Wednesday, September 21, 2011

one of the handiest things about sewing...

is being able to tailor your clothes to fit! Specifically, Zboy's clothes, for the most part. He is a very chunky little boy, and pretty short. He needs 4T pants, but they are about 5" too long for him! So I either make his pants, or just fix ones we buy.
The biggest thing to remember is to leave extra so you can let it down later. I hemmed his pants last year, and left at least 1/2" extra (tucked into the hem) to let down for this year. It's perfect! (At least for the ones that still fit in the waist!)

This is something our grandparents and their parents (etc. etc.) used to do-make things last, and I think as a whole, we've really gotten away from that. It obviously won't work if your kid shoots up like a weed, but with the buttonhole elastic in pants now, you can always buy a size up, tighten them as much as they go, hem the bottoms-and you should have pants that will last a couple of years.

It's very easy, and even a beginner sewer is capable of doing this. You just need to measure carefully, cut straight, iron using a seam gauge, and sew a straight line.
Saturday, September 17, 2011

Wolf costume



I was lucky enough to be selected as a pattern tester for the new woodland animals pattern that was made by Jess of Running with scissors. I have followed her blog for a while on my RSS feed, and I always love the creative things she posts. If you don't already follow her, you definitely should!

The pattern will be on sale Monday (9/19) and even if you're a beginner sewer, this is a great pattern. The zipper, gusset, and hood are the parts that might give you issues if you're a beginner, but her photos and instructions are very clear. I love PDF patterns because with 2 little ones, it's hard to get to the store and have time to look at all the patterns. I also love supporting other people, rather than a huge corporation.

It took me 2 nights of working to finish this (from printing the pattern to finishing the sewing) This one was for Zboy. I was pleased with how it turned out, only I need to finish the top of the zipper in a better way, and I used the wrong kind of zipper. I wasn't looking at the type, only size and I grabbed a "sport" zipper, which comes completely off (like for a jacket) Oh well, I wasn't going back!

I've got the fabric to make one for Zgirl as well, with some changes. For her, I'll make the gusset bigger for her cloth diaper booty, and I'll make the tail smaller and shorter and not as weighted.

He's a ferocious wolf.
See those claws?

Running away into the wild
 

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