elsie marley

Wow! There has been such an amazing response to the boy belt tutorial! I think there must be a lot of boys out there running around with their pants falling down–no more!

To thank you for all your kind words and links I thought I’d giveaway a few of the belts I made, because as you can see they are not keeping any pants up around here. The skinny plaid one and the wider wood grain belt are up for grabs (for a better picture look here). If you’d like to enter tell me a funny story about a little boy you know–a brother, a son, the crazy little boy down the street. There is always one who tried to fly from on top of the refrigerator or covered himself in crisco or skiied down the basement stairs. If you can’t think of a story, just tell me which one you’d like. And if you’d like to be entered twice you can subscribe to my blog (and tell me in your comment) or link to the belt tutorial on your blog or tweet it. Or all three if you’d like, but I’ll only love you more–just 2 entries max per person! I will pick two winners (pick a winner!) on Monday morning, February 22 CST.  Good luck!

This coat has been a long time coming. I started it right after I finished making my son’s coat–high off success I suppose–but it stalled soon after when she tried on the rough draft (umm, what do you call the outer shell of the coat, a mock up?) and said, “ewww, I don’t like it.” So it sat in a pile for a loooong while. Then I started looking around for something to line it with and couldn’t find anything big enough to line the whole coat which bummed me out, so it sat some more. I decided to hell with it I would just patch together different sweaters to line it even if it makes it look extra handmade.

Really I probably shouldn’t have lined it. I wanted to just use fabric from my stash (because seriously the stash has to get smaller) and everything is, but the coat doesn’t hang right at all. The pattern is from Carefree Clothes for Girls, which I was really excited about, but I’m not super happy with this pattern (I combined the short coat shape with the long coat length). It’s raglan sleeve, which I love, but it different from the other raglan sleeve things I’ve done in that it has a seem down the top of the arm. So there are four pieces for the sleeves and they are sewn separately to the front and to the back and then the front and back pieces are joined by sewing down the top of both arms. I think this takes away the ease of raglan sleeves and gives the coat extra bulk it just doesn’t need. Oh and I added in seam pockets, which doesn’t help with the bulk issue either, but they’re handy.

Because I didn’t really like it, but didn’t want to abandon it I slapped on some ruffles a la j.crew so I would like it more. And it worked. My daughter was anxious for me to finish it, but damn if those sew on snaps don’t take forever to sew on.  While I was sewing on all those snaps my daughter danced around excited for it to be done, then she tried it on and hated it. It is a little big and hangs weird, so I don’t really blame her. But still. Maybe next year she’ll like it more. Until then she’ll wear it to church because her mother will make her.

It’s been quite a while since I made new pillows and I always hate my couch a little less when I do. So I cut into this awesome Anna Maria Horner huge flower print and slapped some gingham on the back. 15 minutes and you have a pillow. Why do I put these things off for so long? The grey pillow is made from old felted sweaters. After making my bears, the arms of the sweaters are always leftover, so I have a box full of arms (creepy). I cut them apart and sewed them up in strips with the seams exposed. I’m not in love with it, but I’m happy I used them up. And my couch is happy too.

At the beginning of fall I made a list of the things I wanted to make for my family, but I didn’t want to post it because I was afraid I wouldn’t get any of it done, then I would feel guilty and get crabby and nothing would get done.  But shockingly, I am slowly crossing things off. The purple pants and skirt, a little red riding hood cape (for her birthday), and now this coat. I was very nervous when I wrote “a coat for each” on my list, but this came together relatively simply.  I bought the pattern ages ago at a thrift store for ten cents and it was super easy.  Raglan sleeves, baby. They make everything easier. The only thing that tripped me up was the collar, which I had to rip out three times before I got it right and I’m glad I did. Normally I would just say screw it and push on, but I was feeling extra patient for some reason. Plus it has to stand up to be handed down now that he has a little brother.

The very best part of the coat, though, is the lining. It’s made from a felted cashmere sweater and holy crap does it feel nice. I was lucky enough to find an XL cashmere sweater (for 5 bucks!) right when I was looking for a lining and it was just, just enough. Lining a coat is super simple: right sides facing, sew all around, turn inside out and sew up the opening. The sleeves are a little different, but that shouldn’t deter you. You too can make a coat for your kid! I feel like clothes are getting more and more expensive as they get more and more cheaply made.

Okay one more thing about the coat and then I’ll be done. The buttons. They are beautiful. I was going to use up whatever matched from my button jar, but a friend told me to go to Gayfeather, which if you are local know is a beautiful fabric store, but I bet you never noticed their button cabinet. It’s awesome. I love the burnished look of them and that everyone is different.

After all the swearing and unpicking of seams, it’s just feels ridiculously good to see him always choose this coat to wear. Now I have to figure out how to make the one his sister has been asking for.

I wanted to make some corduroy pants for my kids this fall and my son picked out this crazy purple called blackberry.  That was weeks ago. And it’s not like the fabric has been sitting around waiting for me to get to it. I have been working on these pants and his sister’s skirt for a good long while now. First it turns out that a yard and a half will no longer get me two pairs of pants like it used to, so the shorter one got the pants and the taller one had to settle for a skirt (luckily the tall one’s a girl). And then when I really looked at the fabric, though it is corduroy, it’s barely thicker than quilting cotton (damn you Joann’s and your cheap ass fabric) so I thought I’d try to line it. Which I’ve never done. And while we’re at it let’s try flat felled seams because hell I’ve never done those before either. Oh and pockets, they need pockets. All of this added up to my sewing machine permanently living on the dining room table, because I only have 10 minutes here and there to work, and now my hand wheel is covered in peanut butter.  Neither piece turned out great, but I was doing lots of things I didn’t really know how to do and made up the patterns as I went along, so really I shouldn’t be surprised.  Lining is hard. We live in Wisconsin and our winters are super cold, so I would love to line all the clothes I make, but I don’t know how. You would think it would be easy. In the vastness of the craft blog world there must be some “how to line clothes” tutorial . Isn’t there? I know I did the lining for the skirt wrong because it can stand up with no one in it and the ruffles aren’t very ruffly. And the pants lining was a little easier, but the hems were a pain in the butt because they were so thick. So they got warm, if a little half ass, purple clothes. All they care about is the purple, so whatever.

The heart pocket was my friend’s brilliant idea and my daughter loves it. And I love the bright blue stitching that I used on both garments and the buttons she chose. So they weren’t complete failures. Luckily I just bought the book “Carefree Clothes for Girl,” which is beautiful–and has patterns, because I learned I can’t just wing it. And to help with that problem I got “Design It Yourself Clothes: Patermaking simplified” from the library, which I just started to read and it’s awesome. My list of things to make get longer with every new craft book that comes out.

It goes without saying that not much is getting made here. What with a newborn baby (and a crabby one at that) and two crazy preschoolers wreaking havoc from the first moment they wake up and a blanky blank holiday–we need all the school time we can get. I have somehow managed to make some pies, mostly because I want to eat them. This one is pretty damn good (and all gone) and this is on the docket for today. But I did get to sneak down to my studio for all of ten minutes to sew up this little curtain for the fireplace. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now and had grand visions of appliqued castles and little pockets for little friends. Finally I just said screw it and cut and hemmed this pretty piece of fabric (a bedspread from urban outfitters that was destined to become something at one point, I just forget what).  I saw the idea in Cookie magazine, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere online. The kids call it their secret room and though the novelty has worn off for them already (two days later) I still like it.

boy!

He was 5 days late, 5 excruciating days, but now he’s here and part of the family. This second son of mine is modeling his “if I make it the baby will come” outfit that I made in that last week of pregnancy. I stole pants and hat idea from Made by Rae, because I literally could have no other thoughts that week besides, “it’s it time yet? now? now is going to happen?”The hat reverses to a pink stripe because we didn’t know if it was a little man or a little lady. The pants are from an old tank top that is  super lightweight because it’s August and should be hot, right? The Midwest has decided what the hell let’s have fall early this year.

The booties I actually started when I was in labor and finished up this past week. They’re from the same pattern I made for a friend’s baby and they are just so stinking cute. And now I have a whole Von Trapp matching family!

No baby yet (two days overdue and counting) but this is pretty damn exciting. I’m in a calendar! and I’m not naked in it! This is a pretty fantastic calendar, one I might even pick up if I wasn’t in it–and I’m pretty cheap, I mean I draw my own calendars monthly. There are so many fantastic projects in here:  two each week. It’s just the right amount because you could actually do two little sewing projects each week.  And there are so many fantastic bloggers in here like Ellen from the long thread, Alicia from the Mayfly, Dawn from UK lass in the US, and the listed of talent just goes on and on.  I’ve got 2 projects in the calendar: the tin can cover (hey look it’s on the cover!) and the post office bag, oh wait I found another in there, the half eaten gingerbread man (all my tutorials are here, if you are interested). I can’t believe I’m thinking about Christmas yet, but I am, and this would make a great gift for a lot of people on my list. I have no idea if it’s in stores yet, or what stores it will be in, but if I see it in one I will surely freak out and tell everyone I know.

It’s my little boy’s first day of (pre)school today. Now is where I’m supposed to say they grow up so fast, etc. etc. but really sometimes it goes painfully slow. I feel like we’ve been talking up this day for a long long time. I want him to do silly dances and think I’m hilarious forever, but I also want him to sit on the potty by himself and not wake up all the time at night. It will be nice to have a few hours a week to myself, but I do already miss him. Parenting is ridiculous. Anyway, I made him a school bag (of course) with this fantastic japanese animal print I had squirreled away just for this very occasion. I got it a while back from the etsy shop alittlegoodness, which is now sort of under new ownership. His sister is very jealous of the new bag and pretty pissed that she just has the same old one she’s always had (even though hers was the first kiddy messenger bag!). Oh well, she’s bigger and gets to tell him what to do.

Now I have to go paint the bathroom.

I’ve been thinking about making this pillowcase for a long while now (a lot of my posts start like that I know, but it takes me a loooong time from coming up with an idea to actually executing it).  It’s wrong in many ways: the size is off, the pocket is a little too small, there are too many pattern pieces, and for some reason my camera refused to focus on it.  But at least the idea is out of my head finally. I wanted to make a small pillowcase with a patchwork pocket–my scraps box is literally overflowing–and a little friend to go in it. I made it in linen because linen pillowcases are awesome and because little heads seem to sweat a lot more then big ones, but if I sell these, which is the plan, they would be too expensive in linen. So maybe I’ll do some simple embroidered linen ones and do the pocket pillowcases in cotton.  The pillow is about 15″ by 7″ (or something like that). I like to use these little ones for my kids. They fit nicely in a crib and my daughter, who is in a bed, likes to have a big one and a little one. Does anyone else use these? Should I not make little ones and just make the standard size? I need your insight here. Go all out and tell me what you think of this. Good or bad, it’s incredibly helpful.

I am still stuck on a name for the bag in the last post. I’m leaning towards “the finder’s keeper,” which 2 people suggested or the much simpler “the little bag.” I’m going to visit my family for 10 days, so while I’m internetless in the woods I’ll think it over. Thank you for all your suggestions: I think I might start calling my purse my “cache stash” because it’s so awesome.