6/23/2015

2 for the Baja

 Day 2 kid's clothes week and I (miraculously) made two things!

Broc saw this shirt from Uncle Robert and loved it so I made it fit him ( I used the same measurements as this one) and now he thinks he is a pretty cool kid ;0)



As soon as this button-up shirt was done Broc put it on and said "I always will wear these together from now on!"  I have to admit I was pretty surprised by that statement. He has never said or acted like he cares what he wears before but he really liked the Baja T-shirt layered with the button-up shirt



He is growing up and actually starting to get his own sense of style. Notice the shorts and how well they match? *insert eye roll* He felt good about the clothing I made today which makes me happy and want to sew more for him! A win win :0)

Ps. I got a new camera, Yay! I will be hopefully getting to know it better soon :0)

6/22/2015

Hollister shirt

Its Kid's Clothes week starting today! from the 22-28 the goal is to sew for your kids for 1 hour every day. I've participated a few times but rarley for the whole week due to my, ahem, kids haha! We'll see what happens this time ;0)

Broc is in need of clothing the most, it seems, I guess that's what happens when you are the oldest child! First for clothing, first to ride a bike, first for getting in trouble and the first child we get to experiment learn from. Hopefully we don't mess him too bad ;-)


I have clothing planned to sew for the other boys but Broc grows so quickly and is tall for his age. The other boys can wear things twice as long and end up with quite a bit of hand me downs so their need isn't as great. Yes I'm rambling. I'm trying to justify making more for this boy lately, lol!


The shirt is an old one from my youngest brother, I resized it for Broc so he could wear something "cool" (aka: anything from Uncle Robert).


I used the Flashback skinny tee with a few adjustments. I did the 9/10 size but added 1/2 inch on both sides as well as the sleeves. I felt that the tighter fit didn't look right on Broc. I know now I prefer the looser/tighter fit for his shirts and will be doing this change from here on out.


I did not re-size the neck and as you can see the fit is perfect! I fiddled and adjusted until I had the neckline just where I needed it to be so I wouldn't loose any of the name "Hollister" on the front.
It was a quick project that took me all of 15 minutes... give or take a few ;-)

6/19/2015

8 Free Girl patterns!!

Have you checked out my Free girl patterns page? I have over 100 listed from newborn to size 14!
Here are 8 new ones I have added:

http://seemesew.blogspot.com/p/free-patterns-for-girls.html

Here are the patterns listed above:
http://leafytreetopspot.blogspot.com/2011/05/piped-pocket-infant-skirt-pattern-and.html
Piped pocket skirt by Made by Me shared with you
size 3-6 months

diy peasant dress 
DIY Peasant Dress by O
 sizes 12 months to 4T

 Ruffle diaper covers By See Kate Sew
 size 0-3 months


http://truebias.com/2012/04/toddler-swing-tank-pattern-sz-2t.html 
 Swing Tank by True Bias
size 2T


 (9) Name: 'Sewing : Brooklyn Frock
 Brooklyn frock By peek-a-boo patterns
sizes 3 months to 8 years
(affiliate link)

 http://duringquiettime.com/2009/03/pintuck-perfection-baby-dress-tutorial.html 
 Pintuck Dress by during quiet time
 size 3 months


http://thestitchingscientist.com/2013/08/rickety-rac-baby-dress-tutorial-and-free-pattern.html 
Rickety Rack Dress by the stitching scientist
 size 0-3 months

http://www.sewjereli.com/2013/04/baby-dress-free-sewing-pattern-and.html 
 Baby Dress by Sew Jereli
 size 6-12 months

Be sure to check my Free Girl patterns page to see over 100 free patterns for Girls!!


6/15/2015

Stains be gone - the cool way

With four boys and an active husband I'm getting pretty good at hiding of getting rid of stains! You can see from previous posts that I've found things that work to get rid of stains for the most part. 

But occasionally I get a stain that is too stubborn and won't budge. Like this shirt for example, I love this shirt on my husband but the stain would not budge! It was very obvious and not wearable which made me sad cause I liked this shirt a lot.

So I used fabric paint and painted over it! I added a few other spots so that it looked more natural to the shirt (and to hide a smudge of paint I dropped, yes I'm terrible at doing that ;0).

 I used acrylic paint with a textile medium added since I have a hard time finding fabric paint in color other than basic red, yellow, green and blue. I highly recommend adding some to acrylic paint since it looks much more professional and doesn't crack. Make to sure to follow the textile mediums ratio to paint it may seem like a lot but it does affect how the paint will set.

From not wearable to looking almost new!
All you need are a few things to do this and you can use it for other projects too!
freezer paper for your design or you can free hand it 
That's it! Now you will have all you need for future projects and to cover any stains you might have :0)

~This post contains affiliate links which help support this blog however all opinions are my own.~

6/13/2015

Sharing Saturday

Sharing Saturday is all about sharing whats going on in my family!

 I could hear the ping of BB's being fired I was happy that he wasn't shooting in the house...exactly anyways.

 Rain has made our little pond very full and this little guy wanted to jump in clothing is optional apparently.

 Our yard is a swamp land after all the rain we have had!

 Don't let Preston's face fool you he was excited about finding a snake and carried it around for a while before we let him loose!

 Notice the bench in the distance? The river exceeded its bounds with all the rain we've had!

I sure love this guy! We have managed 4 dates this month and its a record! We are trying for 1 date a week even if its only an hour.

6/08/2015

Men pants to Boy shorts

Jerome had a nice pair of men slacks that I LOVE! From the color to the feel they were top on my list except that they didn't fit him. I threw them into the goodwill pile but kept pulling them out and putting them back. Finally last week I decided to just cut them up and turn them into shorts for Broc, I figured even if I messed them up it would be better to try than not to.

 They went from this:

To this:
I am so in love with the whole outfit! I could just die from the cuteness!!! 

 
 I was careful to follow Broc's waist measurement to the T and it turned out perfect. Get your kids measurements down on paper so you don't have to keep measuring them it has made my life so much easier!
 I use these charts.

If I were to make them again I would like to try this tutorial but for these I just winged it which really is my favorite way to do things ;0)

   I am in serious like of how the back fits and he really likes that they don't fall off so it is a win win.

 
 Broc is so slim I have a hard time seeing him in things that actually fit but they look good don't they?

 This whole outfit reminds me of Newsies, one of my all time favorite movies, Broc would be a heart breaker in it I'm sure ;0)

All in all a win the fit is good, not perfect but good. The zipper is a little long in the crotch area but that's because I used the original and didn't shorten it at all. I can already tell these are going to be passed down to each of my boys so I reinforced all the seams in hopes of not having to mend ...for a while anyways ;0)

6/04/2015

6 Free patterns just for boys!

I found 6 new patterns I am adding to the Free boy patterns page!

~Images linked below~

 Here is a great pattern for pajama bottoms! Make them knee length for the summer and you're set! 
Size 5T


(9) Name: 'Sewing : Slim Sweats - Boys Sweatpants
 Slim sweats are cute and perfect for cool nights or camping trips! Check them out!
 Size 5T

 This is another great summer pant pattern make tons for summer!! This one comes in sizes 12 months to 5T!

 
 Looking for a polo shirt for summer? This comes in sizes 2T to 7/8!


 
 I love rompers and this pattern would be great to keep little knees safe while crawling! Size 9 months
Sew a t-shirt with a FREE pattern - so cute for toddlers! - Melly Sews
 Need a shirt to go with all the shorts you can make? This is a great pattern that has sizes 2-4 years. check it out!


6/02/2015

Tutorial Tuesday: Simple stuffies

Carter wanted to make a dolphin on our night together so I asked if we should do a tutorial and he was all for it! So here you go as promised ;-)


 Its easy enough for anyone with any level of sewing to make, especially good for kids as they can sew it with machine or by hand.

First you need a template of sorts by either finding a picture to print off or drawing one (which is what Carter did with coco man). You should print it the size you want it to be or add the seam allowance like I did above.
Tip: searching for outline of whatever you are wanting to make, makes cutting easier.

Cut it out or have your child do all the work, ha!

Get 2 pieces of fabric and place them together right sides facing.
Trace around the image onto the fabric. I like to use a a washable marker but you can use a pen, chalk or even a pencil will work.

 Pull away the image piece and see if your tracings are where you want them.
Then mark two places about 2 inches apart, "A" and "B".  

Bring your fabric to your sewing machine and start sewing at point "B" (in the previous picture) and sew all the way around until you get to point "A" leaving the a gap between the two points.

Now cut  leaving about 1/4" all around where we sewed. 
Clip any curves in a "V" shape and clip corners, clip right up to the seam without cutting through (kids may need help with this step).

Reach inside the little gap you left and turn your stuffie inside out pushing out all the corners and crevices.

Now fill with polyfil, rice, beans or whatever you  have on hand.
Turn the edges of your hole inside and sew shut either by hand or with your machine.

Hand to your anxiously waiting child and eat some chocolate you are done!


If you want to do 2 different fabrics, like the sting ray, it looks really good and adds to it a lot!