{Bee-lieve}

I can hardly believe that the school year is finished already.  Today is my son's last day of First Grade!  He had a wonderful teacher this year so I wanted to make sure to get her something special to thank her for all her hard work.  I was searching on Pinterest and came across this idea, it was perfect.  This last quarter Milo's class studied insects and the bee is his favorite.  He did a special little report on them :0) 

 

 

The original post can be found on the Detail-Oriented Diva! blog.  She has a download for the cute little tags as well.  I included Burt's Bees hand lotion, hand salve and lip balm, a thank you note from me and a photo collage of Milo with a special little thank you from him as well.

 

 

I love the little finger print bees.  We had a blast making fingerprint insects of all kinds after finishing the tags.  The bags are tied closed with some yellow and black ribbon.

 

We're looking forward to a fun filled summer break before school starts again in August.  Do you have any extra special activities or trips planned this summer?

{Lizard Shorts}

 

 

I loved the Mermaid Shorts that I made with the Sycamore Shorts pattern so much that I made a boy version for my son.  I used a bright lizard print that I have had in my stash for a while.  The print is so busy that I used a solid black and solid blue for the pockets. The only differences between the boy shorts and the girl shorts is the pocket shape which is more geometric for the boys and the length which is longer for the boys.  These came together really quickly which thrilled my son, he couldn't wait for them to be finished.  I added a little ribbon tag to the back so he has no problem figuring out which side is the front.  I have a feeling they will be the most worn pair of play shorts he has this summer.

 

{Mermaid Shorts}

My youngest niece turns 5 years old next week and I was at a loss about what to get or make for her until I saw the new Sycamore Shorts pattern by Sew Like My Mom on the Riley Blake Designs Blog.  I knew these shorts would be adorable on her.

I found this adorable mermaid print as well as the green and red prints at my local Jo-Ann Fabrics.  Emma just LOVES mermaids so I'm pretty sure she will like these comfy shorts.  These shorts came together like a dream!  The instructions are very clear with lots of pictures.  I added just a few little details.  I really wanted a little red pop on the front of these shorts so I added the faux drawstring on the front waistband.  I also topstitched about 1/8 inch from the top edge on the elastic casing which gives it just a little ruffle, perfect for little girl shorts.

 

The pockets are generously sized, great for carrying around all those summer treasures.  I love the tulip-like shape and the ability to make the pockets with two different fabrics or one fabric.  The pattern also includes an option for boy pockets which are more squared off rather then rounded.

 

The Sycamore Shorts pattern comes in sizes 12 months-8 and the best part of all is that it is FREE!!



{Lunch Bag}

Just the other day I realized my son's store bought lunch bag was coming apart.  Ugh, only 2 more months of school and he needs a new one. Kids lunch bags/boxes is not something that is common to find in the stores this time of year.  My son takes his lunch to school every single day.  He has several food allergies and is a picky eater so it is just safer to send a lunch that I know he will eat.  Because Milo is messy, his lunch bag gets a good washing in the machine at least once a week and I'm sure that is why it is falling apart.

 

I found a pin on Pinterest that was perfect!  A kid sized waterproof, insulated and washable lunch bag.  The next day I ventured down to the fabric store while the kiddo was at school to gather the necessary materials and by the end of the day he had a new lunch bag he was thrilled with.

 

This tutorial by Zaaberry is wonderful and there are instructions for an adult size lunch bag too.  She provides lots of pictures and great instructions.  It took me around an hour to make the lunch bag.  I did add a few details to the original tutorial as well.

 

I added a pocket on one side to tuck a note or special treat into. 

I also added a loop so that it can attach to his backpack.  It also fits just right into his backpack.

The size is perfect too.  Not too small and big enough that it will accommodate a growing apatite.  It holds his drink and food thermos plus an applesauce pouch, and yogurt tube without any problems.

 

For the inside I used a PUL so that it can be wiped clean and will contain small messes and spills.  The middle layer is insulated so that his lunch will stay cold with a small ice pack.

 

The most important thing is that Milo loves his new lunch bag and insisted he use it the very next day!!



Kids Clothes Week~~Fall 2013

I started my kids clothes week a bit early since I won't have much time to sew this week.  Tomorrow my son starts a two week intensive treatment program for his eczema which requires us to be at the hospital for about 10 hours a day.  In preparation for this I did make him several pairs of pajamas!  These will be used as part of the "wet wrap" technique they use at National Jewish Health to help heal the skin.  The pajamas needed to be cotton knit and snug fitting.  I had the perfect patterns in my arsenal to make the perfect jammies. 

For the shirt I used the Flashback Skinny Tee and for the bottoms I used Fancy Pants Leggings.  About a year ago I found some great monster knit fabric at Joann's and used that for one pair.  The other pair ended being one pair of bottoms and two tops.  For these jammies I used up the very end of the monster fabric, some grey knit I picked up as a remnant and some knit scraps I had.  The sleeves had to be pieced on both tops but I like how they turned out.  I also like my smaller left-over pile!   I also had some race car knit left over from making jammies once before (that are completely worn out).  I paired the race cars with some solid color knit I had in my stash to make this pair. 

 

Thumbs up for the new "cozy and soft" monster pajamas, he refused to take them off!  This pair has a contrasting black bum panel to match the cuffs.  I also used ribbing (with some spandex in it) for the waistband.  I wasn't sure how well they would stay up, but they work beautifully.

 

 

Two more shirts and a pair of bottoms that will mix and match with the monster jammies.  I really like how the two-tone sleeves came out and it allowed me to get two shirts done instead of just one.  I also used the black ribbing for the waist band. 

 

 

 

Race car pajamas to replace the pair he has worn out.  I love how the colors turned out on this pair.  The red top and navy blue bum panel and cuffs match this print perfectly.  For this pair I used some red elastic on the waist.

 

{Mitted Pajamas}

If you have a kid with eczema you know the nights are the worst for scratching.  Milo has had eczema since he was about 6 weeks old.  Some years have been better than others, but the last two years have been pretty difficult.  Night time is the hardest because he lays in bed with nothing to do until he falls asleep, so he scratches.  Footie pajamas prevented him from scratching most of his body.  His forearms where he could pull up his sleeves and his face were his main targets.  I thought to myself, he needs those newborn type pajamas with the fold-over mittens.  I realized he had a pair of footed pajamas that had the same type of thing on the feet.  I checked them out and figured out how to put the same thing on the sleeves of Milo's jammies to prevent the bloody sheets.  I figured out two ways of putting "hand covers", as Milo calls them, onto pajamas. 

The method I will show you here can be easily added to store bought pajamas with long sleeves.  The second method (in an upcoming post) requires you to make the whole shirt or pajamas.  Honestly my son can get his hands out of either of these if he really wants to.  He can also play with toys and unzip footie pajamas to use the bathroom in the night even with his hands still covered.  What these do is prevent the unconscious scratching during sleep and just before falling asleep he can scratch but his hands are covered so no damage is done.

Materials Needed:

pajamas--either 2 piece with long sleeves or footie pajamas work great

 

1/2-3/4 yard of ribbing in color of your choice.  Ribbing can be found in most fabric stores and on-line.  It is normally 95-97% cotton and 3-5% spandex to give it the stretchiness but not stay stretched out.  Ribbed knit can be found in 100% cotton but will stay stretched out until you wash it.  I have used both and they both work well for hand covers.  It can be hard to find a good color selection of ribbing.  I recently found women's ribbed tank tops on clearance and picked them up in several colors.  This is what I used in my example.  When cutting out your pieces make sure the lines run the long way on your pieces so it stretches the correct way. 

 

thread

scissors

sewing machine

Step 1:
Measure how wide the cuff is on the sleeve, add 1/2 inch. 

This is the width you will cut your pieces.  In my example, the cuff was 2 1/2 inches so the width I cut my pieces is 3 inches.

Step 2:
Measure how long you child's hand is then add 2 inches.  Double this number for the total length to cut these pieces. Cut 2 pieces of ribbing this length by the width in step 1.  In my example, Milo's hand is approximately 4 inches + 2 inches = 6 inches x 2 for a total of 12 inches.  These are the green pieces in the pictures.

Step 3:
Add 6 inches to the above number (12 in my example) and cut 2 pieces of ribbing this length by the width in step 1.  For my example I cut my pieces 18 inches by 3 inches.  These are the salmon colored pieces in the pictures.

Step 4:
Lay one piece from step 2 and one piece from step 3 next to each other, then fold them both in half.

Fold the longer piece down from the folded edge to make it the same length as the shorter piece.

Lay the shorter piece (green) on top of the other piece (salmon) so that the extra folded bit is in the middle. This extra bit is what will flip over to cover the hand.  Pin the long edges together and sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 5:
Trim your seam allowance to about 1/8 inch and turn your cuffs right side out.

Step 6:
Turn the pajama sleeve inside out.  Fold the existing cuff toward the inside.  Slip your new cuff into the sleeve.

I like to position the cuff with the extra part that folds over (salmon color) toward the front of the shirt. Match the side seam of the cuff to the sleeve seam and pin cuff to sleeve.

Step 7:
Sew the cuff to the pajama sleeve with a small 1/4 inch seam.

Turn the sleeve right side out.  Repeat steps 4-6 for the second sleeve with the other 2 pieces you cut in steps 2 and 3.

 Finished cuffs

Cuff folded over and  Cuff folded down for those times hands can be free to play

I added hand covers to 4 pair of pajamas in just over 30 minutes!

 

 

These hand covers would work great to keep hands warm in the winter and help prevent little fingers from pulling on trachs, feeding tubes, pulse ox probes and many other things!  They are not 100% fool proof but we love them :0)

{Beach Pants}

After making the Beach Bum Hoodie I had just enough fabric left over to make a pair of pants.  Well, I almost had enough...I did have to piece one of the legs but I really like how it turned out.  The best part was that all of my fabric had been used, not one piece left to go back into the stash that has grown out of control!

I used the Kickin' Back Sweats pattern from the Sewing For Boys book.  These pants are nice and roomy so they can slip on over shorts if it gets chilly.  I have made these pants a few times and they come together so nice and quickly. 

I think the little details like trim & topstitching make the garment.  I had picked up a pair of orange shoe laces at some point and decided to use them as embelishments on these pants.  I added functional drawstrings at the ankles, a faux drawstring at the waist and I added a shoestring stripe to the pocket. 



The leg I pieced together. It ended up on the back of the leg.
 I think it is pretty subtle yet almost looks like I did it
on purpose.  The drawstring adds interest and function.

 

 

One thing I like to do, especially with kids clothes, is to put a tag in them so the kiddo doesn't put them on backward. I usually use a scrap of contrasting fabric tucked into the elastic casing on the waist band. Sometimes I will use a piece of coordinating ribbon or twill tape.

 

It's finally warming up here and I can't wait for the kiddo to try these out!