Captain Kirk, Chibi edition!

I haven't sewn in quite a while. It seems to go in cycles that way- I get out the machine, work on a few projects, get tired of it, put it away. That actually seems to be how I work on a lot of things.

Anyway, this is a project I worked on a few months ago, but I think there are a few people out there who might find it useful. Our family was invited to be a part of a steampunk wedding in June. I was a bridesmaid, Guy was the officiant, and wee Kai was a bubble-boy. Like a flower girl, but with bubbles. And a boy. So, you know, exactly the same.

Oooooooh!

Of course, Kai has no concept of steampunk. His vague idea of geekery pretty much includes The Clone Wars and Star Trek. So he asked if he could go to the wedding as Captain Kirk. Our friends, being all accepting sorts of geeks, agreed, and I found myself in charge of making a miniature Star Fleet uniform.

This was a quick, cheap, and slap-dash project. I wanted to do more- find appropriate shoes, for example, and maybe a tricorder or something. In the end, time had the advantage of me, but I at least made the shirt.

I apologize for the terrible quality of this photo... but not for the adorable subject :)

The basic shirt was pretty simple- I took a basic pajama shirt pattern and just made it in the closest thing I could find to that charming Star Trek goldenrod. The thing I'm proudest of, and most surprised by, is the insignia. See, when I started, I didn't actually have a plan for it, and I ended up just looking at what I had around and flying by the seat of my pants. And it worked surprisingly well. So- if you happen to ever need a quick and dirty Star Trek insignia patch, I've got you covered!

You will need-
-A scrap of the fabric you used for the shirt
-Gold metallic paint (the brand I used was DecoArt- not fabric paint, just acrylic.)
-A Sharpie black marker

Go heavy on the paint. I mean, really let it soak in.

Paint a piece of fabric large enough to out cut your patch. Walk away for several hours.

Since I was re-doing this for the tutorial, I wasn't that neat or careful with the design. Guy did the first one, and he did a nicer job.

We free-handed the shape of the delta onto the fabric with the Sharpie. I'm sure you could find a template somewhere to trace if you're not into free-handing, or if you want to be screen-accurate, or if you're not enough of a Star Trek geek to have the shape memorized. Draw it slightly bigger than you need it, to leave room to trim off the outline. Guy drew on the elongated star command symbol- because he is enough of a Star Trek geek to have all these shapes memorized.

It kind of looks like the Eiffel tower.

Cut out your delta. The paint seals the fabric so it doesn't unravel, so you just need to attach it to the shirt. I used a zigzag stitch. It's mostly invisible from a distance, but if you matched the color it would be even better (I used white thread. It was easy. It was already loaded into the machine...)

What has surprised me most is that this has lasted through several washings now. It's not quite as bright and shiny as when I first made it, but Kai doesn't mind. It's one of his favorite things ever. Along with Legos, and blueberries, and the color orange.

Wear your Geek proudly!

Pattern Reading Tutorial- New Pajama Pants for a Kitty-boy (Part 1)

I rarely use patterns for my sewing. I buy them, sure, especially the beautiful period costumes that tend to come out around Halloween. Then I put them in my pattern drawer and ogle them occasionally.

When I do use a pattern, I tend to use it the same way I use a recipe- I make sure I have the amounts roughly right and get an idea of the shapes of the fabric I need, then improvise. I know how to follow a pattern. I just usually don't. But when Kai recently asked for a new pair of pants with kitties on them, I decided to follow a pattern and take pictures of the process so I could blog about it. This tutorial is very detailed, intended for the person who has never used a pattern before. It's detailed enough that I'm splitting it into two parts because my fingers are starting to hurt from typing.

The pattern I am using is McCall's 6237. I chose it because it is pretty simple, the pants have pockets ( a must for Kai), and most of all because I already have it. It's actually meant for daytime pants, but I am using it for pajamas.

Before purchasing the fabric for a pattern, start by measuring the intended wearer. Patterns have their own sizing system that doesn't match up well with standard pre-made garment sizes. I looked at a pattern I'd purchased for myself, and I would need to make it in a size 12- in clothing I wear a 4. The opposite happened with Kai. When I measured him (and he stood surprisingly still for it!) I came up with a size 2 on the pattern, where he normally wears size 3 or 4 pants. However, I decided to make the pants in a size 4 anyway, on the theory that kids grow. They do- I've seen it. 

Side note- I measured Kai using a measuring tape which, like many of my sewing supplies, came from Guy's late grandmother. I didn't realize how old it was until Guy pointed out that it had been made in West Germany!

So- now that I know what size I'm making, I can look at the pattern package and see that for a pair of pants in size 4, I will need one yard of 45 inch wide fabric. Since I'm making pajama pants, I'm using flannel, which happened to be on sale that day at Joann. Yay! Kai chose two different flannels, one with cats and one with paw prints. I'm making two pairs of pants for him, one with each print.

I always buy more fabric than I think I will need for a project. That way I'm prepared for mistakes, and I can make little extras to go with the final product. For this one, I might use some of the extra to make a patch on a tee-shirt so Kai has a full set of pajamas. 

So, on to the cutting, right? Not so fast. Fabric needs to be washed and ironed before it is ready to cut out. (My mama would be so proud of me.) Fabric shrinks, as we all know, and it shrinks more or less in certain directions. If you get all that shrinking out of the way before you sew, you don't have to worry about weird puckers and wrinkles from different parts of the garment shrinking unevenly. And ironing the fabric before you cut out the pattern pieces gives you much neater, more accurate pieces to work with.

Here is what I will be using for this project, including washed and ironed fabric but not including the velcro (more on that later).

Skater Sleeves- Tutorial

This is a pretty simple idea, but it turned out really well. I'm continuing with my quest to conquer knit fabric- this time with something that will actually be seen when it's worn!

It's winter, and our Little Man has far more short sleeved shirts than long. He's not really lacking long sleeved shirts, but it seems like a waste to let him grow out of his cute shirts without being able to wear them. Especially his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine shirt. So I decided to make it into a Skater Shirt. (I have no idea what the official name of this style is, but I like how it looks on little people- and me.)

These are the shirts I used- the beloved Thomas Shirt, and a too small shirt too stained for the consignment store.

You will need-
-A short sleeved shirt that fits.
-A long sleeved shirt that fits or is slightly too small.
-Basic sewing supplies.

Turn your sleeve donor shirt inside out and cut the sleeves off as close to the shoulder as possible. You want to make the angle of the two sleeves match, so don't follow the shoulder seam- cut parallel to the cuff, instead.

I of course left the cuff out of this picture. I hope it's still clear.

Compare the long sleeves with the sleeves of the second shirt. You want them to be about the same size where they meet, thought the long sleeves can be a little smaller. I found that I needed to shrink the cuff of the Thomas shirt a little so they would match.

It's hard to see- there's a diagonal seam at the bottom of the sleeve.

If you need to shrink the cuff, mark where the new seam should be and baste from there to the armpit. (Mmm, lovely word.) Trim to about 1/4 inch, and zig-zag over the seam to finish it. (or you could use a serger if you have one. I do, but it isn't threaded...)

Zig-zagged.

Okay, now for the tricky part. It really makes more sense to sew this from the outside, to keep the visible seams as neat as possible. So, turn both parts right-side out, and position the new sleeve inside of the old. Pin it in place, making sure they overlap by at least a 1/2 inch.

Okay, if you have a sewing machine that works like mine, you'd remove the flat surface and have a thin arm to sew on. I slid the arm through the collar and into the sleeve, making sure that the bottom layer didn't get crumpled in the process. If you have a machine that doesn't do this, I'm not sure how you would go about this part. You might have to hand sew it (sacrilege!)

Use an appropriate stitch for knit fabric- I used the stretch stitch. On my machine, it looks like three dashed lines next to a zigzag. I followed the original seam of the Thomas shirt's sleeve so it would look nice. Try to keep the fabric from stretching as you sew. I ended up letting it stretch a little and it didn't ruin my nice shirt, so don't panic over it.

Repeat everything for the second sleeve and you're done!

Viola!

The Little Man came out from his nap and wanted to put his shirt on right away- I call that a success.

DIY Training Pants

I have decided to get over my trepidation about sewing with knits. I've actually been working on this project for more than a week, what with research and such. Did you know that many sewing machines have a stretch stitch? I do! And I even know how to find it.

A lot of the techniques I found on sewing with knit fabrics involved me spending money on more sewing machine accessories, something I am not really into right now. So I didn't try using a walking foot, which probably would have helped, or a ball-point needle, which I don't feel like I really needed.

I decided to start out with a project that I wasn't too invested in the outcome of. Recently the little man has been chatting away about the contents of his diaper, and we've been exploring the idea of potty training him. I never really intended to make his training pants, but the ones in the store are a little pricey and I found what looked like a fairly simple pattern, so I thought I'd give it a go. I dug out some old shirts and knit receiving blankets and dove right in.

My first try looked like it would fall off of a six-year-old. I think that was the fault of my fabric and not the pattern- it didn't seem to bounce back and I think it might have been too old. Even so, for round two I modified the pattern to fit a smaller child. The Little Man isn't quite two and has a little butt, and the pattern is sized for a three-year-old.

Round two turned out much better, as you will see.





The blue pants above are a size 2t from the store, while the striped ones are my creation. I think they turned out pretty cute! I used one receiving blanket, pieces of a stained yellow onesie, and a few scraps of Warm and Natural quilt batting for the absorbent part. All stuff I already had, which makes this project FREE!

The Verdict: A package of three pairs of training pants from the store costs about eight dollars- add tax and they run about three a pair. These took me more than an hour to make, and I think the ones I bought look comfier- I couldn't quite get the lumps in the waistband and legs to lie down and be nice. If you're really financially strapped (or just love making everything for your kids) this would be a good option, and the Home Sweet Homebodies pattern is great. As for me, I'll spend the three bucks and use my limited sewing time making things people will see.

Pajama Thing to Toddler Sleep Sack (tutorial)

My favorite fabric shop, Fabric Bliss, hosted a crafty get together last week with wine and sewing. It was totally free, with no obligation to buy anything, but you know how it is. You'll see some of what I ended up with later on in this tutorial. Anyway, if you happen to read this blog, own a fabric shop, and are not Aurora, consider starting up a crafty fun night- it was great fun and you will get business from it.

This project is days late in being posted, partly because it was a lot of work but mostly because I'm tired and lazy and trying to get a lot of subbing in before the end of the school year. But at last, here it is.

There are other tutorials for this kind of thing out there, but I didn't use them so I'm posting my own in the hopes that someone out there will get some good out of it. First of all, though, I need to apologise for the photos. A grey sleeper on beige carpet comes out looking pretty blah. I tried, but there just wasn't much I could do to perk these pictures up.

Anyway- the sleep sack. A sleep sack is a wearable blanket that is usually intended for littler babies, to keep them warm without risk of suffocation. My son, though, sleeps so well in his that I haven't been able to give it up- we had a lot of trouble teaching him to fall asleep and stay asleep, and I don't want to jeopardise that. The thing is, these sleep sacks run about $20, and you can't get the toddler sized ones in the store, usually. I never see them in resale shops in his size, either. So I decided to make my own. Out of this one piece pajama thingy.

In front is my model sleep sack, and the gray ugly thing under it is what will become my new sleep sack. I'm not even sure what the official name for such a garment is.

The final product. Much cuter in real life.

You will need-

-An adult sized shirt with a front closure and enough length to comfortably cover your toddler's legs. I found a men's large shirt that will work, and the pajama thing.
-A sleep sack that fits for a pattern
-(optional) Fusible interfacing and cute fabric for accents.

Start by removing tags and other silly things from your material. I removed some elastic and a ribbon bow. Then, lay your template overtop and cut out the shape of the sleeves and sides, leaving about 1/2 inch of fabric for a seam allowance.


The pajama thing was the right width at the bottom, but I wanted it a little narrower at the top.



If you are using something with legs, like I was, cut those as well so you can create a smooth sack-like bottom. If you're using a shirt, just leave the bottom hem alone.

Removing the crotch!

Then, sew up the side seams you cut and finish the sleeve edges. I would have done better to have used a trim here and bind the sleeves with that, but I was lazy. So unintentional lettuce edges it is!

I neglected to take a picture of sewing up the legs, but what you want is to make it one smooth piece all the way around, like a skirt. I hope you can picture it.

Our little man somehow managed to poke or punch himself in the eye this morning before getting out of bed. Hence the mini-shiner.

At this point, I decided to try it on my son to see how the neckline fit. I thought it was a little loose, so I folded over the shoulders some to tighten it up.

Sewn accross, then folded over and sewn down.

A lot of adult necklines won't fit a child very well, so adjust as necessary. You want it to be loose and comfortable, but not to slide down over their shoulders during the night.

Now we come to finishing the bottom. At this point you have an over-long nightgown, but we're making a sack. There are a couple of ways you can handle this step. You can just sew it shut. That's how the ones in the stores are made, and they're perfectly serviceable. However, it limits the useful life of the garment. Also, this pajama thing didn't open all the way down the front, so I wanted to be able to open the bottom and pull it over his head.

I decided to add a drawstring, instead. You could use elastic, and I think it would work better, but I didn't have any thin enough for the casing I had. See, the decorative trim at the bottom of this thing had a gap just big enough to thread a string through, so I went for that. If the hem of your material doesn't have a gap, you can fold it up to make a casing for elastic or string.

Threading my drawstring into the seam. This drawstring comes from an old pair of cargo pants.

I decided on the drawstring option after I'd sewn up the legs, so I had to undo some stitching to be able to thread my drawstring all the way through.

Now for the fun part! At the craft night, I saw some adorable kids fabric with a pattern of little cars. I thought it would be perfect to liven up this drab little outfit. So I ironed on some scraps of fusible interfacing, fussy cut out the cars, and ironed them on the pocket.

Beep, beep!

I love this fabric so much. I got helicopters, too. I don't know what they'll be, but something fun for sure.

And that's it! It wasn't quick, but it's such a useful thing to have for our sleepy little baby and it saved me eighteen dollars.

EDIT: while I didn't actually intend for this to be made from a teeshirt (I meant more of a button down shirt), once I read the blurb on Craft Gossip I realized it would work just fine with the drawstring bottom. That might be my next project!

The Littlest Staffer, or The Tale of the Missing Seam Ripper

Somewhere in this apartment is a box filled with thread, bobbins, scissors, needles, and most importantly, a stich ripper. The box has vanished- I have opened every box I can find marked "sewing room" and no luck. The thing is, a stich ripper is a critical tool for refashioning, not just for taking things apart but for undoing the inevitable mistakes when you're flying without a pattern. As you shall soon see...

Every year, my husband and I are staff at our local anime convention. And every year, I recieve one of these lovely tee-shirts. This one is a small, and though that should have been perfect, it really isn't. So I decided to make a little staff shirt for the Little Man to wear around the next convention. 

I used this tutorial from Squiggly Twigs Designs to make my shirt, so I'm not going to go into a lot of detail regarding the steps. I used one of the kiddo's tees that is still a little big, since the idea is for him to wear it in September. First, I deconstructed the shirt...

Then, I cut out my pieces using his little shirt as a pattern. I preserved the hems on the sleeves, and the collar and graphics on the front and back of the shirt. The front and back pieces are still folded in half here.

I sewed it all together, as you do- shoulders first, then attaching the sleeves, then the underarms and side seams, and finally the bottom hem. Then I tried it on and discovered my fatal flaw...

It didn't fit over his head.

Here is where a seam ripper would have really come in handy. I unpicked one of the shoulder seams using scissors, cutting black thread on black fabric, and what fun that was! Then I used some of the old hem (also used for straps on my t-shirt to tank tutorial) to make a placket for some velcro. I debated using buttons but hand needles are also in the infamous box.

And here is the young model himself! It looks great, but the velcro is actually a complete failure... I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board on this one. I might just cut off the old collar entirely and see how that looks. Fortunately, I still have a few months to figure it out.