My Sewing Space

Shortly after Christmas, I got into a bit of a pajama-sewing blitz. The pajama options for all three of my kids were pretty bad - way too small, woefully mismatched, etc. Pajamas aren't ever my first choice of things to sew (which is why the situation had gotten so bad) but I found there was a lot that I liked about this round of pajama sewing: The kids were really appreciate of new pajamas and that always makes the time and effort worth it. I find it really easy to leave the perfectionist tendencies behind with pajamas. "Good enough" is the name of the game for details, finishing and fit. Because they're pajamas! Sometimes I feel conflicted when I need to choose between being resourceful and frugal or getting it exactly how I want. Use the serviceable buttons already in the stash or go buy the ideal ones? Does this ready-made piping "go" or should I make my own out of newly-purchased and perfectly coordinating fabric? When it comes to pajamas, the reso...

About three years ago I bought a simple black half-zip pullover fleece top. With some embarrassment, I'll say that I wore that top out. I prefer to feel "dressed" most days and stay away from yoga pants and sweatshirts. But, on the days when I knew I'd be staying home or on lazy Sunday afternoons, I was always reaching for that top. It needed a replacement. In considering a replacement, I hoped to move up a bit from the poly fleece. Cotton fleece? Sweatshirting? Sweater knit? I didn't find a great alternative in the fabric store here and the cost of shipping and duty makes me hesitant to order online. Since the fleece had worked before, that's what I stuck with. The other top was worn out and was exactly what I wanted, so I just cut it apart and made a pattern from it. The zipper was the right length, so I ripped that out of the old top and reused it. I like the side panels. The top is not very fitted, but I think the side panels still provide a f...

The amount of time or effort I put into a sewing project makes no difference in the amount of appreciation I get from my kids. They each have their own idea of what makes something special (a certain print, twirlability, sparkles, etc) but they all love comfy, cozy clothes. Who doesn't, really? I guess that doesn't make my kids unique. My son is my most tactile child and in his mind cozy and fuzzy are synonymous. He felt a pair of fuzzy pants in a store and badly wanted to take them home with him. They were a terrible fit, so I told him I'd make him some. I picked up this ribbed fleece fabric at Fabricland and used Ottobre 4/2013 #27 to make his new favorite thing to wear. The pattern is called "Ultimate Casual Basic Sweatpants." I thought that was pretty perfect. I stripped down the basic pattern even more by leaving off the pockets and bottom leg cuffs. My daughter needed some more warm clothing as well, so I made the pants again (just adding length) a...

When I pulled out the Jalie pattern I used for my daughter's jeans , I noticed Jalie 2911 and the relaxed, cozy look of it really appealed to me. I had a length of lightweight cotton fleece that I thought would be a good match for this. The view with the hood looked particularly cozy to me, but I didn't have enough fabric for that. The instructions for applying the shawl collar are good, but those inset corners require some precision. You really want to hit them bang-on the first time. Which is not what I did. Ripping out stitches in this dark, fuzzy fabric was no treat. I was able to get the corners in well, but I was left with a little hole in the corner. A few discreet hand stitches closed it up. The pucker shows up pretty well in the picture, but I don't think it is as noticeable in real life. I added cuffs with thumb holes to up the warm-and-cozy factor. I think the holes ended up a little too small, but I haven't actually worn it yet to say for su...

I made pajamas for each of my kids. They’re so happy because they got to pick out the fabric. My older daughter wanted “pajamas that have the top and bottom connected and have feet.” Kwik Sew 2704 was the answer – sleepers for big kids. My son wanted the same thing, and was quite insistent that they be cozy. In his mind, cozy and fuzzy are synonymous. I think both of them are surprised how warm these are. My younger daughter only wears dresses, skirts, and jumpers for day and nightgowns at night. She’s cute about this as long as there is a choice she approves of in her drawer. If everything that suits her is in the laundry, she’s not so cute. So, here we have another nightgown for her. I modified an out-of-print Kwik Sew pattern to make it. Oh, and I made her leggings to wear with the nightgown since she doesn’t keep the blankets on at night. Sleep well, kiddos!

Compared to the angels project , these were exceedingly simple and quick. These are also to sell in M's shop and just like the angels, someone else was sewing these and wasn't interested in continuing.  There was no pattern, but it was really simple to make up.  I just traced around the water bottle and then added 0.75".  Of that, 0.5" was for the seam allowance and 0.25" was for "ease."  The fleece is a little stretchy and it turned out to be a great fit. The band across the front is a 2" wide overlap to allow the cover to come off the bottle.  The buttons are decorative only. Next up: a  hanger pouch (still sewing for M's store...)

In my last post I mentioned that I was working on making some dolls.  Actually, they are angels. However, that fact didn't really make them any more enjoyable for me to sew. These are for M's shop here in my town.  Someone else had been sewing these for her, but she was no longer interested in doing it.  So, she asked if I would.  I agreed and started with two. It is hard to tell what size they are from the picture, but from head to toe, they are about 18" long. I found the hair styling to be the hardest part of the project.  The hair on the angel above is embroidery floss.  I wrapped it around a knitting needle, got it soaking wet and then let it dry overnight.  When you pull it off of the needle, it stays very curly.  I tried this first because I really wanted to use materials that I already had.  But, I wasn't all that impressed and the angels made by the other woman had the special hair that you buy for making dolls.  So, I t...

My son had his fourth birthday at the beginning of the week.  I decided to spare no expense on him and made him a bathrobe using both a pattern and fabric that someone else passed on to me.  Red is his favorite color and he loves fuzzy things, so this fleece had his name all over it. The pattern is McCall's 4643 , toddler pajamas and robe.  I made a size 4 with no changes.  I was hoping it would be too big so it would last for awhile, but it isn't really. The robe has a hood and bound front edges and sleeve hems.  The instructions suggest using purchased bias binding, but I made my own from a red plaid print that I had.  I did everything besides the bottom hem on the serger. I also cut the tie from the red print rather than from the fleece.  The thought of turning and topstitching a fleece tie was not at all appealing to me.  The tie is attached at CB. I'm glad I didn't invest a great deal in this because this robe did not get a second ...

A woman I know asked me to make these for her son who lives alone in a large, old, drafty farmhouse.  It sounds like the heating bills can be a little tough to swallow.  These will sit on the floor in front of the closed door to block any drafts that normally would come under the door. They're just a tube of fabric, sewn closed at both ends.  I wouldn't have picked this fabric, but that's what she gave me.  It is some sort of knit fleece, with a fair bit of stretch.  It was smooth on one side, but very fuzzy on the other.  I wouldn't have picked white for something that sits on the floor, either, but it wasn't my call.  I wanted to get rid of the stretch, so I underlined (that seems like a much too sophisticated word for this application, but I guess that is what I did) it with bleached muslin. I haven't made this sort of thing before, so I did a little online research about them.  My biggest question was what to fill it wit...

The fabric for this most recent project is a little strange.  It's poly fleece and I've had it for a long time - too long to remember what I was thinking when I bought it.  I was probably pregnant.  I had a really difficult time determining which was the right or wrong side.  One side is green and black and looks almost like tweed. The other side is grass green. It is usually pretty easy to determine the right and wrong side of printed fleece. The right side has a more crisp appearance. On the fleece below, the left side is the wrong side and the right side is the, well, right side. That was no help with this green fleece, so I consulted Adventures with Polar Fleece by Nancy Cornwell . She suggests some “tests” you can use to determine the right/wrong side of fleece if it isn’t obvious. 1. When you pull along the selvage edge (lengthwise grain), the fleece will curl to the right side . Mine curled to the solid green side. 2. When you pull on the cro...

Yet another Kwik Sew pattern that I have used time and time again. This time I used it to make a gift for my nephew. I made the smallest size - the equivalent of 12-18 months. The top I made isn't actually one of the views in the pattern - I combined Views A & C. There are a lot of things to like about this pattern, but my favorite is the pockets. The pockets are cut-on extensions of the back piece that you sew down through the front for minimal bulk. The instructions for finishing the front extension and all of the markings are very good. I'm really liking the orange and gray combo. Hopefully the little guy does, too... I think the lycra binding makes it look so much more professional than elastic in casings or plain hems, but - wow - is it ever difficult to get it to look good on the inside and the outside. This binding actually is from a fleece jacket of mine that has a broken zipper. I was going to just toss it, but when I looked at it twice I remembered this orange fl...