Pants with Side Stripes

Yet another pair of pants (and again from the Sandbox Pants pattern) for A, who busted his knee through his favorite pair of pants last week. I cut them from a pair of sweatpants in my sister's bag of clothes to be donated, and added the red stripes and pocket lining (leftovers from these pants). I cut about an inch below the sweatpants waistband so that I'd have room to sew it to the new pants, and then sewed right up against the elastic.

I did some thinking, and came up with an easy way to do stripes down the sides of pants (sorry, no pics).

BEFORE sewing pants, do this:
1) Cut a strip of fabric 2" x length of outer seam of pants
2) Fold the strip in half with WRONG sides together; iron flat
3) Place the strip between front and back pieces of pants, matching all raw edges (you'll have four raw edges to sew together: pant front, 2 edges of stripe, pant back). Pant pieces are right sides together, strip is inside them. Sew.
4) Turn the pants right side out, and the strip will be a flap. Iron it down flat, and then sew the loose edge (should be the folded edge) of it down to the pants. (I sewed it toward the back of the pants, since I had pockets in the front, but otherwise I don't think it matters which direction it goes.)
5) Stripes are done, now finish sewing your pants. :)

More Girly Pajama Pants

... And then I got on a pajama pants kick, and made M a few more pair. They are just so cute, and she'd been waking up during the night sweating in her fleece footsies. Out with the fleece, in with the cotton (which also isn't treated with anti-flammatory garbage, another plus). Maybe one of these days I'll get around to making some matching shirts ... 

Little E was hanging out with me the night I made these, and I asked him to pick out a button to mark the front of the pants. To my surprise, he didn't pick out anything flashy. He said this clear button was 'just right for these.' :)

And these got a sheer green button. What a boy. (And then it was too dark to get my camera to focus on the button ...)

Christmas Eve Pajamas for My Girl

My little M loves the zoo, and this fabric was so sweet and gentle.

Christmas Eve Pajamas for the Boys

I have a tradition of giving the kids new pajamas on Christmas Eve. I wrap them up, and they like opening a gift "before Christmas!" Then, on Christmas, they look great in all the photos, because they are wearing new clothes. :)

This year for E, who loves his Funky Monkey, takes him everywhere with us, and even told me that Monkey is now real:

I used the Oliver + S Sandbox Pants pattern (again), but added cuffs and did an elastic waistband all the way around (no drawstring).

I only did the front pockets. Little kids love pockets!

For the shirt, I traced a pajama shirt that I fits him well, and then added a little applique. Ironed it on with Heat 'n Bond lite, and then stitched around the edges.

And for A, who wants to build and race cars when he grows up:

Napkins and Leggings

Things I've made while procrastinating on Christmas gifts ... :)

Girly napkins for M. She's been using the boys' dino napkins, and we needed a few more, so these are for her.

Leggings! She kind of needed these to go with her cotton dresses. I traced a pair of hand-me-down leggings that I liked, like this. I added a button so that she'd know which was the front. (She's all about "I DO IT MYSELF!") A few more of these will be coming. It's a nice diversion.

A t-shirt for pajamas!

Alright, something to show before Christmas! A. needed pajamas, and I'd been reading the 90-minute t-shirt tutorial over on MADE. He is too big for the baby cross-over neck in that tutorial, but I thought I could modify it.

When making the Hopscotch Shirt, I learned to measure around the neck of the shirt and then cut the collar an inch or two smaller. This keeps it tight and prevents the stretchy fabric from sagging. So, I traced one of his t-shirts and went for it. It came out great! Now I feel silly for buying him t-shirts this year. I thought they would be really difficult to make. I was wrong. It's a quick and fun project. I might add an applique or draw something with fabric paint ... maybe. They are pajamas, after all.

I used a flatlock stitch on my serger to hem the shirt. It was my first time using the stitch, and I thought it'd come out crooked. Turns out I just needed to really pull the seam apart tightly. 

I made some matching pants using the Sandbox Pants pattern, minus the pockets and drawstring waist. Much faster, ha ha.

Pants, pants, and more pants

Warm, wooly leggings for M, cut from the arms of thrift store sweaters:

And a few more pair of Sandbox Pants for A:

I hate these jeans. When I was cutting them out, I didn't pay attention to the wash of the denim. Oops! :)

Greyish black pants with stars on the pockets ... stars because I was sewing after midnight and cut out the pieces incorrectly. In the end, they look alright!

The boys chose this fabric, and it makes me laugh. It's a heavy canvas with a basketweave. They call them the "checkered flag pants." These will never wear out! Ha.

Got it!

Got the sizing right this time on the Sandbox Pants. Love them.

More pants in progress ... upcycling some thrift store jeans, so i subtracted the length of the hem wjen lining my pattern up.

... and a first birthday gift for a friend. Skirt is tulle and elastic. Simple and girly. I think M needs one!

These Pants

Oh, these pants. Halfway through the second pair, I realized they were the wrong size for A. He needs pants, like yesterday. Also ... he is a boy. He is not a baby. I'm learning, but I don't quite have the skills to pull off a good pair of boys' jeans. (Yet.) I started with the red sweats (his choice of color), and they fit him fine.

These black pants just went totally wrong. First, a lot of dye came out in the wash, leaving me with grey acid-wash-type fabric. Then, my sewing machine hated it because it was thick and stretchy. Then the sizing was too big.

So, we took a shopping trip, just the two of us. I bought him pants and I bought him t-shirts. He picked out camo cargos and skinny jeans and hot wheels t-shirts. He is very much boy.

I started catching up with Project Runway ... and I hate it this time. I think that show has finally run its course.

Ha.

Reversible Jacket, Patched Pants, Pajama Shorts

New jacket for M, reversible, finished this morning just in time for 75 degree sunshine. It's alright, there will be plenty of cool spring nights. I wanted it fitted, so I'm pretty positive it will not fit her by fall, but that's alright. I made it from scrap fabrics and buttons, so the total cost: $0. The pattern is based loosely on her favorite sweater. I know now not to try to put buttonholes through multiple layers of thick fabrics - kind of a disaster. I ended up making the buttonholes manually with a zig-zag stitch on the machine.

Patched a pair of pants. I threatened to pre-emptively patch all the boys pants next fall, as almost all of them have holes in the knees.

Pajama shorts from t-shirts. I sewed the waistband inside-out on the last one. Oh well, it'll probably be more comfortable that way! I actually started these for A last summer, but E will wear them now. Yet another advantage to spacing kids really close!

 Up this next week: Raincoat for M, knit socks for A and E, and shopping for fabric for Easter outfits.

Very Simple Pants Tutorial

(click to see it larger)

After a disaster on E's first pair of pants yesterday, I sketched up a quick tutorial. 

Here are two photos on how I trace the pants.

Pants for E

E really needed some new pants. I've been putting off making his pants since November. I really like the Sandbox Pants pattern, but I just haven't had the patience for it. For some reason I usually get motivated to do big projects when we're getting ready to travel. Maybe it's procrastinating packing, I don't know. So yesterday I started some pants for Ethan. He has one pair that fit, so I copied them. I'll post a little tutorial separately.