Summer SWAP for the boy - Part 1

I'm trying to get a jump on the summer garment sewing for Mr. T, since it usually sneaks up on me. He's pretty much growing out of the size 4T things from the past year, so everything is needing replacement pretty soon. Back in February and March I started going through my Ottobre magazines and sketching out things I wanted to make for him, just so that I'd have an idea of what fabrics I wanted to use and what I'd have to buy. I really tried to focus on using fabrics already in my stash so that I'd have to buy very little. This meant that I could also try to make everything fairly mix-and-match so that there wouldn't be any mismatched clothing if someone other than me picked out his clothes. I've got all the patterns traced and am cutting things out in bunches, keeping the knits together in groups so I can sew several garments at one sitting without having to change needles or rethread the serger. It makes the process go really quickly.

As of right now I have 4 t-shirts completed and 1 short-sleeved hoodie. The hoodie is from a burnt-orange and cream 100% cotton French terry. It has some stretch because of the lofty, almost loose knit but no lycra, so the stretch is fairly minimal. For this I used the # 25 "Eleven and One" pattern from the 1/2011 issue of Ottobre. This pattern actually calls for a lining in the hood and the sleeves, but I felt that it would be too warm for summer if we used a lining, even if it wasn't in the body. Additionally I thought that a lining would drag down the loftiness of the hood and make it droopy. Instead of using the lining, I simply turned the edges of the hood under twice and stitched it down. I did the same thing with the sleeves. I contemplated making a front pocket but then the summer 2013 issue arrived with a short-sleeved hoodie pattern for babies and I thought I could use the leftovers to make a matching hoodie for the baby. I wasn't sure if I'd have enough fabric for that if I added a pocket to the larger one, so I left it plain. I did add a piece of contrasting ribbon with dragons on it at the bottom, just for a cool detail.

The first 2 t-shirts are made from the 3/2007 issue of Ottobre -# 20 Slim Fit T-shirt. The first is made from a striped interlock knit in aqua and chartreuse, with dark brown ribbing. I can't remember where the interlock came from but I think I got it on eBay and it may have been a Chez Ami knit. Don't quote me on that, though. All I know is that it's super soft.

The second of the Slim Fit T-shirts is made from a surfboard-print stable jersey that also came from either an etsy seller or eBay. My only problem with this shirt is that the fabric was a beast to work with due to the fact that it was twisted and the print was off-grain, making the rows of surfboards slant. I tried to avoid this at all costs but it would have created a shirt that twisted miserably if I had tried to make the surfboards line up straight. I almost gave up on this print but T. wanted a surfboard shirt so much that I decided to try to make it work and the end result isn't that bad. The ribbing is orange ribbing from my stash.

The last 2 t-shirts are from the 3/2008 issue of Ottobre - the # 10 "Bat" t-shirt. This shirt has a looser fit than the first 2 and a chest pocket. The first is made from 2 different interlock knits - one solid orange and one a cars print in cream with brown, orange, aqua blue and sprout green. I like the contrast of the bright solid sleeves with the print body and I really like the way the turquoise ribbing looks with the orange.

The second "Bat" t-shirt is made from a beautiful tie-dye 100% cotton rib knit that I got in a remnant bin somewhere. It was already dyed when I bought it, though it does look like I could have dyed it myself. The binding on the neck and sleeves is made from an olive green interlock remnant from my stash and I decided on the interlock based on how thin the rib knit is. I felt that a chunkier knit or ribbing would have distorted the neckline due to the difference in weights. These 2 are really close in weight and look great together, as evidenced by the really smooth seam. I love the way this looks. I added the dragon ribbon to this one, as well.

Next up, a couple of pairs of shorts, including some 'summer' sweatpants and probably 1 or 2 more t-shirts.