They Definitely are Go-To Patterns

A lot of my daughter's dresses are very stained and getting too short.

And, she does not like to wear jeans or pants.

Every morning, she wears a dress and if I make her wear pants or jeans, there are tears--unless she has a new top to wear that she is excited about...ha.

 

 

I had found a number of ladies shirts at Walmart for $3 each.

And, I came home with 6 or so of them.

These two were bought with the Anywhere Dress (affiliate link) in mind.

(I forgot to take pictures of the before...)

The purple Go-To Leggings (affiliate link) are a heather purple rib knit from Fabric.com (affiliate link) a long time ago.

 

For both, I re-used the neck line and re-hemmed the bottom.

 

I loved the button placket and was determined to incorporate them into the dress.



The white leggings (I made two pairs--one full length, the other between capri and short length for the summer) are made from a thrift store find--$0.50!

 



 

They all got a pretty pink tag to differentiate between front and back.

 

My daughter loves them.

Flowers and sparkly purple--how much better can it get?!

 

Both patterns are from Go-To Patterns (affiliate link) and they are definitely go-to patterns!

 

New Shop!

I've opened shop!

Hop on over to Zibbet to see my shop and to do some shopping!

 

I have a couple of rag blankets listed and some peasant tops in size 2/3T!

 

And, if you have any suggestions to add certain items to my shop, let me know--I'd love to hear from you!



Mr. Two-Faced Pants Times Three

A while back I had made these three shirts for the Pregnancy Care Centre Sew Along.

 

 

I decided to whip up some 3 month pants to go along with them to make complete boy outfits!

 

The denim is from the second hand store--over 2 yards for $4.99--quite the steal!

And, the pattern is from the book, 'Sewing For Boys'--Mr. Two-Faced Pants.

Sewing for Boys: 24 Projects to Create a Handmade Wardrobe 

 

Instead of a folded over waistband from the denim, I modified the pattern to make a knit waistband--a little softer for those little babies! Plus, I also decreased the width of the pattern by folding a pleat in the pattern piece. I find the patterns in the book run a little wide.

 

Make sure you hop over to Craftyhour Mom and enter the giveaway if you're sewing along with us!

Linking up here:

Itty Bitty Baby Dresses and a Giveaway!

I turn once again to Made-by-Rae's Itty Bitty Baby Dress. 

I really like this little dress and it works well with small pieces of fabric.

I made three dresses in the 9-11 lb size.

 

 

First, is this one with two fabrics from Holly Holderman's line Sweet Things.

 

Then, this one which has the bottom as another piece of Sweet Things and the top is Deco by Jason Yenter.

 

Last, but not least, is one with Riley Blake's Gingham and a pastel green that I cannot find the info for!

 

All fabrics are from the Fat Quarter Shop--generously donated for our Pregnancy Care Centre Sew Along!



My friend Laura over at Craftyhour Mom has a great give

away for those joining us in the Pregnancy Care Centre Sew Along! Hop over there to enter!

And, here is my ever-faithful sewing companion.

She is a brat and will swat at me if I get too close with what I'm sewing.

So, I generally swat her away but she'll come right back... 

Saturday Spent Sewing Skinnies



This past week while washing my second son's Sunday pants that he usually wears to Church, I noticed a hole on the knee.

And, it wasn't just a little hole anymore.

Seems that boys tend to crawl a lot when playing...sigh...

 

So, Wednesday night I took out my copy of Peek-a-Boo's Skinny Jeans pattern, and I started to trace.

I was feeling rather sick and ended up tracing a size 6 instead of a size 5, and I was just too tired to start over. So, I finished tracing it, thinking I could use that tracing for my other son eventually...

 

 

Well, I also didn't have any stretch bottom-weights in my stash, so I pulled out this corduroy on Saturday and decided to wing it on the size 6, thinking I could always take it in if necessary.

 

I'm glad I used the size 6--it'll get a bit of longer wear than if I had done the 5, though I had to hem a 2" hem.

 

My machine had a bit of a hard time which is weird since I've sewn with corduroy more often and had no problems. So, I didn't add the belt loops as I thought it'd be too much for my machine.

I did the adjustable waistband which is a must for my kids!

 

I love the detailing on these pants. If I had actually used a contrasting thread for topstitching, it would have added a lot of fun as well, but I just used black and you can't see the topstitching though it does make a more professional finish.

 

I had a special request to add a tag on the leg again--so they could see the fun fabric that was used as the lining of the pockets.

And, a faux fly since I was in a definite hurry to get these sewn--I had Saturday--the day that I usually clean house, so that was done as quickly and thoroughly as possible so I would have some time to sew. The button does open!

 



 

As usual, pockets are a must!

 

Even a cute little extra pocket.

 

A couple of notes about the pattern:

-if you have the older version, it doesn't tell you to use a 1/4" SA for attaching the back top to the back. Amy clarified for me very quickly--thanks Amy!!!

-if you want to do the actual fly, the instructions aren't in the pattern. You have to go to the Sew-Along which can be found here: Sew-Along.

All in all a great pattern that I will probably sew up again and again!

 

If you want to buy a copy of the pattern, you can find it here:

 



 

Peanuts. And, a Sort-of Tutorial

Another finish for the Pregnancy Care Centre Sew-along.

 

 

The fabrics were donated by the Fat Quarter Shop last year, but now that I finally figured out how to quilt, they've come to good use.

The dots are Toy Tales by Melanie Dekker of Melly And Me, the rest is all Peanuts fabric.

A panel for the back with two strips of green, and the front is all pieced together.

I used two layers of flannelette as batting. Next time I'll do just one layer I think--it's a good heavy quilt.

 

A quick tutorial for the pieced front for people like me who do not like math and figuring these things out:

Cut 7 pieces 4.5" x 8.5" of three different fabrics for a total of 21 pieces.

Cut 1 piece 8.5" x 8.5" of three different fabrics for a total of 3 pieces.

 

Lay them out so they are evenly spread out--no two matching pieces touching except diagonally.

Take a quick picture to remember the layout unless you have photographic memory.

Make three piles--one for each row and number the piles, 1, 2, and 3.

Stitch the pieces in pile 1 together in order along the 8.5" sides.

Lay aside and do the same for pile 2 and then pile 3.

 

Press the seam allowances--one way for strip 1 and 3 and the opposite way for strip 2 to keep the seams from getting too bulky.

Match seams on 1 and 2 right sides together and stitch the two strips together. Do the same for strip 2 and 3 so you have 1 large piece. Press seam allowances. I did both towards the center.

Add a border if you'd like.

Sandwich the front, batting and backing. Quilt. Trim. Add binding, and done!

 

Sorry I don't have pictures of the process.

Maybe another time.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

 



Lullaby Line Giveaway! *CLOSED*

I am so excited!

Amy from Peek-a-Boo Patterns has graciously offered to sponsor a giveaway here--the whole Lullaby Line--a $35 value, or if bought individually, a $45 value!

So, that is what we're kicking this month of sewing along off with!

 

 

If you are sewing along with us for the Pregnancy Care Centres, you can enter to win this great bundle!

Just leave a comment below letting me know you are sewing along, and if you haven't joined us yet, you're more than welcome to join us yet--we have a whole month to go.  

For fun, sharing and discussion, you can join us in the Event page on Facebook or upload your pictures to Flickr.

**Make sure to comment on this blog post to be entered to win!!**

The giveaway will end on the 8th of February when I will randomly pick a winner.

 



And, if you don't win, the pattern bundle is available for purchase here!

**And, the winner is wcook!! I've sent an email and need a response in 48 hours. If you didn't get the email, please email me at fenna_otten (at) yahoo (dot) ca**