Giraffes

I thought I would squeeze in one last one for April.

I bought this fabric from a local shop about a year ago I think. Hmm... maybe a bit more than a year ago. Anyway, I like giraffes and I thought it was cute. Don't you think their antlers look a bit funny - a bit like antennae? The Giraffes are rather spread out though, and I wasn't quite sure how to work with that. So it got added to the stash to be used later.

I have top stitched around the neckband, sleeves and hem with twin needles in orange.

Now that Liam is a bit bigger, the giraffes don't seem to be that spread out, so I got to and made this today. I have a couple of other tops cut out, ready to go, so they should be up on here in a couple of days.

Excuse my photos, they were taken indoors at night without the flash. That's my shadow in the corner.

I made a purse *gasp*!

Someone doesn't know it yet, but she is about to get a new purse to match her bag!

This is the 90mm purse kit from Nicole Mallalieu's site. The fabric is leftover West 22nd Modern Dot, lined with Candy Dot.

I never would have thought of making purses before I saw them on Nicole Mallalieu's website. I had no idea you could.

This is my first one. Luckily when I ordered the kit, I ordered extra bits, because I think I might be making a few of these! I am sure I will be ordering a few more of Nicole's kits in the near future, you might say I'm addicted.

Adding the frame was a little tricky, the rest was dead-easy. I wonder how long it will take me to actually make one for me?

Rockets and Pockets

The other day I went looking for a jumper for Liam. He had to settle for something that was a little short. The jacket he ended up wearing was fine only a few weeks ago. He is growing very fast.

I went to Spotlight to find some windcheating or polar fleece to make Liam some jackets. While I was there, I found this polar fleece with rockets and spaceships all over it.

The pattern is once again trusty old Kwik Sew - Sewing For Toddlers. With a few modifications. They have instructions to add a zip. They also have instructions to add a hood. They don't have instructions for both. I figured it out though. The big chunky zipper was a bit fiddly with my machine. Even with a zipper foot, the part where it attaches gets in the way.

When I was cutting out, I noticed that I had cut out the front panels upside down. I had heaps of extra fabric, so I cut some new ones. It wasn't until I was taking photos that I noticed that the back panel is also upside down. Oh well.

The jacket also has a kangaroo pocket. Well, actually, there are two pockets. They are currently being put to good use as a storage facility for matchbox cars and Thomas Tank Engines.

Chicken Dance

I've finally created a hat for Liam from my Nicole Mallalieu pattern. I've used quilters cotton from Spotlight with chickens dancing cheek to cheek! I saw it, loved it and had to have it. Its been sitting in my stash waiting for a suitable project.

The other fabric is a very lightweight denim (chambray?) that I have had FOREVER.

The only thing I have done differently with this hat is I bound the edges with bias binding. I added an oval applique cut out of a nice chicken couple.

I did the underside of the brim in the chicken fabric too, because lets face it, its too wonderful to have it hidden all the way up inside the hat where nobody sees it, right?

Its probably about time Liam got his own hat. He has been wearing the lovely one that I entered in the pattern review contest. He loves it.

Hopefully he loves this one more.

Brought to you by the number 2

I completed this long-sleeved t-shirt yesterday, just before dinner. It was too late to take pictures then, so Maxx took some pictures for me this morning.

I used the same long-sleeved t-shirt pattern from the Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddlers pattern book, with the same modifications as before, as well as a few new ones.

For the sleeves, I traced a short-sleeve, and added the same extra to it that I added to the long-sleeve last time, as it is also designed for a ribbing cuff. I placed the long sleeve pattern over top of the short sleeve pattern, allowed enough for the hem and overlap, and drew a line across the long-sleeve pattern. I folded the pattern across this line so I was really only cutting out three quarters of a sleeve.

I finished the bottom edge of the short sleeve, and the top edge of the long sleeve, using my overlocker. I then folded the hem up for the sleeve and pressed it. I placed the short sleeve over the top of the long sleeve, and then joined the two using a twin needle.

For the neckband, the normal amount of ribbing to use for this pattern is about 29cms long, by 7 cm wide. I cut two 29cm strips in grey and navy, joined them length wise, and then trimmed the navy to 4cms from the seam, and the grey 3cms from the seam. I thne treated this as one piece of ribbing and attached the neckband as normal with the grey showing on the outside.

Before I added the sleeves to the shirt, I realised that it would be a bit boring, so I cut a big number two from some robot fabric I got from Spotlight. I made some of my nephews t-shirts out of this at Christmas and forgot to take pictures for my blog. The fabric was so good, I went back and got more, so I have a couple of metres of it in my stash.

Overall, I am pretty happy with how this turned out. It is a good fit, and my pattern is right to make more of these the same.

I bet you can't do that again!

Check out this picture that Maxx took of Liam in his new shirt! See the ball that Liam threw at him? Liam is quite good at throwing, he seems to have pretty good aim.

I whipped this up this afternoon. I traced the pattern and everything. The pattern is the set-in sleeve t-shirt pattern from the Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddlers book. The only adjustment I made to this one is I made the sleeves longer and tapered them more. The reason for this is that the pattern is designed for cuffs.

Recognise the fabric? Its the same as the stripey bodysuit at the start of my blog. It has some nice colours and has a bit of a retro feel about it. I still have more left (isn't it great how much you get out of fabric when sewing for little people!) so I will definitely be sewing more with it.

Hot Wheels PJs

Liam is the proud owner of a new pair of Hot Wheels pajamas. I made one of my nephews a pair of these last year, there were enough leftovers for Liam, but I've only just got around to making them.

I reckon Noah will be wearing them by the end of winter.

A couple of things I did differently. I read on someone's blog ages ago a tip for joining elastic. You butt the two ends up against each other and then sew them to a piece of ribbon. This reduces all the extra bulk where the elastic joins. I was also recently reading the sewing thread on Essential Baby, and another member was discussing how she "Dad proofed" pants by using a piece of ribbon to indicate the back. I know its not a new idea, my mum used to do the same, but it got me thinking. I have decided to combine both ideas, and came up with this: Elastic joined by a piece of ribbon that also identifies the back of the pajamas!

I have a pair of Thomas the Tank Engine pajamas cut out ready to make. I must get onto that....