Kids Clothes Week…The Rest

So, last time was day 4.  Then, um, I got tired.  And my husband got home from a business trip.  I still worked on kids clothes (-ish, as you’ll see in a bit), but didn’t get to posting about them.  So here you go:

Day 5, I worked on knitting a hat for child #2.

Day 6, two short sleeved t-shirts to go with the pajama pants.  And since Dad got his clothes miniaturized before, this time it was my turn.

 

My original pi shirt, and my horseshoe crab shirt.  You may notice some purple dots on the front of the pi shirt.  I was going to do an op art design like this on the front, (the original front had an unfortunate scorch mark) but it was making my brain hurt.  So I left well enough alone.

Ottobre 3/2011, #12, the Happy Animals t-shirt, again in size 86.  I cut the sleeves out of the original sleeves, and they’re a little longer than the pattern calls for, if I recall correctly.  The bottoms are currently unhemmed, though I may take care of that one of these days, and I used fold-over elastic for the neckline binding.  I’m getting better at it too, though the back neck on the pi shirt is a little gape-y.

Then Day 7, I decided it was time to work on stuff for child #2 (currently called Peanut) again.  So I worked on receiving blankets.  Which aren’t clothes, necessarily, but for a newborn, they’re just as good.  I finished up on what I’m calling Bonus Day.

There are two sets because we don’t know the gender (not, Lord help me, because I know there’s one of each, which is what someone from the yarn store wondered).  I’ve been enjoying the mystery, but I thought we should have something appropriate to take pictures with at the hospital.  Just flannel receiving blankets (though probably three times as large as the ones you buy at the store), with quilting cotton bias binding.  The navy is just regular bias binding.  The gray, I cut at a 30 degree angle, and extra wide to make the polka dot pattern look right.

So now it’s time to get cracking on the rest (less cute parts) of the hospital bag!

Kids Clothes Week Day 4

First Day 3, part 2.  After Peter went to bed, I finished repairing the pants I mentioned on Day 1.   From Ottobre 4/2010, Hilleri pants, size 86 (I think).  I fused all the front leg pieces together, added length,  and narrowed the legs by about an inch.

The good:

• Green pants are awesome!
• Yellow topstitching is also pretty fun.
• I successfully installed a fly zipper.
• Camouflage!

The do-better-next-time:

• Finish the seams the first time!
• When pants are going to be rolled up, make an extra effort to have an even hem.

 

And now for Day 4—another pair of pajamas!

Second verse, same as the first.  The topstitching is a little better (though it could still be better), the waist a little more snug and the fly a little better.  Plus it’s made out of his dad’s high school band t-shirt.

Kids Clothes Week Day 3

Or, “Rain, rain, come out to play.”  I finished the rain pants just in time for this afternoon’s rain.  No, it’s not actually raining in the pictures.  But it did later.

From Ottobre 6/2010 (again), the Kuperkeikka velour pants in size 92, with lengthened legs.

The good:

• They fit! See below for my caveat.
• I put a lining in them all by myself.  It may be a little feminine, but it was on my shelf and served the purpose of protecting the membrane on the blue while still breathing itself.

The do-better next time:

• I sized up one size because I intend these to be worn over other pants.  In retrospect, I think I should have gone up two sizes—one for overpants, one for non-knit (though with some stretch) used on a knit pattern.  Especially because:
• Serging the Gore-Tex was not a good idea.  It bunched and pulled strangely.  And I don’t know that Teflon feet or whatever exist for sergers.  Since the pants are fully lined (in my version), it’s unnecessary too.  I had to cut off the serged seams and try again.
• I should really pay more attention to my bobbin warning light when sewing on something you’re not supposed to poke extra holes in.

Kids Clothes Week Day 2

I have a really awful picture of the rain pants I worked on today, but both the picture and the current state of the project are so depressing that I decided to document it with this little man demonstrating why I might want some waterproof pants.

He loves pouring things.  And stirring things.  And dumping things.  I have plans for a water table like this, but for now we have a plastic tub in the backyard and some things from the kitchen.  And it’s awesome.  Much better than the kitchen floor, which is where such things were taking place (and still occasionally do).  But we always have to have a new pair of pants after a water session.  Which is okay, but I thought some protective pants would be a useful item in the arsenal.  Not to mention there’s a creek right behind our house, and we need to go see how the tadpoles are doing.  So I found an elastic-waist pants pattern in Ottobre, some GoreTex that I had earmarked for another purpose, and I hope we’ll have some rain pants soon.

But not tonight.  I think I may cast on for a baby boy hat (the baby girl hat is mostly finished—just needs a button) and veg out in front of the TV.  Hey, a hat is clothes!

Kids Clothes Week Un-sewing

Well, I got more than my hour in today thanks to a long nap from the little mister.  Unfortunately, my work was of the terribly un-photogenic kind—tracing patterns, and cutting out fabric.  Luckily, one of my projects includes fixing a pair of pants that I *already* have pictures of—how sneaky is that?

Here’s Peter on St. Patrick’s Day in his promised camouflage pants.  I broke a needle on my serger in the middle of working on them, and so left the seams unfinished.  Plus I cut the elastic for the waistband too long.  Thanks to the long nap today, I decided to fix those things.

So, seams are ripped, patterns are traced, fabric is cut, and systems are go for the next few days of Kids Clothes Week sewing.

What I’ve been up to

Hm, let’s see.  Last time I was around, I promised to share some knitting projects.  And then I promptly didn’t.  I have this problem where I want my blog to be some faithful chronicle of life and my fun stuff, and then I don’t update, so I forget everything.  So I think I’m just going to start with what I’ve been doing recently, before I forget.  If' I’m lucky, I’ll go back through and play catch up on some other stuff, including the knitting.  How’s that for a tease?

First up:  pajamas!

From Ottobre 6/2010, the Pitka Jussi long johns and the Villi Viikinki undershirt, both in size 86 (side note—why do some of the names in Ottobre seem to be translated [the same issue has Jumpin’ In coveralls], while others obviously aren’t?).  The hibiscus print was originally something I requested for myself in middle school, I think?  I’m sure my mom will be glad to see that it finally got turned into something.  The red is a t-shirt from the Goodwill pile, and the navy is cotton-lycra.  It works well instead of ribbing, I think.

The good:

• It fits!
• It has a little fly, which amuses me greatly.

The do-better next time:

• It would look better with more of the topstitching that’s suggested.  My topstitching was looking really, really awful, so I decided to forgo it.  Mom and I think it’s because I decided I could use a regular double needle instead of going to get a ballpoint one.  We’ll try that for the next pair.
• I think If I’m just going to use the lycra for the waistband (I didn’t put in any elastic), I’ll shorten it just a smidge.
• One of the cuffs on the shirt is inside out.  Not super noticeable, so I didn’t bother ripping it out and redoing it, but suboptimal.
• Sewing in the size labels really works better when I can see them.  I’ll have to get a picture of the pants label.
• The inner fly could be just a little taller (which I think is my fault).  Not that it matters one iota since he’s wearing a diaper, but still.

Luckily, my chance to improve will come soon!  It’s the Kid’s Clothes Week Challenge this week at elsie marley, and I’m signed up!  Stay tuned for the week’s exploits.

Making myself useful

When I go off and make something mostly frivolous (like my floor cushion), I occasionally get flack, since that usually means I’m ignoring a big pile of unfinished projects, or a pile of useful sewing that I keep promising myself and others that I’ll do.  And usually both.

It doesn’t normally bother me.  It’s my hobby here…at least I ended up with something.  But there comes a point when enough is enough, and I seem to go on a spree.  It started with altering a pair of my husband’s work pants and ended up growing from there.

A piece of flannel floating around my stash became a few more face wipes for a certain little man who enjoys playing with his food, a Kohl’s $5 dress became a much less dowdy length, a thrift store bathrobe was also hemmed for new-baby nursing this summer, and I found a much more attractive solution to the light from our bedroom stereo (previous solution was to drape whatever item of clothing was at hand over the display).

And there may even be more to come!  I’ve been cleaning up the basement, and created a “use it or lose it box” of clothes that I don’t wear anymore, or bought with the express purpose of refashioning, and just haven’t.  So, the hard deadline for this box is our move in the fall.  Whatever doesn’t make it into a more useful form, or back into the clothing rotation will go to the thrift store at that point.

Next up?  Some successful knitting, and some not-so-successful knitting.