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.

T-Shirts for Mr. T

I mentioned before that I'd traced some Ottobre patterns and by the time I got around to cutting them out, he'd grown enough that they wouldn't fit for long. I figured this out by cutting out the shirt you see above. This is the #12 shirt from the 4/2010 issue. I'd traced and cut it out in a 92 and sewed it up, only to discover that T. had grown enough for it to be rather snug on him. The shirt is supposed to look like two in one, with the hood in a contrasting fabric, so I dug up some brown and red Campan knit from a previous shirt I'd made him and used that for the hood. I'd already used olive green ribbing because it goes so well with the Ooga print but it didn't look good with the brown and red, so I went with the maroon ribbing on the hood. It definitely gives the impression of two different shirts, although it's obvious from the fit that it's just one.

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Here you can see the front pocket a bit better, although it still blends into the body of the shirt. I used the triple-honeycomb stitch on my machine to imitate a RTW coverstitch. Anyway, it works well and I used the same stitch when I made the drawstrings for the sweatpants in the previous post.
Having realized that the boy needed a 98, I cut out new sizes for him in 2 other shirts. The first is the Hippotamus Hoppulainen shirt from the 6/2010 issue. I like this shirt because I think it lends itself to a mix of fabrics while still looking sporty and boyish. For this I used the Michael Miller dinosaur interlock and a piece of orange and red Campan knit. That Michael Miller stuff shrinks like nobody's business and it's super soft! Maybe that's why it shrinks so? Anyway, the ribbing is a beautiful turquoise from JoAnn's. I wish it were slightly more green in color but I like the contrast of the turquoise with the orange.


This piece of Campan was really small - not even a half meter, so I had to really work to fit all the pieces when I laid it out. As you can see, I used the stripe for the front, back and the stripes on the sleeves. This shirt goes really well with the brown sweatpants in the previous post.


Last shirt in the list is the Pistachio-Chocolate reversible hoodie from the 4/2009 issue. I wanted something to match the blue sweatpants and dug out a printed stripe knit that I'd used for outfits for the girls about 4 years ago. I'd used it for an accent to a print, but it seemed like a good boy fabric. Then I dug around in my stash and found the world's softest navy cotton knit this side of paradise - totally serious about this. I want to curl up in it. Anyway, add to that some olive green interlock and some maroon ribbing and you get this:


I decided that I wanted the pocket and hood on the stripe side to match - hence the decision to do both in green. I used that tripe-honeycomb stitch again for the pocket hems and as topstitching on the sleeve hems. The navy side would have been too plain with a navy hood, hence the stripe. T. loves this shirt and wears it a lot with either pair of the navy "soft pants". It's his "cozy" outfit. I haven't gotten him to wear it with the navy side out - I suspect he likes the way it feels against his skin too much. But it would look fantastic on the navy side with the sleeves rolled to expose the stripe on the other side. This shirt is pretty heavy and he gets hot pretty easily, so I don't have him wear a shirt under it, though you could if you used thinner knits, as it's cut quite roomy. My only problem with this shirt is that I forgot how much the stripe fades, since it's not yarn-dyed but printed. Ugh. But he doesn't seem to mind and it gives it a sort of worn-in look that is generally achieved in RTW with acid washes and the like.

Purple Princess

Earlier in the week Miss Maeve was able to wear her tunic and leggings that I made for her SWAP, which continues to be a work in progress. I might finish by the end of this month, if I'm lucky. I really love this fabric and I have to say that it was expensive as hell. In fact, I'd only bought enough of it back in 2008 to make a blouse for her, since it was something like $32/yd! Okay, it is Liberty of London, but I don't know if I can justify paying that much. The funny thing is, it's such a sophisticated fabric for someone her age and I thought it was too pretty to pass up, even if she changed her mind. My thought was that I could use it for myself if she ended up not wanting it.

Not only did she not change her mind, but she decided that this tunic needed to be made in addition to the blouse (the one I just finished - sorry, no pics yet!). I didn't have enough fabric, so I had to search for it. The local store where I got it no longer had it. They offered to order it, but a special order was going to be more expensive, so I turned them down. After an exhausting search on the web I found it and ordered it from a place in London. It was still expensive, but this time I was paying about $27/meter, so I was getting more fabric for less money and that seemed worth it. I picked up the car-print fabric for T's birthday shirt at the same time.



Anyway, I had enough to make the blouse and the tunic, with enough left over to maybe use in a future project for someone. Plus, the solid-looking raspberry color on the placket is also used on the blouse yoke, so there's actually some kind of continuity in the SWAP. I like this tunic made in the longer dress-length - mostly because I can't stand that so many kids her age wear skirts that practically show their bums. Sorry, I like her bum to be covered, plus she has long legs and I know that come May she's going to want to wear this thing as a dress, without leggings. I may have to make a pair of bike shorts, though. For that I'll probably use the Riviera leggings pattern in Sewing Clothes Kids Love.

Last night I completed the Farbenmix Nala combi except for the waistband for Miss G; I didn't have the right elastic. Or rather, if I do, I can't find it. Anyway, I'll stop by the store on the way back from gymnastics tomorrow so I can get some, then I'll finish it and hopefully have pictures tomorrow to share. It looks super cute and she's totally excited for me to finish it.

Cute pants!

Yay! I've finally been able to sit down at the sewing machine for more than 2 seconds and I actually did a garment from start to finish! To say that I'm thrilled would be a bit of an understatement.

These pants are the Kaarna lined corduroy pants from the 6/2009 issue of Ottobre. I really like lined pants in the cooler months for babies - especially boys - because then I don't have to put tights or leggings on them under the pants. These pants are lined in a woven cotton, so they're more appropriate for early to mid-fall or early spring in this latitude. Perfect for right now, anyway. I'm enamored of this style, too, because it's so reminiscent of the baggies that mini Boden sells in their catalog, with the knit waistband.



Overall, the fit is good, though this pattern runs bigger than I'd thought. I think these will still fit him in September, since I can turn them up twice and they still only come to his ankle. Of course, September can be really warm here so he might not wear them in the fall, but I'm not bothered by that. Next I'll be making a shirt from the same issue to go with these pants.

I wasn't sure about the colors, though I fell in love with the lining fabric the minute I saw it. I actually bought it before this issue came out and had it in my mind that it would be an excellent fabric for something for T, though I wasn't sure exactly what it would be. A week later my magazine arrived and I knew that this was the pattern for that fabric - all I had to do was get the brown baby cord. For some reason I'm really drawn to brown pants for T and I find that unusual since I like so many bright color combos for the girls. Maybe it's because I like monkeys for him, too. He now has 3 stuffed monkeys, plus a scary sock monkey that I hate and won't put out. I didn't buy it - it was a gift. It seems I'm drawn to brown animals, too.

I plan to make these pants again, despite the fact that the pattern runs big. In fact, I already have a pair cut out, from a striped fine cord. Very cute and more colorful, though the predominant color is brown! I plan to line these with a teal cotton that I have had in my stash for a very long time. since they're already cut out I'm going to just go ahead and make them the way that they are, rather than take the time to alter them in some way. I may decide to make them with a 5/8" seam allowance, rather than the 3/8" that I've cut, in order to take in the fullness somewhat. I have a third pair planned for part of his Easter/1st birthday outfit. This pair will be made from a green cross-dyed chambray and I don't plan to line them, so I'll have to finish all of the inside edges with the serger. I'd rather do that and have him be able to wear that pair into the summer. Plus, I'm considering not adding a seam allowance at all when I sew that pair, so that they'll be less baggy. We'll see. The shirt of this birthday outfit will end up being a traditional button-front shirt made from a Liberty of London lawn in a car print. It's super cute.

After the shirt to go with the brown pants, I've got a little outfit planned for Miss Gwyneth, since she seems to want something for me. I was able to finish another one of Maeve's SWAP items - the Olivia blouse from the 6/2007 issue of Ottobre. All it had needed was the buttonholes, buttons, and the elastic on the sleeve edges, but due to the machine malfunctions I'd had it had gone unfinished, languishing in a basket until a few nights ago when I did all the buttonholes and buttons. Tonight I finished the sleeves and it's now hanging in her closet. Pictures of it tomorrow, I think. Anyway, Miss Gwyn was hinting that I needed to make her something. "Next Mommy, you need to make my Easter dress and then the skirt for me," she told me. I've got to trace the patterns for that - Farbenmix Insa skirt and the Rachel dress - but I felt that she was looking for something right now, so I quickly traced out the Farbenmix Nala leggings and top, which I will cut out tomorrow. Fingers crossed that I have enough of the fabric. I've planned to use a floral print and Campan stripe from my stash, but didn't realize that I only have a 1/2 yard of the stripe. Thankfully, Miss Gwyn is tiny and I should be able to squeeze the leggings out of the 1/2 yard. I'll let you know.