Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everyone! Since I didn't get around to it last week, today I'm showing off the kids costumes for this year.

My oldest wanted to be a red gypsy. I made a peasant blouse for the top using this tutorial and a yoga waist band skirt using this one. For the wrap around scarf and head piece, I just kind of jumped in and pretended I knew what I was doing.

My next girlie wanted to be a mermaid, NOT Ariel, just a mermaid. She found this picture on line and wanted her costume to be just like it.
I'm not sure it's just like it but here's what we came up with.
And for my little man, you've been wondering what the bow tie was for right! He's Alfalfa! I used the bow tie I showed in the last post and one of his dress shirts. I made the suspenders using this tutorial. And his pants are a pair that he has grown too tall for so they are nice and short to show off those white socks! He will even have a fantastic spike in his hair. I've been growing his hair out for three months just for Halloween. Tomorrow he'll be getting a hair cut!
Happy Trick-or-Treating!

Baby Bow Tie

I finished Halloween costumes last week. Hurray!!! The kids are very excited. I'll show you the completed costumes later this week, but today I wanted to give a more detailed post on one item from my little man's get up, a baby bow tie.

I looked at a couple of tutorials to get an idea of how to make him a bow tie, one from Prudent Baby and the other from A Lemon Squeezy Home. I didn't follow them exactly. I did make a few changes. I didn't used interfacing or felt, just the material. I didn't use their measurements either. I drew on paper how big I wanted the finished tie to be. Then I doubled the length and the width and added enough for seam allowances. I did the same thing for the small piece that wraps around the center of the tie.

And my little guy won't wear anything around his neck, so I could use the neck band. Instead I sewed a small rectangle and put a button hole in the middle. Then I hand stitched one side of it onto the bow tie and added a snap to the other side. This way I can hook it onto the top button of his shirt.

Little Man Tie

Before I get to my post, I was asked how my Ute husband liked my BYU cookies from my last post. Well, at first he said he wouldn't eat them, but then changed his mind because it would be metaphorical. Which sadly was the truth, Utah beat BYU 54-10.

Now onto the post.

I love, love, LOVE little boys dressed up in nice dress clothes. It totally makes me melt. I thought it would be fun to make my little man some ties so that we could mix up his church wardrobe a bit, and I just like making stuff so it gives me an excuse to sew.

Well I decided on this about a year ago, yes it's really been that long. At that time a good friend of mine told me she had found a pattern for little man ties and would teach me how to make them. I was so excited. She even bought this great patterned material to make them with and the elastic and bra hooks so we could put the ties around our kiddos necks. We got the tie made and well, guess what I discovered. My little man won't wear a tie that goes ties around his neck. Every time I tried to put it on him, he'd try to pull it off. I was so bummed.

BUT, he will wear clip-ons! So I have search and search and search for the hardware and no craft store carries them. Double bummer. Until, a couple weeks ago I found the hardware online at............ The Ribbon Retreat!!!!! Yes of all places The Ribbon Retreat sells tie clips. So I ordered a handful of them to try them out and took my tie off the elastic neck band and tied it around the clip and YAY I have a tie that I made that he will wear!!! (Wow, that was one big run on sentence.) And here it is:

Isn't he going to be so handsome at church on Sunday!

My New Jean Skirt

I have wanted a jean skirt for years. Seriously. But every time I find one that I like, it's much more than I'm willing to pay. Hence I have never bought one. But a few months ago my cousin shared with me a tutorial she found to turn your old jeans (you know that box full I have with holes in the knees) into a new skirt. I tried the tutorial out to make some skirts for my girls for Christmas here and they turned out super cute.

Well I finally got around to doing one for myself, just in time for spring! I am so excited. I left the bottom unhemmed so it will fray. Here's the front:

And the back:
I decided to leave the side inserts out because I kind of liked the nice shape it gave my hinny. Hehe

Little Man Cargo Jeans

My little man was in need of some new pants. He grows like a weed and clothes don't last him very long. When I looked at baby jeans, even the cheap Wal-mart ones were ten bucks a pair. Sorry I don't want to spend $10 on a pair of pants he's only going to wear for a few months. So I decided to make some instead.

I have a whole box of pants in my basement that look like this:

I've been saving jeans, khakis, cords, any pants that have holes so that I can one day cut them into squares and make a "jean" blanket. But I got to thinking,

#1- am I ever really going to get to that blanket,

and #2- it's probably worth more to make little pants out of them and save $10 bucks then to make another blanket to store in a closet already full of blankets.

So I went to work cutting and sewing. I started with a tutorial I found on Made, and adapted it. Here's what I came up with:

Little Man Cargo Jeans!

I love how they turned out and now I'm going to show you how to make them. And I'm going to apologize now, a couple of my pictures turned out a little blurry. Sorry, but I didn't notice until I was uploading them.

First we have to make our pattern pieces. Lay out a pair of pants that you already have on some paper and trace them. Add 1/4 inch for seam allowances, 1 1/2 inch to top for elastic casing, and 1 inch to bottom for hem. (I traced mine a little bigger than that because these pants were getting a bit small.) You will need to trace the front leg and back leg of the pants because the back is always a bit bigger to allow room for their bums.You should end up with two pieces- a front and a back. Now measure how far up the leg you want the "cargo seam". (I'm not really sure what the technical word for it is.) Draw a dotted line where the seam will go. Now draw a line 1/4 inch away on both sides.

These lines mark where you will cut your pants pieces. Cut the bottoms section of the leg to the top line, and the top section of the leg to the bottom line. That way when you sew them together they will meet in the middle at the dotted line.

Now cut out patterns for your pockets. (Sorry this picture randomly doesn't have a background, oh well.) You will need three pocket pieces- a J shape for the front, a square for the cargo, and a, well, a butt shaped pocket on for the bum. Remember when sizing how big you want your pockets to at 1/4 inch to all sides for seam allowances.
Now that we have all our pattern pieces, lets start cutting. First cut your pants apart. Cut the inside leg seams them up the center front and back. You will have two pieces with a front leg and back leg attached on the outside leg seam. Cut your front pieces out of the front leg, and your back pieces out of the back leg, making sure to match the outside leg of the pattern to the outside leg of the pants. (You don't have to put your pattern right on the seam, it's just a guide to make sure you face your pattern piece the right way so you get one right leg and one left leg.)
Now cut out your pocket pieces. You need two of each out of the jean material, and two of each out of a thin cotton for the pocket lining. Make sure your front "J" pockets are cut mirror image of each other. You don't want two going the same way. I just used some scrap material I have for the pocket linings.
Now we have all our pieces cut, lets get sewing. We're going to start with the cargo and back pockets. Sew the lining and the pocket right sides together with 1/4 inch seam, leaving a gap at the top of the pocket. Clip the corners. (I trimmed the seams but realized I didn't really want to after so don't trim the seams. Just clip the corners.)

For the front pocket, pin the lining on right sides together. Now only sew along the two long sides. Leave the ends open. And clip the curves.

Turn your back and cargo pockets right side and iron. To close the top, sew one line close to the edge and a second 1/4 inch away. I also did a double line of stitching down the middle just for looks. You don't have to do this or if you want a different design do it now.
Turn your front pockets right side and iron. Do a double line of stitching only on the inside curve- one line close to the edge and second 1/4 inch away.
Set the pockets aside for now and lets start sewing the pant legs. Lay the bottom section of the leg right sides together on the top section. Pin and sew with 1/4 inch seam. You should have four sets of these- two front and two back.
Press seam toward top section of the leg and top stitch close to the seam. And again 1/4 inch away.

Pin your front pockets to the front leg pieces. Match the raw edges with the top of the pants and the OUTSIDE leg seam. Baste stitch along raw edges to hold pockets in place. Stitch in place along the outside curve of the pocket. Once close to the edge and again 1/4 inch in. This should form a pocket.

Now match the front leg pieces to the back leg pieces along the outside leg. Pin and sew with 1/4 inch seam.
You should end up with two pieces that look like this.
Now place your cargo pocket centered over where the "cargo seam" and the outside leg seam meet. Pin in place. Sew a double line of stitching around the sides and bottom of the pocket- one close to the edge and the second 1/4 inch away.
Pin on your back pocket. Make sure to leave enough room at the top for your elastic casing. Sew your double line of stitching around the sides and bottom.

Fold your legs over, right sides together, and pin the inside legs together. Stitch with 1/4 inch seam.

Now turn one leg right side out and one inside out. Slide the right side out leg into the inside out leg so right sides are together. Match raw edges of crotch seam together and pin. Sew with 1/4 inch seam.
With pants inside out, fold down top edge 1 1/2 inch, pin and sew to form elastic casing. Make sure to leave a gap to insert elastic. Run elastic through casing and sew ends together (sorry I forgot to take a picture). Then sew up gap.
Turn up the bottom hem 1 inch. Sew with a double line of stitching.
And voila! You are done with your very own designer set of little man cargo jeans!

Heart Blanket

Everyone has been sick at my house this past week so needless to say the blog got ignored a little. I don't have this weeks spotlight for you today but will get it up next week so stayed tuned.

Instead today I'd like to share a blanket with you. I wanted to make something for each of my kids as a memento of their brother. So I decided to make a fray blanket for each of them that incorporated the heart theme. My baby boys room is a jungle theme so I thought these material would be perfect.

Then I sketched out the pattern I wanted on paper before I started cutting material. I am very happy with how it turned out.
I let my girls pick out their own material but have not gotten to their blankets yet. And I also bought material to do one as a wall hanging to put at the top of our stairs with pictures of our heart angel.

Now I must say bon voyage! My hubby and I are leaving for a cruise tomorrow. Yay!!! And I won't be back until next week. But I will have a couple more heart posts to wrap up heart month when I get back. Have a happy weekend, I know I will!!!!

Baby Pajama Pants

My little man is growing like a weed. And he was in need of some new pajamas. Well, buying pajamas, especially for a little guy who will out grow them in two months, can be expensive. So here's what I did instead.

I like to sew. Like that was a big secret, glad I got it off my chest. Anyway, I have some great fish material leftover from a Jr. High sewing class project. I know that's a long time to hold onto material but hey. I thought it would make some cute pants for my little guy and I could just use his onesies for tops.

Well I don't have a pattern for baby pants and really don't want to buy one. Like I said, he grows like a weed and will outgrow the pattern I'm sure before I ever get my moneys worth out of it. So instead I just made my own pattern.

I took a pair of his pants that had the kind of fit I wanted and turned them inside out, putting one leg inside the other. Then I laid them on some paper and traced around them, leaving extra for seam allowances (and plenty of growing room!). Wah-la!

Once I had a pattern sewing up the pants was simple, as long as you know how to sew pants. I will be doing a pants tutorial soon, I promise. I did an elastic waist and added ribbing to the bottom for cuffs. I got two pairs out of it and there's still enough material for a third.

They turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Repurposed PJs

Before I start the tutorial, I must amend my post the other day about vanilla. It has been brought to my attention by a couple of you that even pure vanilla (which is what I ended up buying) has alcohol. So I checked the ones that I bought and they have 35% alcohol!

There was also brought to my attention a suspicion about an ingredient called vanillin, which is in my "alcohol free" stuff. So I googled it and got very mixed information. Some sites said it contains alcohol. Some said that only the natural vanillin contains alcohol and the man made stuff doesn't. And some said that it doesn't contain alcohol, it IS alcohol. And some said that it was just flavoring.

So as for me, I'm going to take my chances with my old brand. Yes it contains vanillin (which they all do), but at least there is no extra added alcohol. I googled that brand as well so I could figure out where I got it and.... It's Dutch Mill brand and can be found at Harmons. (I should get paid something for that little advertisement, don't you think!)

Okay on to the tutorial:

We have a tradition give the kids pajamas on Christmas Eve so that they have new ones to wear for Christmas. This year I decided to make them all pajama bottoms and then just buy plain white t-shirts to go with them. Here's what I did for my two girls.

I took their old sleeper pajamas from last year that don't fit anymore:

And turned them into new pajama bottoms for this year:

Fun huh! Here's how:

Step 1:

Cut off the feet right above the elastic on the back. Cut off the arms about an inch out from the armpit. Just make sure not to cut it in line with the side of the pjs. You need some material for seam allowance so you can extend your side seam all the way up.

Step 2:

Cut off the top of the pjs. I found it easiest to cut right below the snap piece so that I didn't have to worry about trying to unpick it. If your pjs don't have a snap piece cut right under the neck. I cut right through the zipper because I have to need for a zipper that long. But if you would use the zipper for another project go ahead and unpick it at the top of the pjs before you make the cut.

Step 3:

Turn your pjs inside out and pin the sides together at the "arm holes" (or where they used to be).

Step 4:

Sew together. I started on top of the original side seam, remember to back stitch, and then continued along that line all the way to the top of the pjs. Back stitch at the top. Then clip the extra material off.

Step 5:

Now unpick the zipper.

Step 6:

With right sides together, match the two front edges of the pjs where the zipper used to be. Pin together and sew starting at the top of the pjs for about 3-4 inches. Remember to back stitch at the start and finish.

Step 7:

Turn the pjs right side and trim the top edge to make it straight.

Now did you notice that cute embroidery at the top of the pjs? It is close enough to the top that if you try to fold down a waist band it will hit the embroidery. So if your pjs have embroidery read the next step and I'll teach you how to save it. If your pjs don't have embroidery skip step 8, the extra work is not necessary.

Step 8:

We are going to make a higher waistband for our pjs so that the cute embroidery will be nicely visible on your pajama bottoms.

First your going take the sleeves that you cut off and cut them along the seam. Then lay them out flat.

Now using a rotary cutter and ruler (scissors are fine if you don't have a cutter) cut four strips 2 inches wide. To figure the length of your strips, measure around the top of your pjs, divide by four, and add on 1/2 inch for seam allowances.

Using 1/4 inch seam, sew your strips end to end and make a circle with them.

Pin right sides together around the top of your pjs. Sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 9:

If you made the waist band in step 8 your pjs will now look like this. If you didn't make the waist band your pjs won't have the seam just below the top.

Turn your pjs inside out and fold the top down 1 inch. Pin and sew at 1/4 inch to make your elastic casing. Make sure to leave a 1-2 inch gap so you can insert your elastic and remember to backstitch. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this.

Step 10:

Look at the crotch of your pjs. It should have a diamond shaped piece like this:

Carefully unpick that piece. DO NOT cut it. You need this piece.

Step 11:

Measure how far down from the top of the pjs you want the crotch of you pants to be. Pin the diamond piece, right sides together to the front of the pjs at this point. Make sure the long points of the diamond go down the legs.

Now turn your pjs inside out and pin the other side of the diamond to the back of the pjs, again right sides together. Then sew in place at 1/4 inch, remember to backstitch. I found it easiest to sew one side at a time so that I did four lines of stitching rather than trying to pivot at the corners.

Step 12:

Lay your pjs flat. You'll notice at the point where the crotch used the legs now have points. Cut these off so that the edge of the inside legs are straight.

And stitch up the legs at 1/4 inch. Remember to backstitch.

Step 13:

Now measure from the top of the pants how long you want them. Make sure to add in seam allowances. Trim the legs and hem.

Step 14:

Insert 3/4 inch elastic into the waist band and sew ends together. Then sew of the gap in the waist seam. And your done!

I made each of my girls two pairs of pants. Here are the other three pairs I made:

The two printed ones didn't have embroidery so I didn't add the extra waist band. But notice on the middle pair I used the sleeves from the leopard print ones to make the extra waistband. It added a fun dimension. My girls even recognized their old pajamas and were so excited to have them back!