Comfy clothes

Am I the only one feeling the need of making clothes in summer? Is there perhaps a pre-historic code that tells us to prepare clothes for winter? It seems like each summer I feel the urge to sew clothes for my kids (2013 and 2014). My quilting mojo has completely vanished 8 weeks ago.

It all started with these supercool ninja fabrics that I found in our local fabric shop. The darker one is jersey and the light one is a thick and super soft and cuddly sweater fabric.

 

I decided to make two hoodies and two t-shirts for my boys (german pattern by pattydoo found here – including how-to videos):

I would have added the front pocket to both hoodies but I am forgetful sometimes…

Here is little boy, trying some ninja moves in his new sweater:

…and big boy wearing his new tee:

When big boy fell ill some weeks ago, we discovered that he had outgrown his comfy pants (how can his legs be so long while is waist is still so small?! He needs extra long skinny jeans now). So we went to the local fabric shop and I let him choose the fabric.

I ended up making several pairs of comfy pants for him and little bro. Some with  waistbands made from knits and others with elastics in “fold-over tunnels”. Some with pockets, most without. Some with hems and others with cuffs.

And this one is my favourite:

It’s a pair of shorts I made from the left-overs. I added eyelets to the waistband and the pattern called for an imitation of a zipper-facing. It took me ages to figure out how to make it but I am happy I did it.

Here are some “in action” shots:

 

 

Now we are ready for cold but cosy and snuggly winter months (o:

Do your kids like to wear handmade clothes?

Happy sewing!
Christine

A Jersey Obsession

It all began with this magazine:

I fell in love with the included pattern for a pair of one-sized baby pants (size 1-4 yrs). I made these baby pants for a baby shower:

Aren’t these the cutest little pants ever?! They were so much fun to make!

And then I went a little overboard. I digged through my stash of knits/ jerseys and found some pieces that were big enough to make some more… seven more…

I love those little cuties!

Now I just have to find some babies for them. Dear friends, go make some babies, I am looking forward to give these pants away!

Yesterday I received this beautiful stack of Architextures Fat Quarters that I had won in a giveaway. Thank you so much, Jess of The Elven Garden and Peg of Sew Fresh Fabrics!

I can’t decide which one is my favourite… I guess the green fabric on top. With the black texty one as a close second…

I forgot to show you the Sew-Euro-bee-an blocks I made in April for Celine: I love these blocks and even made some more for myself. I want to get that DNA Quilt done (see my blog header…)! Unfortunately I ran out of Kona white and had to order some more.

I made a giant beanbag for my youngest but seem to be unable to take a decent photo of it. Will have to bribe the kids to assist me…

We’re heading out for a little vacation that we are all in need of (did I mention the kids brought home streps last week? They are on antibiotics for ten days…).

My first blogiversary is fast approaching, we are going to have a little giveaway once we are back, shall we?!

Thanks for stopping by,
have a great week!
Christine

Sewing on patches and jeans re-assembly

Sorry, no progress on my to do list yesterday. We had to pay an emergency visit to the dental surgery. My eldest fell and lost two teeth :o( With examinations, x-rays and lots of consolation, I was completely exhausted last night. 

Luckily, he is one brave boy. Once he discovered that he  now looks like a first grader, he was quite proud (he is only 4 years old) and didn't shed another tear.

Today, I managed to squeeze in some sewing time and finished off my boys' jeans.

And here's how I attached the patches and re-assembled the jeans.

Pin the patch to the jeans. Don't forget to take out the paper templates!!!

Stitch close to the edge all around the patch. Use a denim needle. You may want to use matching thread if you don't want the stitches to show up. I used matching thread in those cases where I embellished the patches (I wanted the ants to take center stage). In the case below, I made a plain denim patch and used contrasting thread to sew it on. If you want a more prominent stitch, consider using a triple straight stitch, it allows the fabric to stretch and is wider that a usual straight stitch.

Pay close attention that this mistake does not happen to you: when sewing trough the patch, I caught a bit of the edge and had to unpick many triple stitches. Huh. 

Turn inside out, line up edges and pin.

Sew along the former inner seam, using a triple straight stitch. It will allow the fabric to stretch and is stronger than a single straight stitch.

Serge the fraying edges (my sewing machine came with a serger foot) or zig zag along the edges.

Turn and admire your work.

This is my work from this week:

As this one already was decorated with prints and applique, I just made a plain denim patch. 

 Here are some ants for my eldest.

Little crowns for my eldest (I should have used an embroidery thread but didn't have a matching one at hand . Oh well.)

And finally some more ants for my younger son. 

Happy Patching!

Christine

Darning holey jeans

Today I continued working on #1 of my to do list: Mending my boys' jeans. 

Prior to attaching patches to the jeans, I fixed the holes to prevent further fraying. And here's how I do that (this is the way I do it, it might not be the way a professional sewist would do it but it workes for me).

First of all you have to open up the seams. As you can see in the photo below, there is a double-seam and one single seam.

Here's how it looks like when the inside is turned out.

Open up the single seam generously, it will be easier to fit the jeans under your sewing machine's arm when the opening is rather wide.

If neccessary (when both layers are serged together) open the serged seams. That is pretty easy, you'll see :o)

Below you can see a large opening but the seams are still closed at the far right and the far left sides.

Cut some lightweight fusible web to a size that is larger than the hole. 

Turn inside out. Put some (old) cotton fabric between the denim layers to protect your jeans.

Lay out your fusible web on the left side of your holey denim so that the hole is completely covered.

Iron according to manufacturer's specification. 

Take out your (old) cotton fabric.

Turn right side out and trace the patch with a watersoluble pen.

Take your jeans to your sewing machine and insert a jeans/ denim needle.

Stitch forwards and backwards several times to close and secure the hole. Make sure you stay within the marks that indicate the future position of the patch.

This is how it looks like after darning. 

For a rather ragged look you can simply leave it that way and skip the patches entirely :o)

This is a look at the left side. Yeah, I know, the fusible web was a bit large :o)

That's it for today. To be continued tomorrow with how to attach the patches and how to re-assemble the jeans :o)

Karen made some great progress on her list as well, so hop over to her blog and say hello :o) 

Happy Sewing!

Christine

Embellishing denim patches

This post is part of a To Do Challenge by Karen of Listen to the Birds Sing.

I made some progess on my denim patches. If the holey jeans are rather dull (regular, without prints, etc.) I like to add some interest to the patches. For my boys' jeans I like to add some ants (because I like them and because they are a decorative stitch on my sewing machine... easy peasy...)

To jazz up the jeans a bit more, I added an ant to the other leg as well. Makes it look like it has always been this way :o)

There are surely tons of other ways to brighten up your patches... Glue on some paste or strass, hand stitch some cool stuff, add a small iron-on application, etc. Surely there are other charming stitches on your sewing machine for girls that you may have never used :o)

Give it a try and leave a link to your photo below.

I would love to see what you come up with !

Happy Sewing Patching!

Christine

Making patches for holey jeans

A Challenge

Karen challenged us to finish our to dos sews for this week and she is going to track me down until I'm done with my list :o) So each day I'm going to show you the progress I made...

This is my to sew list for this week:

1. Mend my boys' jeans

2. Turn jeans with toooooo many or tooooo big holes into shorts

3. Finish my Jelly Roll (Race) Quilt that I started in London.

This is my progress on #1

How to make homemade denim patches:

Lay out a pair of holey jeans and cut a sheet of paper to the desired size of the patch.

Glue the paper patch...

on to the left side of a piece of denim that is a bit larger than the paper patch.

Cut the edges but leave a seam allowance of approx. 1/2''

I used the English Paper Piecing Technique Tacha taught us in London and here's how I secured the edges in place: Thread a handstitching needle with some bright contrasting thread (you can use some of your leftovers). Make a knot. Fold over one side of the denim patch to the back. Insert the needle at the corner from the front to the back and pull until you reached the knot.  

Fold over the second side of the denim. Insert needle in the same corner from the back side and pull through.

Take the next corner, repeat. This is how it should look like after you did 3 corners.

And this is how it should look like after you secured all the corners. Now give it a good hot press with your iron.

Next time we are going to embellish the patch (optional)

Happy Sewing!

Christine