Toddler Undershirts

I did not like the choices the stores offer in undershirts for little girls.  I can find spaghetti strap camisoles very easily but I do not like them because a.) I am not a big fan of spaghetti straps in general and b.) when my step-daughter had those the straps were constantly falling off her shoulder.  I tried to find tank tops with wider straps but I couldn't find them small enough for my two-year old and what I did find were not just plain white; they were pink and purple or had pictures on them.  One day I was over at made-by-rae and I saw a pattern for tank tops for boys from Fishsticks and Fries (this post).  After much study in the use of knits I decided to give it a shot.  I altered the pattern slightly to be a little shorter, have a slight scoop neck, and have cap sleeves.  I also used 100% cotton interlock knit, which was nice because the edges don't curl and it is a little thicker so therefore much easier to work with.  I used a walking foot with my longest stitch length (my walking foot does not work with a zig-zag stitch).  It worked really well.

Here are the steps I took:
1. Right sides together, stitch the shoulders together.
2. Hem the sleeve ends by rolling the fabric under 1/4" and stitching down.  Since knits don't fray I did not roll over to cover the raw edges.  That helps keep down the bulk.
3. Attach elastic to the neck: sew upside-down on the right side, flip inside, topstitch to hold it down.  I used decorative elastic trip so it would be prettier.  The elastic was slightly shorter than the neck opening so I stretched it a little as I was sewing.  The Tank pattern has a great description of how to fit the neck edge on without having some areas too tight and others too loose.
4. Right sides together sew side seams together.  I started at the bottom and went upward toward the sleeve because it seemed easier.
5. Hem the bottom.  I turned the bottom inside approximately 1/2" and then did that again so the raw edges were hidden there.

It was really quick to put them together.  I bought 1 1/2 yards of 60" white interlock fabric (40% off coupon) and 3 yards of decorative elastic trim (20% off) from Fabric Depot here in Portland.  When all was said and done I got 7 undershirts, each costing approximately $1.50.

Baby Pants and Shoes

My friend just had a baby so I made her some newborn pants and shoes. The brown pants are made of a soft, very pliable corduroy that someone gave me a while back. The others are flannel. For both pants I used Made by Rae's Newborn Baby Pants Pattern. The pattern is made for cloth diapered babies so there is extra room in the booty but I know my friend only uses disposable diapers so for the flannel pair I flipped the pattern upside down and made the legs the booty. It ended up being a little lower in the waist than I would have liked but they fit him well.

For the shoes, I used a modified version of the Stardust baby shoes pattern (I feel like the toes of that pattern were a bit too club-footed for my taste). I used the same fabrics as on the pants - corduroy for the outside (even the bottom) and flannel on the lining. These shoes are size 0-6 months. On the bigger shoes I like to use JiffyGrip to provide traction for beginning walkers.

Lederhosen

For our church talent show my husband and two of his friends preformed "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music. It just wouldn't be right without lederhosen. I used this tutorial to help me know what to do. The first pair took about 2 hours start to finish and the remaining two took a little less time (about 3 hours combined). I just bought dress pants and suspenders from DI (Deseret Industries, a used clothing and other stuff store similar to Goodwill but cheaper).

Fit for a Girl!

A good friend of mine made me a quilt for our little girl, who is coming any day now. It is purple (my favorite color) and very cute.

She had a lot of leftover fabric so I have been able to put it to use. First, I made a fitted flannel crib sheet. It was easy. I used this website and Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones as my guides.

I still had enough leftover fabric to make this cute little flannel blanket. She will be so cozy this winter.

I also used some of my flannel from my fabric stash to make her a little brown owl blanket.

These blankets are super easy and just the right size. You get two pieces of flannel, about 44-inches wide by 1 yard long. Sew the pieces together with the right sides together leaving a gap for turning. Turn in right side out and zig-zag around the edges. That's it. Perfect baby gift.

[Nearly] Free Pajamas!

What do you do when you have an abundance of receiving blankets that you never use? What if your 1 year old was in dire need of pajamas? That's exactly what I did - I made pajamas out of flannel receiving blankets. They turned out a bit large but he will grow into them (to my credit, I made size 1 - the smallest size). They were really pretty easy. I used McCall's pattern 5741, 3 receiving blankets (these are, for those of you who may be unsure, the blankets that new mothers get tons of and the ones that hospitals use, made from cotton flannel), 3/4 yard of 3/4" elastic, an old t-shirt, and thread.I didn't have enough blankets to make the whole outfit from the same design so I used one pattern for the pants and another for most of the shirt. To tie the shirt in with the pants, I used some of the pant material to make sleeves for the shirt so it looks like he is just wearing two shirts. For the collar, I used one of my husband's old unused undershirts (I tried to find one that still had some stretch left). The elastic, thread, and pattern are the only things I bought for these PJs.

Birthday Boy

My little 'lijah just turned one last Friday. The time has gone by so quickly. So, what do you give a one-year old who doesn't really care about presents? Not much. We gave him two things - a wooden snail pull toy (I am really into wood toys) and a handmade doll. I so loved my little Black Apple Doll that I decided I had to make one for my little babe. I made a few changes (or at least attempted) to make it more boy-like. I shortened the hair in the back and made the front more plain and simple (I like how the hair turned out). I attempted to make the body more rounded and less dress-like but once you get those fat little legs pinned on and try to sew it all together you are no longer in control. I also made him look like he is wearing pants by using corduroy (once a pair of my pants) on both the legs and body. I decided not to attempt hands and feet to match the skin so I just continued the shirt and pants the whole way.

Do you think I like the color combination?

Christmas Presents Unwrapped, Part 3

Part 3 will be the things I made for my step-daughter who is 7 years old. All three of her gifts were handmade. She got a sleeping bag, scarf, and doll. I already posted the sleeping bag so I won't bore you with it again but if you missed it, check it out.

I made her a pretty pink scarf with dark pink flowers on the ends to match the hat and mitten set I made for her sixth birthday. She really liked the idea that I made them just for her (who knew kids were into that?) so she wore them every time she was at our house. That was seriously her favorite present that year. Anyhow, after seeing how much she liked the hat and mittens and having her ask for a scarf (I made my son a scarf for Christmas last year), I decided that I would make her a scarf for this Christmas (I didn't want to give it to her sooner because I have a lot of trouble thinking of gifts she would like). She loved it! She wore it even when she was wearing a jacket in 45 degree weather. When she opened the package her eyes bulged and she said, "It matches my mittens and hat!"

I also made her a doll. I really hoped that she wasn't too old for dolls. I used the pattern from when Emily Martin of The Black Apple was on Martha (I should get paid for that sentence). In the instructions they said to paint on the face but that sounded a little out of my league so I hand stitched the face (my first shot at embroidery) before I finished her off. I also made her a little apron to dress her up (it gave me an excuse to use one of my favorite little buttons that I had been hoarding). My little doll turned out so cute! I think my husband had more fun taking pictures of her around the house than my step-daughter did playing with her......at least she is loved. I like the doll so much that I am going to make a boy version for my baby. I have decided that every child should have a handmade doll (they are so easy). Oh, you can't have a doll without a name, so she was named Cooking Mama (because my step-daughter played a lot of Nintendo DS while stranded with my sister-in-law in the Spokane airport) but her name was later changed to "flowers and sweetie pie."