{KCWC Day 2 & 3 ~~ Black Cats}

 

It's that time of year again, time to make Halloween costumes!  For the last 2 days I have been busy making black cat costumes for my nieces.  Last week I made two more black cats for a friend.  I feel like I have just produced a litter of black cats!  The fun part is that all 4 cats will probably go trick-or-treating together.

 

A Black Cat with Green Accents for the 3 year old.

 

 

A Black Cat with Pink Accents for the 8 year old.

 

For these costumes I used black panne fabric that I have had for many years and layered it with fleece.  The fleece layer was done for two reasons.  First for warmth, here in Colorado Halloween is usually pretty chilly if not down right cold.  Second was to give the costumes a bit more shape.  Panne is a very stretchy, soft and flowing fabric so the fleece gave it some body as well as made it easier to work with. 

 

The two I made last week and the pink cat are all the same size. I used an old pajama pattern (think 1996 Simplicity) for the pants and the top.  I did need take the top in quite a bit on the sides and then added the hood with ears.  The lining of the ears was done in satin.  I also added a pocket on the front to keep the hands extra warm.  The green cat was made the same way but I used different patterns. 

 

For the tail I used a jumbo chenille stem.  I found a 6 foot piece at my local Michael's and knew it would make perfect cat tails.  The big cats have 18 inch tails and the little cat has a 12 inch tail.  On one end I hot glued a piece of felt that I had put a button hole on.  The other end I covered with an approximately 5 inch tube of satin fabric and hot glued it in place.  The tail buttons right onto the seat of the pants.  

 

I completed the look with some cat paw gloves, satin ironed on to knit gloves with heat 'n bond then sealed the edges with fabric paint.  For the little one I made cat paws on mittens the same way.  All four cats have collars made from grosgrain ribbon with snap closure and a star shaped "tag" with their first initial embossed on it.  I origionally wanted to make the tags from gray or silver Sculpey to look like metal but someone had bought the store out of those colors but I found a great replacement, especially for Halloween, glow in the dark Sculpey.

Black Cat with Blue Accents and  Black Cat with Purple Accents

 

Now if my almost 6 year old son would just make up his mind about what he wants to be.  Every day he comes up with several different ideas :0)

 

{KCWC day 1 ~~ Slippers}

Fall has finally arrived in our neck of the woods and winter even snuck in for a few days this last weekend. It's time to keep those toes warm!  I decided to make slippers for my son without a pattern.  I did use this tutorial from Made By Rae as a starting point but changed the look quite a bit.  In the end, after lots of trial and error, I ended up with a decent pair of fleece cross-over slippers.

 

My original vision did not include the elastic around the ankle but they just would not stay on without it.  I tried just a bit in the back but that wasn't enough either.  I added 2 snaps to help with the fit as well.  I really liked the look of them without the elastic but they don't do much good if they won't stay on the feet :0)  Because the bottom was also fleece and we have slippery hardwood flooring I drew a design with fabric paint to help them become a non-slip sole.

 

Last year I bought some faux suede/sheepskin fabric with the intention of crafting some slippers but it never happened so I figured I would do it this year.  I did try but it was one big FAIL. 

 

 

Not only was it difficult to sew the uppers to the sole because there was NO stretch, my son hated the feel of them.  One slipper turned out alright but definitely needed some snaps.  I got Milo to try it on and he wouldn't even walk in it.  He hated it, sigh.  The other slipper was a disaster from the start.  The sole was totally puckered after trying to join it with the upper and I gave in.  If Milo wouldn't wear them anyway I was not going to stress over it.  After photographic evidence of the disaster was recorded, these guys ended up in the garbage!

{Gearing Up...}

...for Kids Clothes Week Challenge hosted by elsie marlie that begins in just 2 short days.  This is a great way to join in with other people all over the world who are committing to sew for their kids (or grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbor's kid) for at least 1 hour a day for a week.

 

 

I've been gathering piles of fabric, contemplating patterns and making lists of all the wonderful things I would love to make for my kiddo (and his cousins).  I'm trying to use up some of my fabric stash and hope to only have to buy a few little things to complete my projects.  So far my list is:

*  2 Black Cat Halloween costumes for my nieces
*  Slippers for Milo  -- drafting my own pattern using guidance from this tutorial from Made By Rae
*  Wool trousers fully lined with knit for Milo-- probably Heartbreaker Pants pattern from Sewing For Boys with a few
     modifications
*  Faux fur hat and mittens lined with fleece for my niece -- still need to find or make a pattern

*  Gray Microfleece footie pajamas for Milo -- drafted my own pattern
*  Gray knit with monsters footie pajamas for Milo -- my pattern
*  Blue puppy flannel pajamas for Milo -- Goodnight Sweetheart pattern from Sewing For Boys
*  Cotton-backed satin pajamas for my niece -- still contemplating a pattern

*  Hooded jacket for Milo upcycled from Men's Hoodie and a flannel shirt -- drafting my own pattern

 

Well that's kind of big list for one week so maybe I should get started now :0)

{Pauley's Pullover}

The September installment of the Sewing For Boys sew-along is Pauley's Pullover. 

Perfect for Fall, which should be coming around soon...I hope.

 

This skill level on this pattern is labeled "beginner" and I definately agree.  I was able to whip this out in about an hour from start to finish.

 

 I am determined to get my stash of fabric down to a more manageable size so I pulled some fabric from the rather large pile and got started. 

 

I found some soft and cute Sock Monkey fleece I had bought as a remnent.  It had a hole in it and was only 1/2 yard but the pattern called for 7/8 yard.  I traced out the pattern (size 2/3) and to my suprise I was able to get the front, back and both sleeves cut out even having to dodge the hole.  I also managed to get a little extra length on the front and back. 

 

 

For the neck band I used a red rib knit.  I enjoyed making the v-neck, it was much easier than I expected.  The only other things I have made with a v-neck are scrubs and it's a little trickier to get the point of the v to lay nicely.

 

Of course I had to change things up a bit.  Instead of making a casing and drawstring I added a 2 inch waist band made of red rib knit and inserted elastic in it.

 

 

This way I got a little more added length too. 

 

I did the same for the cuffs on the sleeves. 

 

 

I really like how it turned out and I can't wait for some cooler weather. 

I'm dreaming of playing in the falling leaves and visiting the pumpkin farm!

 

 

{A Boy & His Train}

If there is one thing that Milo loves more than elephants, it's trains.  We have no less than 7 different train sets in our house and at any given time at least one is spread out on the floor. 

As Milo's 6th birthday is approaching I realized that his toddler room was ready for a make-over.  He came home from the hospital at 16 months old to his "fishy" room.  SO now that he is a big boy in Kindergarten I figure it's time for a change.  Milo and I had a conversation and the decision was TRAINS.  He needs a room he can grow with so I don't want a little boy train room for him, we need a big kid train room.  No Thomas painted on the wall, no Chuggington bedspread.  I have some ideas but it's a work in progress.  I've started a train board on Pinterest, you can find it HERE if you are interested.

One thing I know I want is photographs of real trains and all things railroad.  Labor Day weekend would provide the perfect time and setting.  Last week I wandered into an Osh*Kosh store and found the little blue/white stripe engineer pants on sale and I could not resist.  Perfect for train pictures, now what to pair with them?  I first went toward the obvious red shirt but then had a different idea.  I dug through my box of knit and found the perfect fabric.

Mustard yellow and navy blue rib knit

I used the great Flashback Skinny Tee pattern from Made By Rae. 

I love this pattern, it so versitile.  I made the short sleeve version with contrast neck and sleeve bands for a ringer tee look.   For the hem I just surged around the bottom with yellow thread.  I added some navy fabric paint and a freezer stencil of a steam train engine.  Painting on the rib knit gave a great effect because when the fabric bends at the ribs some of the yellow shows through and gives it a more vintage-ish look. 

The perfect photo shoot outfit was complete.

 

On Saturday I grabbed Milo and Grandma and we went out for a little photo fun.  I found the perfect setting on the train tracks near the edge of town where the train crosses the Rio Grande River.  There also happens to be a train yard too.  I was able to get some great pictures of Milo and the train tracks to use in his big boy room.

 

After Milo's pictures were done he went with Grandma to throw rocks in the river while I ventured down to the train yard.  There may or may not have been a little trespassing going on :0)  I got some great pictures of all things train, from railroad tracks, to steam engines, to train axels, signs, and old rail road related buildings.

{Henry Shirt & More Elephants}

I'm a little behind getting this one posted!  The June patter in the Sewing For Boys sew-along was the Henry Shirt.  I was so excited to see that Stacy picked this shirt because I had just bought the perfect fabric I knew would make a fabulous Henry Shirt.  The fabric I used was from Ed Emberly's Happy Drawing line for Cloud 9 Fabrics.  On top of being cute it is 100% organic cotton and so soft to the touch.  I used the Elephant print for the front, back, yoke, collar and side pockets, Gray Scribbles for the side panels and inner yoke & Green Scribbles for under side of the collar.

I have learned many different techniques sewing the patterns from this book.  This shirt features a bias yoke.  I was a little confused at first but dug right in, followed the instructions and without much difficulty the shirt was done.  I love the side panels and the curved shape of the front panels.  The added top stitching just adds a more professional touch. 

The pattern calls for snaps or buttons.  I really liked the look of the snaps in the book photographs so I set out to find plastic snaps because the metal ones I've used before just wouldn't look quite right.  I ended up getting KAM snaps and they are SO easy to use, I want to use them on everything now.  I had a gift certificate on eBay so I headed there and found so many options.  The package purchased allowed me to get two different colors so I choose grey and green.  I decided that the gray snaps looked better but in the end added one green snap in the middle just to mix things up.  I also figured it would help my son get the snaps aligned correctly.

A note about the fit:  Like most patterns in this book this shirt tends to run wide. For my son (who wears a size 4 in commercially made shirts) I made the size 2/3 with the length of the 4/5 and could have easily added another inch or inch and a half to allow for growth.

 

 Luckily for us our local zoo was opening a brand new elephant/Asian animal exhibit this summer.  Milo loves the elephants but 2 who had been at the zoo for decades had been off display for the prior 6 months to get used to their new home and new elephant friends.  Decked out in his new elephant shirt we went on opening day to say 'Hi' to our old friends Mimi & Dolly and check out the new guys as well.

After finishing the Henry Shirt I had quite a bit of left over fabric and because it was a bit more expensive than I normally pay I was determined to use it all. I ended up making a pair of treasure pocket pants...

I made a matching Gone Fishing Hat..

I also made a flashback skinny tee (from Made By Rae) in white knit with green collar and sleeve binding that I freezer paper stenciled the elephants on...

 

Lastly, I made a pair of Made's basic shorts with a stenciled elephant.

 

 

A cute little elephant wardrobe inspired by son's love of elephants and my love of matching kids clothes (I've been ruined inspired by Gymboree).

 

 

{Heartbreaker Pants}

July's Sew Along pattern was the Little Heartbreaker Pants.  I know I'm behind on posting this one but the pants turned out too cute to not post about them.

 

 

This one was an easy one!  I had a pair of Heartbreaker Pants that I had started last Christmas in a black corduroy but ended up abandoning them half done when I realized how much too big they were going to be.  When I the pattern was announced in July I dug through the project pile determined to not only finish them but give them a little extra pizazz too.  The pants now fit my little guy in length just about perfect however the waist is still quite big.  The feature of this pattern that I liked the most was adding an adjustable waistband.  The perfect solution for a skinny kid :0)

The pocket lining is a black cotton print that match the suspenders I made him last Christmas and will still work perfectly with these pants too.  I decided to add some octagon shaped knee pads in a back and white hounds tooth corduroy to give them a little more personality. 

I love how they turned out.  I think paired with a nice bright lime green button down shirt and maybe those black suspenders from last year they will be just perfect for the Christmas card picture this year!

A Toe Tapping Good Time