PJ's for the boy. Ottobre and Vintage McCalls

Mr. T is so picky lately but he always wears the pajamas I make.  I had a ton of nervous energy last week due to my scope being this Monday (2 days ago).  So I traced a larger sized pattern for T from both of our favorite TNT Ottobre patterns for him.  I also altered the Vintage McCall's to fit him better.  I then pre-washed and cut out 3 pairs of shorts and 2 shirts for him.  I have been slowly sewing them over the last week and finished up today. I also ripped up all the carpet in my sewing room on Sunday because I was super anxious about my thing Monday. LOL my poor husband.... he sure puts up with me.

Up first
Ottobre 06/2011 #37 Green Check Boxer Shorts and #38 Zen T-Shirt/PJ Top
These shorts have been made 8 times before,
Bart Simpson and Perry the Platypus May 2014
Long pjs pants and fuzzy shorts Jul 2013
Altered to shorts with piped pockets Jun 2013
Terry Cloth pj shorts Feb 2013
Space pj shorts with mock fly Jan 2013
Blue gingham shorts with mock fly Jan 2013

and the shirt has been made one other time before as well.
Dino pajama top

This time I sized up to a 152 for the shorts and they are just a tad large.  I cut both front pieces with the fly part and sewed them with my mock fly cheat sheet.  I sewed the very last of the space fabric, which is from T's old bedroom like 10 years ago. It is the oldest piece in my stash and now is gone. I had 1.5 yards to use and I have no idea how much it cost when I got it.  T grew out of the other pair awhile ago that I made almost 2 years ago with the same fabric. I added vintage buttons to the mock fly on these.

The flannel wilderness fabric is the softest flannel I've ever felt. It is really nice and plush and washed great.  I added cool vintage buttons to the mock fly on these too.
Fabric: "Timber Lodge Flannel Forest Animals Nature" Robert Kaufman. 100% cotton woven. From fabric.com in July 2014. 1.5 yards for $8.90

The shirt I sized up to a 152. It was a fast sew and I was able to utilize my new binder attachment for my coverstitch.  I also coverstitched the sleeves in the flat before sewing them together. This made sewing the shirt a breeze.  The fabric is a really beefy and soft; cotton/lycra jersey.  1.25 yards. I purchased it in Aug 2014 from Fashionfabricsclub for only $5.50. They advertised it as 10 oz. 95% cotton 5% lycra.  You really take a chance every time you order from them and I was pleasantly surprised with this fabric. Even fabrics with the same description are totally different sometimes when I order from them. They are so cheap though so I like to take the chance.
Total for this pj outfit: $14.40

Vintage McCall's  3041
sewn one other time in Pac Man

I wanted to sew this one more time before T grew out of it.  I have it in a size 10 and I really push it by sewing that size!  He wears a 12 or sometimes a 14 now.  I left the previous alterations for the top but added 1" to the width of the shorts.  They seem to fit him much better than the last shorts I made with this pattern. I'm sad that I won't be making this anymore because it is a wonderful pattern and the instructions are amazing.  I sewed it mostly with my vintage Kenmore, but serged the seams after sewing.  I made sure to line up those crazy ninjas across the side seams and then forgot to take a picture to show you!

Fabric: 1 yard Pure Organic Solid Black, Kaufman, 100% cotton woven.  I purchased this in Oct 2012 for pants for K but never got to it.  I was happy to use it up. I did have to cut the shorts on the cross-grain to get all pieces to fit, though. $8.98. The red is "Ninjas Don't Sweat" in Red by Windham Fabrics, 100% cotton woven. 1 yard. I picked it up Sept 2014 from a Facebook group with this pj pattern in mind.  $6.00.  Total for the vintage pj set: $14.98

I enjoyed sewing all these for Mr. T and I'm happy to add to his pj wardrobe.

Fabric Totals for the year to date:
Purchased in Oct and Nov: 41.25 yards (oops, but I was ill and it felt good)
Stash from before this year, sewn this year: 47.25 yards
All Fabric sewn/sold/gave-away in 2014: 188.25 yards
Fabric purchased in 2014: 195.75 yards

So I had my scope (endoscopy) Monday and everything went ok.  They took a few biopsies and I have to wait on those. My throat and stomach are pretty darn sore from that.  So it's just a waiting game again.

Anyway, I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!! Enjoy your festivities tomorrow :-)

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Vintage Pajamas for the Young Gentleman

Each time I sew with a vintage pattern I am reminded how amazing and lovely they are.  There are markings galore (seam allowances, seam joining numbers, what to do, hem allowances, etc), detailed steps and pictured steps, pieces fit together correctly, and things turn out wonderful and professional looking.

The only bad part of sewing with vintage patterns is that I'm super sensitive to the smell.  I seriously have to wear a mask and gloves when I trace the patterns. :(  Sadly I still tend to break out in hives.  I'm not sure why either. Did every vintage person sew with a cat maybe?  Anyway, it is a small price to pay for the beautiful patterns that result.  After I trace them onto my own tissue paper (You can see my post on what I use and why- here), then I am good to go.

McCall's 3041

I had this adorable pattern for Mr. T with the intent on making him a martial arts looking bathrobe.  That never happened. I realized it was a size 10 and T is pushing into a 12 so if I was to use this pattern, the time is now.

The fabric has it's own story.  I purchased it from Fabric.com in May 2014 - 1.5 yards.  It is called Kaufman Pinpoint Oxford Stretch Shirting Blue. I had hoped to make a dress shirt for T out of it but it was too light in color.  I attempted to return it, received a refund of a whole $7.41, but fabric.com didn't want me to ship it back to them.  So it was free fabric I guess.  Now I kind of feel bad because the fabric is lovely.  It is soft, but crisp enough. It washes well and sews just beautifully.  I am going to see about getting it in different colors.  I could see a button up shirt for me as well as one for T out of this.  Oh, it also has just a touch of lycra in the cotton for a tiny bit of stretch. I highly recommend it.  

Back to the pattern:  It called for 1.75 yards. I had no problem getting the main pieces from the 1.5 yards of blue.  I then used some stashed "Geeks gone wild" (hoarded and beloved) fabric left over from T's amazing bathrobe (that he never wears, sniff sniff) for the accents of pocket, back facing, and front v-neck part.  

Shorts: 

I'll start with them because they are fast and easy.  I just fit them on the folded piece of fabric.  They ended up JUST fitting. So if I made this again I'd widen them about a 1/2 inch on each side.  There is just one pattern piece for the shorts. I made a mock fly instead of the actual fly because I cut my fly facing the wrong way :( and then decided I didn't want to mess with the pattern directions on it.  So I just used my fast and easy way (seen in drawing on this post). I lowered the rise on these by 2.25 inches (talk about high waisted shorts!) because I knew T wouldn't like them that high.  I also sewed the elastic to the top edge, flipped it over, and then cover-stitched.  I didn't want to mess with a casing. 

Shirt: 

Mr. T is a little bit larger in the waist and hip than the pattern calls for - so I added 1/2" to the bottom hip area in front and back pieces, then tapered this up to nothing at the armpit.  I also added 3/4" to the length of the shirt because T likes his longer. The sleeve had 3 inches of ease to squeeze in! It was exhausting.  I have a tiny bit of puckering on both but I'm ok with them.  Next time I would try to reduce that ease, the sleeves have plenty of room for T to move around in without it all. 

The only snag I ran into was attaching the v-neck part together. I couldn't grasp what the pattern asked for.  After doing the back yoke I realize now what the front wanted.  You fold and iron the SA to the right side of the shirt, then fold the SA on the V-neck part to the wrong side of itself.  After this you place the V on to the shirt and stuff the shirt SA under the folded V SA and top-stitch.  Whew. Confusing.  I just did my own thing and it turned out fine.  

The Fit: 

As I mentioned, the shorts just fit.  The top fits nice.  These turned out really cute and I couldn't be happier. 

Can you believe this was the only thing I managed to sew for the Pattern Stash contest at PR?  Last year I did so well, this year the lure of new patterns grabbed hold of me.  

July Totals:
(stash is anything purchased before this year)
Stash used: 4.75 yards
Fabric Out: 10 yards
Fabric In: 11.5 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 ~

Vintage Simplicity 9788 ~ Under the Sea

Can you believe I found more flannel in my stash. Urg. I thought I had gotten rid of it all, but alas more has creeped out.  I found 6 yards of this Ariel print.  I think I originally wanted to make a blanket for K out of it?  It was purchased 3ish years ago.

I wanted to try out a vintage ©1980 Simplicity pattern (which reminds me of Punky Brewster so much). K had picked it out at Goodwill one day.
The pattern has a 2 piece raglan sleeves a button closure in back, and a "U" shaped hem.

I followed the directions for the most part. I also tried out a narrow hem foot; on flannel. LOL. Let's just say it didn't work well because the fabric was too thick and it also didn't like the curves on the hem.

The neck bias cut of fabric was never going to fit the neckline so I had to add a good 4 inches to it.  It is a size 10 so a bit big on K right now - she will grow.  I added cute Ariel bows to the front that we have had for-ev-er in the stash. I made a fabric loop in the back instead of a hand-stitched thread loop. "bling button"

here is the 2 piece raglan sleeve

All in all it went ok but I don't think I'd use this pattern again.  It worked well for the wild print but is really such a plain pattern.  K loves it. She wore it straight after school today and even asked to take pictures.

 (side note: I love this banana couch. It was my great-grandparents!)

My beautiful peanut also turned 8 on Friday :-(   *stop growing*

She received her first sewing machine :D

Stash fabric used: 2 yards.

Total stash used in 2014: 10.5 yards

I also updated my "upcoming" page with lots of goodies I hope to tackle. The list will keep me on track and help when I have those days where I'm not sure what to sew.

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

McCall's Vintage Pattern 6697, Size 10 Nightgown

I have said it before but I’ll say it again, I love sewing with vintage patterns! This is a 1960s pajama pattern for Miss K.  The pattern comes with a top in short sleeves and shorts, a top in long sleeves and pants, or a nightgown. 

I had 2.25 yards left of this floral 70s fabric from a LONG time ago.  I used some of it for a sad little owl project back on Jan 18^th, 2012.  We had picked up the fabric at Hancock’s but I’m not sure for how much.

This pattern calls for 2.25 yards in 45” wide for View C, the nightgown.  I tried to lay the pieces out every which way and I could not make them fit.  First I tried with 2 yards of a different fabric and that was not happening.  Then I came to this fabric and even though it is the correct yardage there is no humanly possible way to make the pieces all fit. I even attempted to do what the pattern envelope showed.  Nevertheless I was not giving up.  I decided to make the yoke in a yellow flannel because those were the pieces I couldn't fit.  So I used 2.25 yards of the floral and 0.50 yards of the yellow.  If you are making this pattern I suggest getting almost 3 yards – and if you have a directional print…. So help you! LOL

.

The pattern instructions are so clear and the tons of markings a pain to transfer but wonderful to have.  The instructions do not tell you to stay stitch the yoke – it tells you this in the “general directions” on the opposite side of the instruction sheet. 

In step 1 and step 2: I top-stitched the seam where the yoke meets the dress after gathering the bottom and attaching it. I also did this top-stitching around the arms where the sleeve meets the yoke.

After step 1 and 2 I jumped to step 7 to attach the pockets while the dress was still flat and open.  In hindsight I should have lined them because they are a bit see-through. L

Next I moved on back to step 3 but only to sew the shoulders – I did not sew the side seams yet because I prefer to insert sleeves while the garment is flat.

So I moved on to step 4 without problem and then became confused on step 5.  After I scratched my head a few times and re-read until my eyes crossed I went very slowly and then understood.  In more plain words – you take the button/buttonhole parts of the dress and fold under ¼ inch all down those long sides.  Then you turn and fold the facing part of these with right sides together to the dress and over the collar.  Much easier to understand this way because after doing the collar I thought step 5 was still referring to the collar part. 

After this I moved on to the sleeves.  There was a bit of easing them in but not terrible.  Finally I sewed up the side seams and then moved on to finish the rest of the steps.

I really love this bias binding used to finish the collar and yoke edges. It looks so clean!

After completion, the bottom was way too open with only 6 buttons.  K didn't want any more buttons so I lapped the bottom button band under the top buttonhole band and top-stitched over the existing top-stitching to close up the bottom half of the dress. Now it is only open where the 6 buttons are. 

Everything turned out wonderful and I’m very happy with the results.  I scoured my vintage button stash but couldn't find anything to match so K picked some normal-now-days buttons for it.  This nightgown sort of reminds me of a bathrobe so maybe someday I’ll make another and line it so it is a bathrobe. 

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~

Vintage Loveliness ~ Simplicity 9902

I wanted to sew this vintage jumper for Miss K for the last year and a half but she wouldn't fit in it then.  I waited so patiently for her to grow just one size so it would fit.  Every few months I would glance at the pattern and sigh.  I picked up this fabric so long ago at Hancock and knew it would work perfect for this 70s inspired dress.

 

I love vintage patterns.  Love them so much!  Whether they are from the 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s I dig them all.  It is so cool to see the fashions of the times.  It is even cooler to be able to sew new garments from old patterns! Time warp at its best.

Vintage patterns rock because they are so detailed and explain things so wonderfully in the instructions.  They do not disappoint.  I really haven't had a head scratching moment when sewing a vintage pattern... not like when I sew current ones.

Time to sew: 3 hours
After I took this picture I noticed how well I matched the from halves.  How the heck did I do that? Awesome!

I love that this dress has darts, for a girl!  There are front darts and back neck darts.  I went with contrasting fabric for the collar and pockets.  I stayed true to the pattern and followed all the instructions.  I don't dig the neck and armhole facings.  Facings suck honestly, but mostly because I don't like to hand sew - so slip stitching is not what I like to do.  I used very lightweight stay tape to keep the suckers down. shh.

First time sewing a collar. Even though this one did not stand up.  I was slightly confused it didn't match each end at first, until I realized it wasn't supposed to and that there is a gap there.

Miss K is shorter than most 10 year olds because she is only 7 - so the dress is longer on her than in the picture.  This is great because K wants it longer and I enjoy it longer too.

Fabric: Picked up Sept 15, 2012 "Gypsy Song" Green Floral. on sale for $1.79 a yard!!! I used almost the whole 2 yards so the dress cost less than $5 after zipper and contrasting fabric.

I was only allowed to take pictures of the dress on Miss K if she got to be on the trampoline. Sounded like a good enough deal to me. 

The fit is great

The back is so cute

I love this walking shot - it makes me think 70s for some weird reason

 Those darn bugs even end up on the trampoline

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~