Itty Bitty Baby Dress

Remember that Rhapsodia Fat Quarter Bundle I won? Well, I found out that a certain sister-in-law loved the bright colors, and it just so happens that she had a sweet little baby girl last week. So, I cut into that beatiful, bright fabric and sewed up an Itty Bitty Baby Dress from Made by Rae.

I really like how the different, bright colors worked together--I even added some extra color by doing some color blocking on the front bodice.

 I didn't add the piping and I actually made a hem instead of using bias tape. The dress was bright and colorful enough without the added detailing of piping and bias tape.

This is such a fun, quick pattern for a newborn dress--perfect for baby gifts!

Rhapsodia

This came in the mail yesterday!

Eight lovely fat quarters of Rhapsodia fabric.

They were sent to me by A Joyful Soul Fabrics after I won a giveaway on the blog, Quilting, Losing, and Tea. 

They're quite pretty--now just to figure out what I am going to make out of these!!!

'Little Heartbreaker Pants'

So, I sewed up some pants for my oldest son this week--the 'Little Heartbreaker Pants' from the book, 'Sewing for Boys.' They look pretty neat but they're wide--even though they have the adjustable waist. I think next time, I'll have to sew up the size 2/3 and add the length for the 4/5 or, make them even smaller as my boys are pretty skinny!

I used a dark charcoal grey corduroy that, I believe, I got from the second hand store awhile back.

The contrast fabric is a quilting cotton from Fabricland that I bought when I first started sewing over two years ago. I used that same fabric for curtains and the 'Let's Go Fishing Hats' over here.

For the cuffs, I cut the fabric the opposite way to add some extra texture.

I like the whole faux fly thing--it makes them look less homemade and more professional.

Some bluish fabric peaking out of the pockets.

And, the back and front facing are also the same bluish fabric.

I find, especially with a thicker fabric like this that the back gathers rather roughly from the elastic--no nice, even gathers. Has anyone tried it with a thinner fabric and had any improvement on this aspect?

To add some detail, I added pockets to the back. Now that I look at the pictures, I think I would move them a little further off center and make them a bit bigger. But, this'll do nicely for now--he needs some pants--the jeans from Old Navy just don't last--they both have holes in the knees in less than 3 months of wearing them!

And, I'm linking up to Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy Crafts for the Sewing for Boys Sew Along.

T-Shirts

I really like the Jalie 2805 pattern. I can make nice, modest t-shirts in a rather short time.

I recently made two of them as I have a very hard time finding t-shirts that are high enough in the front to not 'flash' people when I bend down or when one of my kids pulls on my shirt.

The grey one has the short sleeve option while the turquoise one has the cap sleeve option. I'm not sure what I like better yet.

Blue fabric: Turquoise knit. Sorry it's not more specific, but that is the info I got for that fabric when I bought it!

Grey fabric: Rayon Blend Baby Rib Knit in Heather Grey. Both are from Fabric.com.

I top-stitched the grey one around the neck opening because it wasn't laying quite right but the turquoise one didn't need the top-stitching. I think it's just the way the different fabrics drape. The pattern doesn't call for top-stitching the neck opening.

And, it's a dream sewing knits on my Janome 4120 QDC sewing machine. It has this lovely overedge type of stitch and the presser foot pressure can be decreased quite a bit so it works great.

My kids (and later my husband) looked at me like I had gone crazy when I took these t-shirts out to photograph them when there was a rain 'storm' coming. The fact that I would go out when it was just starting to drip was beyond my children's comprehension and when they mentioned it to my husband he shook his head and laughed. What can I say, I wanted to get the pictures done that day, and it's a good thing I did--the last day and a half have been super windy and rainy and cold. Definitely not picture-taking weather!

Little Missy Bolero

This past week I tested a pattern for Petite Kids Boutique. It's the Little Missy Bolero and I really like it! It's relatively easy to sew up, and there's no hemming! The bodice is fully lined but the sleeves aren't, and I really like that, especially with my fabric choices. A couple of weeks ago, I had bought an old 'curtain' at the second hand store. It was 80" long and 28" wide after I had picked apart the seams. And, that cost me all of $3.99. A steal I'd say for such pretty fabric! The lining fabric I used is some white cotton from Walmart. It seems a little more off-white now that I use it with such a white eyelet than it did when I used it for the Henry Shirt. I know, white isn't always very practical, but it is so pretty that I cannot help myself but use white.

The fit is just right--I made a size 2T for my 2-year old and it fits like a glove. She was needing a bolero for this particular sundress especially since it has spaghetti straps and is therefore not really modest. And, I want my little girl to be modest.

The back comes down to about mid-back and doesn't stick out or do anything funny.

And, I love the sleeves. They are so girly and cute.

A great pattern, and a quick sew!

Henry Shirt

So, I finished it. Actually, it'd be more honest to say that I finally started and finished it. Yes, I procrastinated until I realized that it was almost the end of June. Time goes by so fast!

But, without further ado, I present to you, the Henry Shirt:

It was a lot of fun to sew--first time I did a collared shirt, and first time I actually made a button up shirt. And, the yoke was pretty neat as well. (I had wondered while cutting the pattern pieces why the sleeve pieces were so big, and then wondered what is a yoke?! Ha, yes it was a learning experience for me!) The fabrics are: the grey: a repurposed pillowcase that is a mix of cotton and polyester, and the white: a cotton from Walmart.

The front has snaps instead of buttons. I was tempted to add buttons instead, but I wanted to be done and button holes can take so long. So, I went with what the book (Sewing for Boys) suggested: snaps. You can see the inside yoke as well--I was pretty happy with it, considering it was a first-time attempt. I did have to seam rip a bunch at one point because I realized that I had sewn the side pieces to the wrong side of the front pieces. Too much of a hurry I suppose. And, I had to really think, what is the bottom of the collar as I had never made a collar before.

The box pleat on the back adds a good little detail.

There is one thing I would definitely change if I were to make it again. I would buy a lighter weight interfacing. I used one that is actually a bit too heavy and you can tell with the collar. Next time better!

And, I'm linking up to Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy Crafts with their Sew-along!



Twin Rag Blanket(s)

I spent the past couple of days, first cutting these:

And turning them into this:

It's the fifth large rag blanket that I've done. One (the first one) was a gift for my Mother-in-law as a thank-you/birthday gift. And, I'd have to go through my hard-copy pictures to find that one back as I didn't have a fancy digital camera back then!

So, here are the four I've made for my kids:

The two oldest boys:

My daughter and then my baby boy:

A close-up of each so you can see the lovely fabric I've used in them all:

(Two Michael Miller Prints and the brown is an AE Nathan)

 (Two Flitter Flannel Prints and the brown is a Flannel Quilt Backing in Chocolate)

(A Cozy Woven Plaid Earth/Red, Moda Bliss Flannel and the same brown as above)

(A Comfy Flannel Bear Paw Prints, Molly & Molly Cuddle Flannel Plaid Pear and again the same brown as above)

All the fabric is from Fabric.com. They weren't selling the Flannel Quilt Backing anymore this time, so I had to go with the AE Nathan. It was more expensive unfortunately, but I wanted them to be somewhat matching. And, the Michael Miller fabric was Oh-So-Soft!!! It was so nice to sew with it and it got so nice and raggy in the first wash already!

I used 2 yards of 108" wide brown fabric, 2 yards of each of the other prints which were 44"/45" wide. After cutting them into 7" squares, I sewed them together in rows with 1/2" seam allowance. I needed 72 double layered brown squares and 30 double layered of the others to make it 11x12 squares. After stitching around the outside of the blanket as well, I started to snip the seam allowances up to the seams. Wash, dry, and presto! So quick and easy--just make sure you have a pair of scissors with a spring--it saves your hand!

I know--my baby can't use his yet. It's hanging on his crib. But, it was a good excuse to order some more fabric (I ordered a bunch of knit fabrics as well!!!).