twice as nice

two awesome kids turned two recently and i made each a copy of my favourite number shirt.  i've got to start screenprinting one of these days, but because my t-shirt projects tend to come up on me at the last minute, it's not the time to be fiddling about!  i use iron-on transfer paper and toddler shirts from american apparel.  the numbers get pleasantly derelicte in the wash over time.  the red one needed seeing-to - of course as i was about to wrap it i noticed a little edge hadn't stuck and had to redo it!  apparently you can take off an iron-on transfer, if you have enough time, patience and really good tweezers.  

i also made a skirt to go with the red tee from some delightful apple dot fabric that i love.  instead of doing a single wide piece of elastic for the waistband, i sewed three narrow 1cm channels and fed through three strands of 8mm japanese underpants elastic.  

it made a smock-like waistband that can comfortably fit a wide range of waist sizes and will probably last an age.  it was an easier bet when the child's waist wasn't nearby to measure!  

ok, back to the baby quilt.  top pieced together, sandwiching and quilting up next.

a cozy robe for a cold june

i am hoping that, as i type this, the universe will do me a solid just to prove me wrong. so far, spring has been rather dismal and rainy - at least lately, and that's all the weather one can report on with accuracy. i have a recollection of a few weeks of really nice weather, but it's kind of hazy. ok, now that i said it and made plans for tomorrow that account for the rain, please switch it up universe/mother nature/local meteorologist from channel x.

since we're rolling around inside while it rains outside, i made cole a new robe. flannel lined with flannel - doesn't get much warmer than that! it's from the serviceable book making children's clothes. the book is one i stumbled upon randomly, and while i recommend it, it's with the caveat that the styling is too cutesy for my taste and there are some improvements to be made overall in the assembly and instructions department. structurally, the clothes are great and sized well, but if you have any kind of sewing intuition, use it when you question the patterns on the first go-round.

cole loves his robe. i made it all, save the waist tie, at a crafternoon on the weekend, and when i came home i was excited to show him. he seriously dropped what he was doing and ran over to try it on. gotta love that. i did have to use a little bribery today to get him to pose straightforwardly in it, hence the chocolate mustache (made locally by the delightful samantha of sam made).

self: if you finish one thing, you can start another

i might have to buy a copy of clothing for toddlers because i like the photo of this elf-like child (and the fairly nondescript pants he's wearing) so much. i've only made the simplest of pants using the last (very awesome) japanese pattern book that i bought because i've been somewhat intimidated to tackle the harder, complicated projects in a different language. i'm having a hard time justifying buying this new book, but if i can make something else from the book on my shelf i'm going to reward myself... deal? deal. it's so pleasant negotiating with one's self. ;-)

for those black tie playdates

couldn't resist whipping up a wee tuxedo t-shirt using this awesome pdf template from how about orange. i just happened to buy iron-on transfer paper the other day for another project so all i had to do was find a plain white toddler t-shirt... seriously, apparently it's nigh on impossible to find a shirt without logos, emblems, pockets and other frippery. i actually found this one at old navy. it had a pocket but i plucked it off my trusty clover seam ripper. even better - nothing says elegant like a faux lapels and the pin prick outline of a ghost pocket!

fyi - to fit a small person (this one is almost 2!) i just used the 1 page template and it was perfect.

not that i need another project...

i have been coveting this oliver + s school days coat pattern for a few months now, and i can't decide if i should try it yet or wait until... until? well, until i have time to start something new, until i feel more confident about trying something that looks hella complicated, until fall when i can make it up as a wool coat instead of now as a rain coat. but one thing is for certain - i must try this one. anyone else try it yet?

i love their entire line of patterns for kids, and have tried a couple so far with great results. maybe i'll start by making cole some new bedtime story pajamas, since his old ones are rapidly becoming too small. and i have yet to finish the buttons on a sundress for my neice using the same pattern that this playsuit for cole came from (although i have a while, it's for 12month size and she should be born soon!) and i have a copy of the sandbox pants that i've not even touched yet, so i could go there after those... ok, probably best to wait for fall. is blogging about something you want to do supposed to convince you to wait?

more last-minute ideas

this afternoon i whipped up a few ties for our little guy, the idea being that he could wear one ironically at christmas dinner. recently i'd downloaded a copy of this cute leila & ben pdf pattern (via magpie patterns, but they also have an etsy shop). it includes sizes from 1 - 5 years and was only $4! i printed it off, gathered a few japanese linen/cotton scraps and got to work. each tie took about 10 minutes max, including cutting & ironing. so fast!

it could not be easier - raw edges, elastic tucked in, topstitch around and you're done! i also created my own variation (elephant print, in front) with finished edges. i'm going to have to make these for all the little guys i know - so cute!

sock monkey toddler pants

is it even possible to not love a sock monkey? they're so... oddly, i guess. not uncommon anymore, but they seem both endearingly homespun and kitchy and creepy all at the same time.

i bought a few pairs of red heel brand socks ages ago, intending to make one, but i've never gotten around to it. yesterday i had a random flash of inspiration and became obsessed with the thought of a pair of sock monkey toddler pants... as soon as cole went to sleep, i hauled out the socks and started cutting and sewing, making them up as i went along, and voila:

these made me laugh so very hard, and it was all i could do to wait until morning to try them on him. oh my goodness:

the best part - the tail, of course. and the fact that they took only about 45 minutes to sew! working with the limited (and sock-shaped) fabric was a cool challenge - my initial sketch showed kind of a gusset/seat section and then separately attached leg segments, which is what worked really well. i tried to keep the overall look of an actual sock monkey - the brown legs, white feet, red bum on the tail... i made them up as i went, but basically make the bum part of a pair of pants using the bottom halves of two pairs of socks, the legs out of one sock top half each and use the spare white sock tops for the waist band. a scrap for a tail and you're golden.

i adore these pants. cole wore them out today for breakfast and again when we ran errands this afternoon and yeah, other folks seemed to enjoy the sight too. oh, and sometimes he notices that he has a tail and then spins around trying to catch it. cute overload.

weekend project: smocked sundress

spotted this smocked dress how-to over in etsy's the storque. it's a step-by-step guide to making the adorable sundress from heather ross' weekend sewing, using the instructions and diagrams right from the book! there's still a bit of summer left (or a lot, depending where you live!) so there's no time like the present to try this one.

i made this dress recently and was so surprised by how easy it was. smocking ahoy!

because i like a challenge?

i just ordered my first japanese sewing book! the first in japanese, that is - i have several translated books but this is my first crack at deciphering a pattern without the advantage of a language i'm familiar with... it's the pochee special boys and girls clothes from pomadour24.

my theory - and let's see if this actually holds water - is that since i'm not a pattern-reader but am a visual learner i should be able to figure it out based on the pictures. we'll see about that! ;-)

i can't wait to see it in person. oh, so many little bits of clothing to make for cole and our various other baby friends.