{Robot Tee}

 

 

I had so much fun making this funky robot t-shirt!  I bought a basic t-shirt at Hobby Lobby and used knit scraps to create the robot.  His eyes are giant googly eyes left over from another project and his zipper mouth came from a pair of worn out kids jeans. I used Heat 'n Bond to attach the shapes then zig-zagged around the largest shapes.  Next time I will use Heat 'n Bond Lite though because the heavy duty stuff is a bit thick and stiff. 

 

 Not only is this shirt funky and fun, it is functional for my little boy as well.  The mouth was carefully placed and when unzipped it reveals Milo's g-tube!  It is much more convenient and age appropriate to access his tube this way rather than lifing his shirt up to eat.  Milo has had his tube since he was 2 months old, it has become so much a part of who he is, he is reluctant to have it removed.  After 6 years he is finally eating enough by mouth that we really don't use his tube anymore. 



 

Peek-a-button!  Milo's g-tube is a "button" style and looks a lot like the flap on a beach ball.  Mr. Robot is drinking through his "straw" which is the extension tube that attaches to Milo's button.

Milo modeling how he "eats" with his tube.

Weather or not your little guy has extra accessories, who can pass up such a fun robot shirt!

{Beach Bum}

 

It's been snowing here in Colorado so it's been a little hard to get into sewing for warmer weather!  My kiddo seems to have lots of summer clothes but I could not resist making him one fun outfit.  I found this great boardshort fabric at The Fabric Fairy, I found the t-shirt on clearance for $1, and had the perfect brown fabric already in my stash.  The pattern is the Beach Bum Hoodie and Board Shorts pattern by Figgy's.  I bought the pattern a couple of years ago but never got around to making them.  The pattern is still available on Etsy and Ebay. 

 

The Beach Bum Hoodie came together really well and I had it done in just over an hour of sewing time.  I had some dark brown fabric in my stash that was the perfect complement to the boardshort fabric.  I believe it is a type of guaze but thicker and has a pattern in the looser weave.  I made it in a size 4 and it fits just right.  The hood is constructed differently than I have ever done but it lays well and fits around his head nicely.  The contrast shoulder pieces were easy to assemble.  Attaching the hood and the facing was really very straight forward as well.  The only problems I ran into were related to my fabric choices.  The board shorts fabric is very slippery and the brown had a little stretch to it.

 

The Board Shorts are a size 4 and also fit well.  The side pockets on the shorts were a little bit of a challange at first, the second pocket was much easier.  There is a tutorial on line HERE that helps with the construction.  Boardshort fabric is a little more difficult to work with because it is slippery, frays easily, and doesn't hold a pressed crease very well.  I used lots of pins which especially helped with heming and making the elastic casing at the waistband.

 

I scored the t-shirt on clearance for $1 and couldn't have matched any better.  I added a graphic using a freezer paper stencil and fabric paint.  I searched for a surf board picture on the internet then added my son's name to the middle surf board for a little personalization.  The shirt had long sleeves so I just cut them off to turn it into a short sleeved t-shirt. 

 

I am very pleased how this outfit turned out and can't wait for some warmer weather!

 

 

Linkin' up to The Train To Crazy's Make It Wear It Thursday

{Sight Words~~Easter Egg Edition}

 

 I discovered a fun way to help my Kindergardener learn his sight words!  He loves to play with the plastic Easter eggs so I combined the eggs with his sight words.  I choose to focus on 6 words at a time and used 12 eggs so that each word appeared twice.  I cut small pieces of paper and wrote his words on them to put in each egg.  Ideally I would have liked to use 12 of the same color eggs bust since each package has only 2 of each color that would have made for a whole lot of extra eggs so I settled on 6 each of two different colors.  I placed the eggs in basket for Milo to choose eggs from and a basket for him to put them in when he correctly read the word in each egg.  If he missed the word it would go back in the egg and into my basket to try again.  Origionally I used the left over eggs from last year but my son is pretty sneaky.  If he missed a word and the egg went back into my basket he would pick it again right away remembering what the word was without even looking at the written word.  This is why I wanted all the same color eggs.  Using two colors I figured out that he would choose all the green eggs and then all the orange eggs so I made sure one set of each word was in the green eggs and one was in the orange eggs.  I felt this way he was learning the words more effectively rather than guessing at them.

 

When I feel he has mastered a word I remove that word from the eggs and add in another word from his list.  So far he has been learning and retaining at least one word a day.  The best part is this last week he achieved reading at grade level for the first time this year.  Quite an accomplishment for my guy, I am so proud of him!

sorry for the bad cell phone pic

{Bicycle Boy}

In Januray I made a reversable jacket as the last challange in the Sewing For Boys Sew Along.  I had planned on making matching pants and shirt it just took me longer than I expected.  I finally finished them!

 

The t-shirt is based on Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee with short sleeves.  I added a band of fabric across the shoulder seams which matches the jacket.  I saw this detail on a men's shirt and loved it.  Next time I will use a smaller print though.  I also freezer paper stenciled a large bicycle on the front of the shirt.

The pants are based on Dana's Kid Pants with a few modifications.  I added re-inforced knees, front pockets, back pockets and an adjustable waistband.  My fabric was about 3 inches too short to cut out the back pants pieces so I added an extra section to each back leg piece and I really like how it turned out.  I used a black denim from Jo-Ann's as well as a back checked cotton for the pocket linings and waistband facing.  The top-stitching was done in a medium gray and I added two gray snaps on the front of the waistband too. 

 I just love how the whole outfit turned out.  The pants and jacket are about a 4/5 and the shirt is a 5 so he has room to grow into them.  The pants are too long right now but by next fall they should be perfect.

{Bunny Tail}

A bunny costume for my imaginative kiddo.

 

 

Milo loves to pretend to be different characters and animals. As soon as Valentine's Day was over he was asking for his bunny ears. A few days later I did get them out for him, you can find the same ears at Target or Michael's. Sitting on my sewing table was a skein of yarn I used for decorating Christmas presents and knew it would make a fabulously fluffy bunny tail.

 

 

The yarn line is called Buttercup by Red Heart.  It comes in several baby colors.  I found it at Jo-Ann's and used a coupon to make it more cost effective for crafting.

 

Pom-poms are pretty easy to make, here's a tutorial for making pom-poms if you have never made one.  I made my pom-pom about 4 inches across.  If you use this same yarn I did you will need to find a stronger string to tie the center knot tightly.  Remember to leave the tails long so you can attach the mitten clip with a simple knot.

 

 

If one has a tail and ears, a bunny face t-shirt is a must!  I used a black fabric marker to draw a simple bunny face.  After the face was drawn a quick heat set with an iron and it was finished in about 5 minutes.

 

My little Easter Bunny is ready for some Easter Egg fun.  He loves to hide them for me to find, he's getting pretty creative with hiding spots too.  Only 4 more weeks before the big day...

 

 

Tip: make sure you remove the bunny tail from jeans before washing.  The original tail made it's way into the washing machine.  It ended up full of lint and the yarn matted a little bit.

 

{Sewing For Boys Sew Along~~Wrap-Up}

I can hardly believe that it has been a whole year of Sewing For Boys!  I participated in 10 of the 12 months, May and November were just too busy to get sewimg accomplished.  I really enjoyed the challanges of learning new techniques and the opportunity to sew items I might not have tried before.  Stacey at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts did a wonderful job hosting this sew along and providing us with great prizes each month.  I was fortunate to win a beautiful bag that she made.  I have already used it many times. Thank You so much for this great year long sewing-fest.

 

Raw Edge Raglan Tee (January 2012) -- I conquered sewing with lycra/spandex & tried my hand at reverse applique.

Kickin' Back Sweats (February) -- Used French Seams and top-stitching seam allowances flat for a more finished look and comfortable fit.

Easy Linen Shirt (March) -- Tried the Turn and Stitch method of finishing the seams in conjuction with hem facings on the bottom and sleeve cuffs.  Added topstitching to give it a little more interesting look

Treasure Pocket Pants (April) -- Again used French Seams to finish these pants.  Also used microfleece to make applique on pant leg and the seat of the pants.

Henry Shirt (June) -- Learned how to attach yoke/sleeve piece that was cut on the bias.  It was a bit tricky but turned out great.

Heartbreaker Pants (July) -- First time making pants with adjustable elastic in the back of the waistband.

Luka Hoodie (August) --  I decided to add a zipper instead of buttons to the front closure and that was a challange.  I also added an elastic cord at the waist band.  Loved how the secret pocket was made.

Pauley's Pullover (September) -- Attaching a v-neck binding.  So much easier than the scrubs I used to make with a v-neck.

Goodnight Sweetheart Pajamas (October) --  The pattern I have made the most.  Jammies that are so comfortable and so cute.  I added cuffs to the pants and the shirt sleeves in a coordinating fabric.

2 In 1 Jacket (December 2012/January 2013) -- First time attemping welt pockets.  I need to practice this some more.

 

Check out the Sewing For Boys Sew Along Flickr Group to see all the wonderful boy clothes that the participants sewed over the last year.  There are some great things there!

{Melted Crayon Laundry Disaster}

Laundry disaster!  I forgot to check the secret pocket on his hoodie and a yellow crayon made it through the washer and the dryer.  The only 2 pieces of clothes in the entire load that got yellow crayon melted on was his elephant hoodie that I made for him and a pair of jeans.  The hoodie got it the worst, by far.  Mostly on the hood, but quite a bit of it.

 

I had no idea how to remove this much melted crayon from clothes so it sat in the laundry area for months.  I finally decided to tackle my problem so where did I start?  Google of course!  I came across a blog that sung the praises of LA's Totally Awesome so I gave it a go.  I found this stain remover at Family Dollar for only $1 a bottle. 

 

 

She said to put the clothing in the wash on the hottest, longest setting and add half the bottle.  I also pre-treated the spots with a bit of the stain remover as well.  No scrubbing, no elbow grease required.

 After the first wash quite a bit of the crayon was gone and what was left seemed to have balled up on the surface of the fabric.  I scraped off what I could with my fingernail and sent it through the wash again.  I pre-treated the spots and added about a 1/3 cup of the stain remover.

After the second wash all that is left is a faint yellow spot on the top of the hood.  The spot on the inside of the hood is gone as is the spot on the solid part of the hood.  I am hopeful that the remaining spot will fade more when washed again.  To say I am releaved that this hoodie was saved is an understatement.  It is one of my favorite things that I have made for him.  In fact I'm working on a pair of matching sweatpants.

I would have to say that LA's Totally Awesome has definately lived up to it's name!