds in with my laundry. I had to iron things out afterwards.

Now let’s work on the twiggy ring things.

Break the wooden dowels at an angle. Making really sharp sticks. Perfect for any baby’s room!Using the duct tape, secure to the outside of rings at random spacing.Now take the yarnTie a knot to the ringAnd start wrappingI found that it was the least stabby to wrap the sharp sticks first. After they were wrapped, and no longer threatening the jab into my flesh, I was able to move around the metal ring much faster.At the ends of each “twig”, secure the yarn with some hot glue. This picture actually looks far more messy than things looked in real life. It was overcast, and I had to use my flash. I’m blaming that.After wrapping each ring completely, grab your hook and fishing line. Also, it’s MUCH easier to recruit an assistant for this part.Tie three strands of fishing line to the smallest ring. The strands need to be about three foot each for now.
Have your lovely assistant hold the hooked ring up for you while you tie the other rings to the strands. I went from largest to smallest ring. Don’t worry too much about keeping things even when tying. You’ll get a fun topsy-turvy look if you kind of just let the rings do their own thing and don’t get picky about equal distances and whatnot.
Clip the ends of the thread after the last ring is tied on.Now thread fishing line through the backs of each bird. I cut my fishing line strands about eight to ten inches longPull fishing line through the birds And, while your assistant holds the mobile up for you, tie to the rings.
I tied four birds to the top ring, three to the middle, and two to the bottom.

Hang and admire!

A little PDF for you

2011-12-07T09:10:00.001-07:00

In putting together the mirror display above the changing table in the baby’s room, I had a frame with no mirror. I had planned on buying a mirror blank for it, but after they were hung, I liked the look of one frame with no mirror. However, it did need something. My mom had my sisters and me memorize a little poem by Emily Dickinson when we were young. It’s entitled They May Not Need Me. I took the last verse from the two-verse poem and typed it out using Sego Print font in Word. Then I traced that onto muslin fabric, changed the look of the first A, and added some inspiration from the fabric I used in the room.

If you want the PDF for what I put together, you can download it HERE

I used the following embroidery floss colors:
purple-333 (top flower and swirl)
turquoise blue-3765 (outlining top flower and swirl)
yellow-743 (small swirl and bird wing)
light pink-151 (bird body)
raspberry pink-3831 (text)
brown-3371 (lower flower and swirl)

Nothing fancy, and super simple. But I love how it turned out and it’s another personal touch to the room.

Everything but the baby

2011-12-05T14:58:00.001-07:00

I finished up the last of my nursery projects this weekend. When I first sat down and started laying out my plan, I had a pretty ambitious to-do list. I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome it feels that I actually got through it all and that it looks so much like what I had envisioned months ago.

I keep finding myself just sitting admiring it all. My husband teases me, but I’ve caught him hanging out in here a few times, too. I think we’re getting excited.

Let’s start the tour. It’s a small room, so you wouldn’t think that there would be much to show. But as I said, I’m kind of in love with the whole thing, so, uh, yeah, be warned there are a lot of pictures…

I decided against painting the changing station. It’s super cheap MDF, though in really good condition for being six years old and through two babies so far. The helpful lady at the Home Depot assured me MDF doesn’t take kindly to paint, even with primer. And since it does match the crib, we left it as is. But I painted pretty much anything and everything else. The wall colors are Cornmeal and Cotton Whisper, both by Behr. the frames, shelves, and blanket basket are all Rust-oleum’s Lagoon. It took a few trips to a few thrift stores, but I found a some fun mirrors and a frame for $1 each. I had another mirror to go where that funky one in the lower right is. But I broke it. Like, completely. I don’t really like its replacement, so hopefully I can find a better substitute at some point.I’ll post more on this later this week, but I did a little stitchy-friend thing in the one frame. It’s a line from a little poem by Emily Dickenson my mom had my sisters and me memorize when we were kids.

On the shelf sits Sew Much Ado’s Ruby Lou Doll.

I’ve admired this adorable pattern for a while. When I was looking for a little somethin’ something to add to the shelves, I immediately knew I wanted a Ruby Lou. The pattern is clear, accurate and easy to follow. And you can’t beat Abby’s customer service. I used the scraps left over from the bedding. It really is so perfect!

Turning the next corner, is the crib. I used Simplicity pattern 3795 for the bumpers and skirt.

The valance I figured out on my own. So you probably shouldn’t look too closely at that one.

I showed you the quilt before. I still love it. A lot. Like I just go in and lay it out and admire it and stuff more than I probably should. The pattern is Cotton Way’s Abundantly Blessed table topper. I increased it in length and width to work as a crib quilt.

Love.

Have I said that?

All the material for the room is It’s a Hoot by MoMo for Moda. It took a long time and a lot of searching to gather together all the pieces and patterns I would need to do the nursery in this line; it was discontinued a year or so ago. After weeks of buying in pieces from all over the interwebs, I really wanted to make the most of the fabric I had. I only have very small scraps left over, and I’m pretty proud of that.

One of my scrap-using projects was the mobile for above the crib. Another project I’ll share more on later this week, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Not exactly how I had planned it to look, but fun and the basic idea I was going for all the same.

And the final little area. There are some little spray-painted bird hooks on the wall. One day I’ll find and decide on the perfect handle for the closet. Right now it’s still the navy blue airplane from when this room had an airplane theme. But from here, it kind of looks like a bird. So let’s pretend.

I left a lot of blank wall because I figure I’ll be adding photographs and other odds and ends as time goes on. I didn’t want to fill the whole space now and then end up overcrowded later.

I already showed you the chair.But I’ve since added some fun little pillows. I have a Boppy from my first baby. After three babies, mine still looks brand new…because I don’t like it. I know some people swear by them. I can’t figure out why. I much prefer a small pillow. Plus, these are super cute.

So that’s it. It’s done! All it needs now is an occupant.

12 days. In case you were wondering.

Race to the finish

2011-12-01T09:35:00.001-07:00

Sixteen.

This baby is due in sixteen days. Even if she comes late, she’s coming. And soon. Also? Christmas. If this baby is 16 days from due date, Christmas is only 24 days away. Crazy sauce.

But things are coming together and winding down in the project department around here. Christmas PJs for all my mom’s grandkids are nearly done. Mom’s coming over tomorrow so we can finish up the last two. We ran out of fabric and had to order more, or else we’d have finished before Thanksgiving. Apparently the kids have grown, or something. Last year we had enough left over out of nine yards of stripes to make hats and headbands. This year? We’re pushing 14 yards! But I love how they are turning out. And since my mom’s footing the bill, it’s even more fun!

My Christmas shopping is all but done. I just have to start wrapping. But that involves far more bending than I care to endure right now, so I’m procrastinating that chore.

Today will be my last day of work (I work part time from home) and then I get to start my maternity leave.

And if things go as planned, the nursery will be done….

TODAY!!
I have three more projects in their final stages and then DONE!

I’m hoping to do a whole reveal next week. Who knows, there may even be a tutorial or two thrown in for good times.

So exciting!

beauty and grace

2011-11-22T08:40:00.001-07:00

I fell down the stairs this weekend. Again. I fell down an entire flight of stairs at 28 weeks, bruising my hip something impressive. This time it was only a couple of stairs and I didn’t even hit my hip or anything. I kept it all in my foot.

So now not only do I waddle like a 8.5 month pregnant woman, I limp, too. And I’m terrified of stairs.

a chair in the corner

2011-11-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

The glider for the nursery is done!I debated for over a month whether or not to replace this old hand-me down all together. But when it came down to it, ugliness and disrepair and all, it was still completely functional.

And I really didn’t want to spend any more money on another glider or rocker, since we’d most likely only be using it for a couple of years anyway.

So I secured the arms (read: duct taped) (yes, really) (), sanded the whole thing down, and spray-painted it an amazing aqua. I love it. I want to paint everything in my house this color now!

I had originally wanted to do the slip covers for the cushions in the raspberry trees from the MoMo line I’m using. But rounding up enough of the discontinued fabric for both the bedding and the cushions proved nearly impossible. As it was, what trees I did find, I had to buy in pieces and from different people. I ended up just using some of the Moda solid I had picked up for the quilt applique. I had plenty of the solid, since I had been planning on using it for the crib skirt. I used a print on the skirt, and now I’m second-guessing that decision on account of the skirt looking just a little bit like clown clothing. Just a little. More on that another day. Anyway, I used the raspberry eggs/spots for some piping.Since the solid cream is so very, well, solidy and creamy, it needed something to break it up. I still wish I could have used the trees instead of the solid. But it turned out pretty good anyway, and with the quilt draped across the back, it looks totally homey and inviting.

So that corner of the nursery is pretty much done.

Now to tackle the rest.

today’s equation

2011-11-11T07:58:00.001-07:00

1 grandma

+ 8 grandkids+ another one

+ 9 yards of this

source

= my sewing plans for the day!

It’s Christmas Pajama Time again. What holiday projects do you have in the works?

Getting there

2011-11-08T11:08:00.001-07:00

Baby D-day is estimated in 39 days. Not that anyone around here is counting or anything. I still have a ton of work to do before she makes her appearance (female pronouns are so fun to use!). But progress is being made. And with each completed To-Do, I get more excited and motivated to get the rest of it done, too.

The room is painted and looks pretty darn good. It’s so bright and cheery and exactly what I wanted. But my favorite thing so far? The quilt! I finished it and I’m head over heals in love.

I used Cotton Way’s Abundantly Blessed table topper pattern, increasing in length and width. I highly recommend this pattern. I don’t quilt, and this came together easily and quickly, and, well, looks awesome.

I’ve also finished the bumper pads using Simplicity pattern 3795.

And here is my three-year-old showing one off. He was a bit jealous that his big brother got to hold the quilt in the above pictures. Excuse the bedhead and dire need of haircut. I swear sometimes I actually make them look presentable, but sewing and gestating has taken top priority over the general aesthetic upkeep and care of my non-embryonic children. But cute bumper, right?!I started out quilting/appliqueing the quilt on my regular machine, a Viking Lily 550. It’s supposed to be great for quilting, but I was less than impressed with the stitches it was spitting out. Granted, I don’t really know what I’m doing and rely a bit heavily on default settings, but still. Not pretty.So I switched over to Grandma’s ‘38 Singer and man! Why don’t I use this thing more often? Oh, yeah, because I only have three bobbins for it and weighs more than any of my children. But check out those uniform stitches!

As I was working on the Singer, I thought how much more special this quilt will be for my daughter, having been made on her great-grandmother’s machine. Like a multi-generational link in fabric and thread.

Plus, it just looks so right to have a quilt under the needle of the Singer. Maybe I’ll have to try another sometime. But first, back to my Baby To-Do list!

$5 couples costume-a slightly disturbing tutorial

2011-11-02T09:21:00.001-06:00

1. Become pregnant a few months prior.

2. Go to thrift store and pick up $1 Cabbage Patch Kid. Awesome child-given haircut optional

3. Cut off limbs just above seams. Have handy husband saw off face with serrated knife

4. Snip off pokey ends of tooth picks, paint white, use glue gun to secure into corners of doll’s mouth.

5. Use hot glue gun to adhere face and arms to maternity shirt. Apply additional amounts of glue and red paint for effect.

6. Pick up some Smacker’s “Dazzle Dust” for $3.27.

7. Apply Dazzle Dust to husband’s face, liberally. Like, until you know he’ll be dazzling for days after, no matter how much he showers.

And you’re done!

Does this make anyone else think, “I love you this much!”?

Tonight’s the night!

2011-10-31T10:42:00.001-06:00

Are you ready?

I started out my costume sewing with fabric and plans to make one small black ninja, a mummy, and some odds and ends to add to my oldest’s mad scientist costume he’d already put together. But when I finished the ninja, his brothers immediately started telling me how next year they were going to be ninjas from Ninjago and it would be the best Halloween ever. I already had the off-white knit for the mummy, and it was just a quick trip to the store for some red. So I offered to make them this year. They didn’t even have to think about it. By the next day, we had become a house of ninjas. Judging by the fact I have washed these costumes at least four times in the past week, I’d say the change of plans was a good one.

All the costumes are made out of the cheapest knit JoAnn carries. Using coupons and shopping the sales, each of these cost less than $5. So we splurged for some fun accessories, too. I just mocked up my own patterns for everything. The hood was the trickiest, as I wanted something that would easily go on and come off, but still look ninja-masky. Also, the older two didn’t want something that would cover most of their faces the whole time. So our solution was a wide-faced balaclava with snaps that allowed the long neck to be wrapped up and around when the actual mask was needed.

For the trim on the bottom of the legs, I just took strips of the non-fraying knit and criss-crossed across the open pant pieces, pinning in place before sewing to the open pieces. When the time came to make the legs, I just made sure to line up the opposite ends of the “wrappings” so that it looked like one continuous piece as the strips were sewn into the seams.

And so for Halloween 2011 I give you…

Kai

Zane

and Cole!

Happy Halloween!

Lessons in Modesty

2011-10-25T09:21:00.001-06:00

My husband’s family does their family reunion in October. This year my mother-in-law asked us all to come up with a family talent to share. After consulting the kids, and then dismissing all of their ideas, my husband and I both suggested “strip tease” at the same time. Kismet.

The boys, somehow, didn’t know what a strip tease was. We started to explain it was a dance and they cut us off with their “no way” and “ewww!”. Then we added, “A dance where you take your clothes off.” And they were suddenly all in. We’ve raised them well.

I took the boys’ dress shirts and applied stick-on Velcro tabs along the button plackets. We found cheap black dress pants at the thrift store, cut them along the outer leg seams and I sewed strips of Velcro to the open seams. A few months back I picked a bolt of super cute heart fabric from IKEA’s as-is. I whipped up three simple boxer shorts, you know, to keep things decent.

My husband started working with the boys on choreography and we began narrowing down our music choices.

When the time came to put on the show, the boys were giddy with excitement. Maybe a little too giddy. All the sweet moves they’d practiced were abandoned in the rush of performing.

But you get the general idea.

Add a little something extra

2011-10-14T07:30:00.000-06:00

Okay, so maybe it’s been lame, but I hope that this past week dedicated to costumes has been beneficial in some way.

For our final day, let’s talk about my favorite thing in costumes, accessorizing.

Most characters that kids are into have some sort of iconic…whatever that you can add to pretty much anything and still somehow get the general feel and look of the character. Like DJ Lance Rock hats

If you’re at all familiar with Yo Gabba Gabba, you immediately get the reference just from those awesome orange hats. If you aren’t familiar, well, kids in hats are just cute.

But even with less commercial alter-egos, accessories add so much more to the dress-up experience, and can actually simplify your costume prep!

Make your space explorer a Jet Pack, grab a pair of swimming goggles and a water gun, and you’re pretty much good to go.I love the braided hair and little buddy Jessica from Me Sew Crazy added to the already impressive Rapunzel dress she made her daughter. The dress already screamed princess, but with the added accessories, there is no doubt now which princess her daughter is. Plus, so much fun!

A few years ago I made my oldest a Native American costume using McCalls 5953 pattern. It turned out pretty sweet, if I do say so myself, but needed something more.

I whipped up a Native American-inspired quiver and the boy helped me make a simple bow and some arrows out of twine and sticks fallen from a tree near our house.

We also made a feathered headband.
Not only did the added weaponry add to the authenticity of the costume, but it makes for an easy dress-up for any time and any outfit, too

And *that’s* what I love about costumes. I am totally that parent that lets my kids wear costumes to the grocery store, the park, wherever pretty much. I think it’s adorable and a great way for kids to use their imaginations. The accessories in our costume bin get mixed and matched all the time, creating new super heroes and characters for whatever role-playing adventures my kids and their friends think up.

Andrea at The Train to Crazy has been doing an amazing theme the past few weeks dedicated to dress-ups. You have to check it out.

Costumes aren’t just for Halloween. Whip up a few simple ones, throw in an accessory or two, and you’ve got yourself a treasure of imagination-inspiring toys that get worn and loved all year long.

In the details

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A lot of making your costumes authentic, unique and special comes down to detail work. Don’t panic, I don’t necessarily mean sewing and technical details like that. I mean adding fun accessories (we’ll talk more about that tomorrow) and graphics. Super hero and sport uniform costumes lend themselves especially well to graphic-type details. And images are easy to find online. As long as you’re just using them for personal use, no copyrights are violated and you can let your child pick their favorite hero, teams, players, whatever.

I like to use I am Momma Hear Me Roar’s Freezer Paper Stencil technique. It’s amazing how quickly a generic outfit can transform into an official ensemble with just a few painted-on images here and there.

You can read more about the full football uniform I made for my youngest’s third birthday here:

If you’re outfitting a whole team of trick-or-treaters in similar costumes, go for a screen printing technique, since it’s reusable and freezer paper is not.
Just slapping on a graphic or two onto a store-bought tee makes your costume an even easier project. Or paint some cardboard or fun foam and add detail that way.
I love these boxer costumes from Family Fun’s site

I love the simple “champ” belts, the face paint, and just the simplicity of the whole thing, while still being pretty darned authentic looking. You know, for a kids’ costume. Maybe not the warmest trick or treating garb, but add a muscle shirt and your kid is good to go!

I tend to overcomplicate things…a lot. But costumes don’t have to be time consuming or technically advanced in construction. Look around your house, raid dad’s closet, check out your local thrift stores for your basic pieces. Then transform them with paint, appliqué, cardboard, fun foam, whatever!

Put some muscle in it!

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Sorry this is posting late. Someone is apparently either too old or too pregnant to be out late attending rock concerts. Someone is getting lamer every year, that’s for sure.

Okay, more costume ideas!

When your kid requests a super hero costume, you can do more than just whip up the standard cape and tights. Add some muscles and stand back!

You can even add them to an existing shirt, making your costume-prep that much easier

And don’t feel limited to just superheroes, either.
Werewolves need muscles, right?

And random pop-culture references

Who doesn’t want a little more tone?!

…let your babies grow up to be cowboys!

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Growing up, we had the Chipmunks version of the Waylon Jennings song on LP (actually *just* found out who really sang it when I googled). So I always think, “…chipmunks. Alvin!” whenever I hear the song, which is, you know, every couple of years. Fascinating, I know.

Okay, so this week I’m sharing ideas and tutorials for Halloween. Yesterday I showed you

So let’s say you make the Duster-style jacket and have cowboy-aspirations, why not add chaps, holster and a horse!?

Duster
+

Holster

Chaps and buckle

Hobby Horse

=
Cowboy AWESOMENESS!

Still need something extra to really complete the look? Check out these other fun cowboy-inspired costume tutorials

Made’s Frontier Vest

Naptime Crafters’ Cowboy Boots

(I couldn’t find a hat tutorial. Anyone know of one?)

Yeehaw!

Choose Your Own Adventure…jacket

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I thought it would be fun to do a week dedicated to Halloween costumes. I’ve made a few over the years. So over the next few days, I’ll be reposting and linking. To kick things off, I even have a new and, I think, super-awesome-sauce tutorial and PDF for you…

I recently took on a challenge to draft a pattern of a notched-collar jacket for a costume that a beginner-sewer could whip up with as little difficulty as possible. The original inspiration for the jacket:

source

Using costume-quality felt (so yes ,the cheap stuff), I was able to come up with a pattern that used only five total pieces and required only straight stitches with no facings. It’s not wardrobe quality, but for a quick and easy costume, I was happy with the results

But maybe you don’t need a duster or an overcoat? Use the same pattern and make just a few alterations to take it in pretty much any jackety direction…

A blazer

A bomber jacket

even Indiana JonesOr whatever else you’re in need of.

(sad, sad story: After uploading the “duster” pictures, I made it into a blazer. It had a chest pocket and buttons. I slicked the three-year-old’s hair back, dressed him all dapper with flowers in his lapel and got some adorable pictures of him. Then I sliced up the blazer, made the bomber, redressed the kid, and took some awesome greaser-style shots. But when it came time to upload, I discovered I never put the SD card back in the camera after uploading the duster! So no cute blazer pictures, and the greaser re-dos were done with a pretty ornery, totally-over-photo-shoots little boy. Moral: ALWAYS check to make sure the card is in the camera!)

The PDF is a 2T. It fits my three-year old well, but not enough to layer much underneath for warmth while trick-or-treating. But you can easily make it larger by increasing all around by 1/2 inch for every size increase (I did this with the Indy Jacket). Not the most technically-correct way of doing things, but good enough for a kid’s costume, right?

Materials:
1 yard of thick “no-right-side” fabric. I used felt, fleece would also probably work well
Pattern (8 pages total)

Cut out all pattern pieces

Matching all edges, line up the top weird-looking collar piece of the front Sew down the short straight edge.This will become the back center of the collarFlip the front pieces over, so that the back center seam of the collar is facing up.
Lay one one side of the back on top, matching the shoulder and sleeve edges.
Sew JUST that little straight shoulder of the front and the back together (the part my hand is holding up)Now take the back piece over and line up the other shoulder piece with the other shoulder of the front. Make sure that the seam is going to be on the same sides as the other side.Sew just that shoulder seamAnd now you should have something like this.Open up the jacket so that the arm curves are completely exposed and the shoulder seams are facing down.
Lay a sleeve piece with the center of the curve matching the center of the jacket curve. The sleeve should point up and away from the opening (if you had right sides, it would be right sides together).
I don’t have a picture, but pin, starting at the center point, the sleeve curve to the jacket curve (what would be right sides together, so the shoulder seams are on the opposite side of the sleeve)Sew just those curves to each other. And you’ll have thisRepeat for other sleeve, other arm curve.
Fold the jacket, with shoulder seams exposed, so that the side edges of front and back match and the side edges of the sleeve matchSew from sleeve top, down and around the armpit area, to the bottom of the jacketRepeat on other sideTurn jacket right-side out, so that the shoulder and side seams are all insideNow we need to finish that gapping hole in the back of the collarFold the collar down towards the inside of the jacket. The finished seam of the collar should face the inside of the jacket.
Sew the entire opening closed.

Turn the collar back out to the outside of the jacket, covering the seams of the collar with the fold.
Top stitch all along the edges of the collar and bottom hem

-Cut sleeve and lower hem to fit child.
-Add any buttons you want or other details you want.
-Because Velcro will stick to felt, if you used felt, to add a closure to the jacket, I would just add the loop-side of the Velcro to the lower side (in this picture, your left side of the jacket) and let the Velcro catch the top underside of the felt. True, the felt will wear faster this way. But either way, if you use Velcro, it’s going to get all caught up in the felt. And this way, you don’t have any exposed stitch lines that show on the closed jacket.
-Or you could pin it closed.
-Or do real button holes.
-Whatever.

To make a blazer, cut the length of the coat to the hips of the child. Rounded corners at the bottom of the front pieces adds a nice touch. No picture. See above sad story. Add buttons down the front and a patch pocket on the chest. You could also add elbow patches to the sleeves from contrasting material prior to sewing the sleeves in place.

For the bomber, trim the length to the waist and the sleeves to just above the wrist. Add approximately two inches of contrasting material to the hems. Then cut out fake fur to the shape of the collar and lapels and sew in place.

For Indy’s jacket, trim the lapels off completely and add patch-pockets with flaps to either front piece

One pattern, so many possibilities. Now all you have to do is get your kid to commit to a costume idea!