Baby Sewing ~ Ottobre 03/2014 #2 & #3 and randomness

No, no babies on the horizon in this household.  My nephew is turning 1 on Friday and my DD wanted to take him an outfit.  I've never sewn a little one's outfit.  I settled on the Baboon jersey pants from the 03/2014 Ottobre and a matching "Spot Fish" T-shirt.  How cute are they?

Little clothing doesn't take much yardage but the pieces are much smaller to work with!  I didn't like the way I first attached the neck binding on the tee so I picked it off and then attached it the way I usually do.

Tee:
View A - size 86cm - 1/2 yard stash
Nothing new or exciting to report on the Tee - I think I can sew them in my sleep now.  The instructions were good, I read through them after I finished sewing it up. I used my cover stitch for the hems and to top stitch the bindings on the neck and sleeves.  I also added Fusible stay tape to the shoulders.

Pants:
View A - size 86 - 1/2 yard total between the blue and contrast fabrics
The pants were fun to sew (insert sarcasm). OMG. Attaching the butt circles was a pain because you are putting one concave curve into one convex curve - like sleeves but more severe.  I top stitched the circle seams down.  I didn't know what - and didn't care to read slowly - the instructions were asking for the leg cuffs.  I simply folded them in half wrong sides together and sewed them R sides together to the legs - like I do for bindings. Then I cover stitched the seams down.  I did this before sewing the legs together.
I omitted the drawstring because an active 1 yr old boy may get into trouble with it.  I serged the elastic onto the waist, in the round, then flipped it over to the inside and top stitched with the cover stitch.

They turned out really cute, but look big.  I hope he enjoys them. (he is a large 1 yr old so that is why I went for the 86cm size).

back

front

Fabric:
Blue: Laguna Stretch Cotton Jersey Knit Royal, by Kaufman. I picked it up from Fabric.com in Feb 2014; 1/2 yard was $3.49
White: Fast Food Cotton Knit bought from Fabricfairy.com Feb 2013; 1/2 yard was $4.50
Total for the outfit: $7.99

In other randomness, I have been making a back to school sewing list and one of the priorities is Underwear for K.  She now only wears the Jalie 3242 ones I sew.  I cut out 12 pairs and managed to get 6 sewn so far.  I took to putting the elastic on top of the waist part and cover stitching them down, like I've seen in RTW ones before. This was much faster and wears all the same.

 The green floral is from an outgrown tank top, The pink is from an outgrown tee, and the blue are from scraps from K's maxi dress.

The oranges are scraps from K's T-shirt dress, the birds are from her PJ shirt - now too small, and the wild black and white are scraps from her T-shirt.   I estimate about 3/8 yard for each 2 pairs. (1 pair needs 11" high by 24" long) So, 1 1/8 yards were used for these 6.  (3/8 from stash, 3/8 from new fabric, and 3/8 from old clothes)

Mesewing:
I have another pair of Thurlows altered, cut out, and ready to be sewn up and I'm going to be working on a Plantain too.

I'm in my "finals" week of class here so who knows when I'll get to them.  I've been very stressed and it has aggravated my chronic health issues, which in turn zaps all my energy to do anything. I'm sure I just need to get through this class (1.5 more weeks!) and the 12 page paper this week..... and I'll be less stressed and feeling better.
Nala thinks so anyway

August Totals:
(stash is anything purchased before this year)
Stash used: 7/8 yards
Fabric Out: 2 1/8 yards
Fabric In: 0 yards

Totals for the year to date:
Stash sew this year: 35.75 yards
Fabric out in 2014: 129.5 yards
Fabric in 2014: 141.25 yards

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Ottobre 03/2014 #30 Flycatcher jersey tunic

I had a different dress on the ironing board ready to cut out, but I couldn't get this pattern out of my mind so I had to sew it up today.  When inspiration strikes, seize the moment!

This is from the new issue of Ottobre (03/2014 #30) and is called Flycatcher jersey tunic.
There are 5 pattern pieces to trace, 8 total when cut with the doubled up things, like pockets.
I traced and cut this out this morning.  I started sewing around 1:30 and finished around 4:30 - plus I even had distractions from K and the puppy.  When tracing, I had the hardest time with piece #2 because it is laid over piece 1 strangely and I had to really concentrate to figure out what line went where.  Plus, it is in orange.... not the easiest to see.

This is not a hard sew.  Once you get the pockets attached and that weird front panel on (piece 2) it is just like sewing a t-shirt dress.  I made sure to interface the directed areas, especially the point where the panel meets the front piece and pocket.  I foresee that being a weak point in the fabric.

For this dress I used 1 yard for all the blue pieces, and 1 side of 1 yard for the front castles. You will want a whole yard because you need the length.  Oh, speaking of length... I traced a size 134 for the bodice and out to a 146 in the hips and length. K wanted it longer than the picture in the magazine.  I even added an extra inch after that in the hem.  When I tried it on her it was still above her knee so I made a tiny 1/2" hem to save some length. She also turned up her nose at the rounded shaped hem so we flared it out a bit.

Fabric:
Main:  Laguna Stretch Knit Turquoise $5.93 (bought in March)
Panel: "Castles" by Sweet N' Charmed Facebook group. used 1/2 so $6 (just got this month)
Total Cost: $11.93

The bodice is a bit big on K even though she is almost 134 in height and of "normal" body (not skinny).  I think it may just run bigger in this pattern? When she puts her hands in the pockets it pulls down the top and she needs to be careful not to flash anyone :-O
Regardless, it is an awesome design, she has room to grow into it and I love how it looks.  I would sew it again in a heartbeat.

May Totals:
Stash used: 0 yards
Fabric Out: 4.5 yards
Fabric In: 20 - It has been a stressful time for me, shopping is my outlet.

Totals for the year to date:
Stash sew this year: 27 yards
Fabric out in 2014: 99.5 yards!
Fabric in 2014: 97.5 yards

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~