Tuesday, October 11, 2011

KCWC Day 1 results-adult T to baby dress


I procrastinated a lot, played on Pinterest way too much, but finally was inspired to make this quickie adult T to baby dress.

I traced a shirt of Zgirl's to get the basic shape, and then cut apart my adult T. I decided to save the sleeves and just cut them a bit smaller. I cut my pieces out, and left them the length of the shirt (because I really liked the original hem) Somehow, things got wonky and the front was way shorter than the back, so I just trimmed off the back. This was a short sleeve shirt-I just cut out pieces of a knit (don't you love that print?) and attached them under the hem of the short sleeve to make it long sleeve.

It's not perfect by any means, but I was pretty impressed that I went from idea to finished product in about an hour. Having a serger helps.


Posted by Mama G at 6:30 PM 2 comments
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Monday, October 10, 2011

KCWC 2011

Today is the first day of the KCWC! Unfortunately, I didn't prepare ahead of time like I had planned, so I'm just going to wing it.
Which doesn't work when your fabric hides from you! Where are you, ribbing? All the projects I want to do need you!
I have a tshirt cut out for Zgirl, and some flannel to maybe make some pjs for Zboy, and perhaps a dress for Zgirl. If I can find my ribbing, I wanted to make each of them a sweatshirt/matching pants combo.
Are you sewing for KCWC? What do you have planned?
Posted by Mama G at 7:56 PM 0 comments
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Sunday, October 9, 2011

Sensory table-first of the season!


Well, it's getting cooler outside, which means the sand/water table is turning over to the winter use as a sensory table.

Our fall tub includes-scratch grain (from our chicken supply, and they will get it when we're done), hickory nuts, black walnuts, some felt fall stickers, and some sunflower seeds. I had a metal container sitting around, so that went in, along with a berry picking basket, a scoop, and some other things for them to sift and sort.

Both kids were very into it-this is Zgirl's first time really interacting with a sensory tub as she was too young last year. It gave me a peaceful half hour to fold laundry =)


Posted by Mama G at 7:23 PM 0 comments
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Saturday, October 8, 2011

Felt face board



I've seen this idea all over Pinterest- a felt board that is for faces! A little boy I know is turning 1, and while this is a bit ahead for a 1 year old, I think he'll still enjoy it (and so will his older brother)

I had DaddyG cut a thin piece of plywood, which I covered with a big piece of felt. I used tacky glue for the surface and hot glue around the edges and back. The back...doesn't look so great, but no one will look at that (hopefully!) I suggest you leave the pieces much larger on the back than I did, so you can fold them and glue them easier.



I cut out a face piece, and hot glued that on. Then I just thought of different things to make. I made several pairs of eyes, and many hairstyles, noses, lips, mustaches and other things. The hardest part was trying to come up with those, so I have included lots of pictures of all of them.








Zboy had great fun testing this for me, so I'm planning to make one for him and one for his sister. I made this small enough that it would be a great travel toy as well.

I sewed the pouch (I should have lined it, but I ran out of time, so it was a quickie) so there would be a place to store all the pieces. I need a good way to keep the pouch and board together. I didn't think hotgluing it to the back was a good option, so I'm still thinking.
Posted by Mama G at 7:13 PM 1 comments
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Monday, October 3, 2011

Horsie





Since Harry and Horsie has been such a hit in our household (so much so that Zboy is getting that and Cookiebot for his birthday), I decided to have those be the inspiration for our Halloween costumes as well. I was trying to work with what I had on hand, rather than run out and buy a lot of fabric, so these are, as I said, inspired by the book (ie I am just calling them Harry and Horsie and they probably won't look anything like it!)
I used the woodland animal costume from Running with scissors. Remember Zboy's wolf? This pattern is so customizable and easy to follow. I did an even better job with it this time (especially the zipper!) Horsie is so far missing her ears, but I had a few mishaps trying to use some pink broadcloth cotton for the inner ear, and am waiting until I can get some felt to sew those suckers on. Zgirl isn't a fan of the hood-I think it's a bit heavy with all the yarn.
Cute, though, anyway. And warm, which is important, as it's starting to get chilly out there. Next up is turning Zboy into Horsie, and their red wagon into a rocket (I've enlisted DaddyG's help for that)





Posted by Mama G at 7:00 PM 0 comments
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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.
Posted by Mama G at 8:23 PM 0 comments
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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
Posted by Mama G at 7:42 PM 1 comments
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