Pillowcases for Christmas

It recently dawned on me that I could use some of my 'special' fabrics to make pillowcases for my kids. They were very simple to make, and I used french seams to keep them nice on the inside too. My son saw them on the sewing table and asked if they were for him. I told him they were for Christmas and he said he would be dreaming about his new pillowcases til then. :)

This one is Michael Miller fabric that I love, love, love! I have used it for a few things and had enough left for a pillowcase.

This fabric was from Obi's. I kind of want to steal this pillowcase.

The pair together

I have had this fabric forever and wasn't really feeling it, but as pillowcases I think they are fun.

The french seams make the inside look neat and clean

These two are for my littlest. He saw this fabric a mile away and wanted it. I really despise all  'licensed' movie character stuff and wanted to get him some nice respectable tractor fabric. I ended up getting this, because I know how much he'll love it. The navy blue fabric is baby wale corduroy, which I thought would be nice and soft. 

Christmas PJs

I decided to make myself some awesome PJ pants for Christmas morning. I found this Michael Miller Elf print and the matching trim and voila...rockin' holiday jammies. I love how they turned out especially the white piping along the trim line. I'm a piping junkie so I'll use any excuse to add it to a project. I also used the turn and stitch method for most of the seam finishes which I've never done before. In case you're interested you can find the tutorial for turn and stitch finishing here.

Ruffle Cuff

I have been wanting to make a Ruffled Cuff for myself ever since I made one for my sister in law last Christmas. I'm not going to say it was easy, but it looks more complicated than it actually is. That, and I seem to have an affinity for doing tedious handwork. 

The Geriatric Line Backer Jacket

How's that for a description? It might be a little harsh, but this jacket is not my favorite. I wanted so badly for it to work. The pattern looked cute on the picture. Here is the issue: the sleeves are pleated and it adds too much bulk at the shoulders. It makes me feel like a football player. The fabric, I think, could have worked if the jacket was more streamlined. However, combined with the linebacker shoulders, I feel like it makes me look like an old lady. (No offense to old ladies!) The question is, what do I do with it now?

Crayon Bag

A few weeks ago, we had a birthday party to attend. I made this crayon bag for the birthday girl, and my daughter decorated a plain notebook to go inside along with some stickers.

Another Knit Shirt

I have given up taking decent pictures of myself in the clothes I've made. So here I am, settling for some really cruddy pictures in the interest of actually getting things posted. I made another shirt using this free pattern.  This time bit the bullet and bound the neck like a big girl. I must say, I was impressed that it turned out. I have never done it before and it looks harder than it actually is. I watched Threads video tutorial and that was a real help. Yes, you really do have to stretch it a lot.

Skirt From Outgrown Jeans

This is one of those projects that hasn't been getting much use. I like how it turned out, and my daughter said she loves it but never ever wears it. I just hacked the legs off a pair of outgrown jeans and sewed the ruffles on the bottom. The fabric is Michael Miller princess castles, and you get bonus points if you spot my signature notion...

Felt Owl Cell Phone Case

Several months ago I was trolling Pinterest and saw some adorable owl cell phone cases. The link was for a blog written in Portugese. Woo! I pinned it thinking what all crafters seem to think: 'I could make that myself.' And I actually did. Mine is a bit more simple than the original. I used wool felt so that it will hopefully hold up longer.

Kimono T-Shirt Pattern

This is the only photo I have of this shirt I made a few months ago. I love, love, love this pattern! I am planning on making several more. The pattern is free, and found here. It has a boat neck and is only 2 pattern  pieces. Very simple, and I love the way it fits. It could also be embellished to switch things up a little.

The Davy Crockett Ensemble

 Back in July I stumbled upon an awesome vintage 1950's Davy Crockett pattern at my favorite yard sale. The pattern was cut but all the pieces were there, and in the right size! Guess how much I paid for it? Ten cents! Oh, yeah, I was one happy camper. I also got one from the same era that is a beautiful scalloped hem old-fashioned dress. Both patterns have no instructions, so I am thinking maybe that's how they used to come? I added length every where on the pattern: arms, legs, torso. My kid is tall and skinny so I knew that extra length would be needed. The fabric is this faux suede that I got from fabric.com. Suede is expensive, and I took a bet with this fake stuff. The price was good and it worked, but the fabric was annoying to work with. It has exactly NO stretch, so that made modifications necessary. Here is the nitty gritty, since I fool myself into thinking that people are interested in this stuff:

The Tunic: The original tunic is a pull over, with lace-up placket. It would not fit over his head, and the sleeves didn't give at all, so I just cut it all the way down and added snaps which I camouflaged with brown Sharpie. For the collar, I added a little bit of red running stitch to add a little something, and to tie in with the beading in the back yoke. 

The Yoke: The yoke is lined with some very period-inappropriate cartoon-ish horse fabric, but since Davy Crockett isn't here to see it, who cares? The bead work medallion is sewn to leather, and was purchased from Etsy. For the front, I used eyelets which were a new thing for me as far as I can remember. I need some practice.

The Pants: Very straightforward. They are pants, with fringe. But the fringe...oh, the fringe. I cut it all by hand. 

The Hat: Also known as a major PITA, pardon my French. The hat was the easiest thing to make. The first one took me 20 minutes. The problem was, and I should have followed my instinct on this, the band was too shallow. I thought it was, but then figured it was going to be fine. It wasn't. I took it apart and cut a wider band. I sewed up the hat using the suede as the lining. Another bad move. Although the faux fur does stretch, the suede doesn't and the hat squeezed his head. The third time I lined it with an old t-shirt and it was perfect. Stretchy and comfy! And the tail is a real coyote tail, by the way. Purchased on Etsy also. 

Toadstool Needlebook

I recently made this for a friend who had a birthday. I found the tutorial here via Pinterest. I completed the whole thing in the time it took to watch one of those movies that make you feel like you lost 2 hours of your life and possibly a good percentage of your brain cells. I love how it turned out and I just might make one for myself!