PR&P Week 5 : Mo-Squish-Le

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OK - lets start with the name ;o)  Within hours of holding baby girl in my arms, I had nick named her 'squish'.  You see I don't really find brand spankin' newborns to be  'pretty' or 'gorgeous' or 'beautiful', at least not mine.  In those first hours and sometimes days, they are just kind of squishy - thus Squish, and it stuck.  Now my husband is a movie buff and within the first week started calling her 'Mo-squish-Le' in reference to Million Dollar Baby where Hillary Swank's character is called 'Mocuishle'.  The term translates from Gaelic to English to mean 'pulse of my heart' - and that is simply what she is for her dada and I.  Using this name for this week's look fits not only the celtic undertones of the outfit, but also the fact this this baby can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.

Now on to what we are all really here for... the SEWING!!!

REFASHION WEEK!!!!  To say that from the moment I learned what the challenges would be this was the one I was the MOST excited about would be an understatement.  Most of what I sew is a refashion of one kind or another, quite often I use cast offs simply as yardage; but I love the fun of incorporating existing elements from existing garments in fun or unexpected ways.  This outfit (along with Elephant Shoes) were the only two I had completely drawn and planned before the competition began that came into fruition the way I planned - well mostly.
You see this week has been anything but what I planned.  It started with A getting the stomach bug on the way to church on Sunday, followed by baby girl getting her first tooth knocked out and having her first trip to the ER on Monday night, continued with the entire house (save my husband - THANK GOD!) getting a worse version of the stomach bug on Tuesday.  Which lead me to Wednesday, scrambling to finish my cute little ensemble that sat wondering if it would see the light of day while the stomach bug still wages war on all of us.

But here they are - both baby girl, and outfit - maybe missing a tiny piece of what they had/had planned, but perfect just the way they are.

Piece by Piece:
The Top: 

 I went with a traditional men's white dress shirt for the top.  I've been wanting to create a bib front top with pin tucks since November when a bib front top caught my eye as I was searching for inspiration for Heidi's 'Knock Off' series.  Of all the gazillion choices out there, I went with a white shirt for two reasons.  First, I just think it is a great staple neutral that you don't see enough of on babies and toddlers - and I love white on baby girl (*I know people think it will just get disgustingly dirty, but white can be bleached and cleaned without risk of color fade).  Second, I had a few white shirts as options already in my stash.
As I designed and created this top, I really wanted to use as many details as I could without ending up with a product that was obviously a men's shirt originally.  I used the pocket, button hole placket, shirt tail hem, and cuff plackets from the original.   My husband encouraged me to include the pocket when I was second guessing myself, so it was carefully removed from the original and attached to the new front.  The button hole side of the front placket was removed from the shirt and re-attached to the bottom of the front section of the top.  There it became the perfect ribbon detail edge after new button holes were added to increase the amount of ribbon weaving - I added an extra button hole between each of the existing ones.  The great thing is that the ribbons can be changed out for different looks, but I really wanted to keep this a clean and sophisticated white on white.  I discovered when making my mock up that the original shirttail hem gave me a slight Hi/Low hem, and I loved it.   And the detailing on the top of the sleeves is the original cuff placket - maybe my favorite detail of the entire shirt.

The back of the shirt ties back from the sides- this allows the top to grow with baby girl and gives her an easy range of motion.

The bib has five pin tucks on each side of the new front placket.  The three buttons are from the original shirt as well. The neckline is bound with bias tape created form the original shirt as well. The side seams are serged and then top stitched for that finish of a men's shirt.

The Shorts:  I have been in love with Heidi's pocket shorts tutorial since I first saw them on her blog Elegance and Elephants.... and I have just been waiting for an excuse to make them.  Now I knew I wanted these shorts to be a bit more tailored, so I wanted an elastic back and flat front.  I then stumbled upon a great basic short pattern from  Angela at Crafting Zuzzy that uses a box pleat in the front, and with some careful finagle-ing, I figured out that I could Frankenstein the two together.
I went with a flannel men's shirt in plaid - yes plaid!  I've been trying to stretch myself in each challenge, and pattern matching is something I either avoid or try to make easy for myself.  Ummmmm, this was not an easy plaid.  For one thing, it was already cut into this shirt, so it was hart to line up the plaid to cut duplicate pieces, I might have saved time just cutting every piece one at a time.  Then I went to cut the pockets, and realized that if I wanted to use the button placket for the top I would have to add in button holes (unlike my plain flannel shirt mock up where I just cut two pockets with the button holes in the same alignment.)  Then it hit me that the way the placket was sewn on changed the pattern of the plaid, so I made the executive decision to make sure it would match at the top.

But oh those pockets, I am actually a little in love with them not pleated - they become bucket pockets and have such great dimension, but a little overwhelming for baby girl at this stage.  I used the same ribbon as on the shirt to gather the pockets through 4 button holes into box pleats that flow perfectly with the box pleats on the front of the shorts.  The final silhouette is much more appropriate for this little girl on the crawl.

(overhead view so you can see the pleating)

The bottoms of the short legs are finished off with cuffs inspired by the original cuffs of the men's shirt.  My plan was to use the original cuff, but on careful inspection I noticed that they were starting to fray in a few places and that just wouldn't do.  So I cut new cuffs and added two buttons on each to match the main button.  Which match the buttons on the...

BOOTS:  I fell in love with Shwin&Shwin's Little Red Riding Boots just for the name.  I almost made red flannel ones for this outfit, but then remembered that I have LEATHER.  Not pleather, not some other thing, but genuine suede leather in the form of a bomber jacket of mine that my mom held onto since middle school for me.   It is a nice navy blue that plays perfectly with the blues and greens of the flannel.  I had to size up their pattern since baby girl has the longest feet ever and then I lengthened the rise of the boot so that it could come further up her leg and have a little bit of fold over to show off the flannel. I then added elastic loops to the straps to make the button functional and the boots easy to get on and off.

And a couple more of baby girl:

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Project Run&Play Week #4: Love is in the Air

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Butterfly Kisses: Past and Present
First, WOW, just wow - I am so thankful for all the amazing comments, love, and support you have all been sending my way... I am so happy to still be here and to be sharing with you again today!

All right - on to the design...

This week was a week of realizing that just because an idea seems awesome in your head doesn't mean that it will translate into practical clothing for kids.  Part of what I struggled with in attempting to realize my original idea was the fact that I had no personal connection to it, it was becoming borderline costume and that wasn't what I wanted.
I am not a huge 'holiday-wear' sewer, but I fell in love with the theme of 'love is in the air'.  Once I scrapped my original plans of WWII airplanes, I stumbled upon this gorgeous butterfly material while organizing my stash to make room for my best friend to come visit for the weekend, and the light bulb clicked and my 'AhHA!' moment made me smile.

You see, my grandmother always called me her butterfly and I never doubted her love for me, my daddy always gave me butterfly kisses before bed and I knew he loved me, and the material came from a skirt my mom passed to me for my stash - and there will never be a person who loves me in the same way as my mom.  My husband has recently taught our boys how to give butterfly kisses, and at night they will not let us leave the room without calling out 'fly, fly' as they ask for a butterfly kiss.  To me this is love; wrapped in one word, in one action, this is what I want to remember -  my cherub cheeked babies calling out for one more 'fly' and closing their eyes comforted in the sweet blanket of love.

This design is a nod to the past and present to represent these generations of love.  The base is a sweet empire waist dress with heart keyhole back, french seams, and flutter-by sleeves; and bloomers with bitty bows and hand stitched flying butterfly.  The 'past' look is a jacket with a nod to vintage patterns, fully lined with triple pleating in the back, gathered sleeves,  and little bows that echo the butterfly theme.  The 'present' look is a more modern cropped wrap sweater with fluttering butterflies on the shoulder.
This is my first look of the season that uses all 'upcycled' fabrics... and this too feeds into the 'past and present' nature of this week's design.

Layers of Love:
The Dress-  I loved the idea of Loving The Mommyhood's Sweatheart dress when I saw it on FB a while back (when I first noticed it, there was a  tutorial, but they have since created a pattern and there is a whole group of people showing off the pattern in the blog-o-sphere),  I will probably buy this pattern down the road for baby girl, but for now in her crawling baby stage, I'm not sure I want that much of an open back.  As I sew for and dress my insanely long baby (she is currently over 31 inches long at 9 months old), I have discovered that high waist lines just look best on her, they also giver her the ease of all the wriggly-giggly movement she does on a moment by moment basis.
So, I created a very high wasted empire dress with  a square neck line and a small keyhole opening in the back in the shape of a heart with a gathered skirt and flutter-by sleeves.
The bodice is fully lined and hand sewn on the inside to create a beautiful finish with no visible seams.  I cut the bodice on the bias to allow it just enough give to make it easy to get on and off baby girl, I also love how it changes the flight pattern of the butterflies.  The key hole closes with a hook and thread eye - it didn't pop open at all during our photoshoot so I think we are good to go, I didn't want anything to distract from the heart shape.  The skirt has french seams and a rolled hem.  The sleeves are what I am calling 'flutter-by' sleeves, because as a child that is what I called butterflies - they are simple flutter sleeves with a slight gather and a squared edge and they make me think of spring and sunshine.

The Bloomers-  If I didn't love the dress so much, I would say that these bloomers are my favorite thing ever.  They are made out of a very soft, light weight knit Tshirt and are comfy and breathable.  I added casings to the leg holes made out of the butterfly material to tie back to the dress and then couldn't stop myself from adding a little bow on each side.  The waistband is elastic and is finished with the twin needle.  The leg holes are also finished with a twin needle, for the top stitching I used light thread in the needle on the butterfly side and dark thread in the needle on the knit side - I know no one but me will ever notice these details, but they make me happy.

The Jacket-  For the jacket I started with Schwin and Schwin's Black Bird pattern because I could see the lines in it to create the vintage inspired swing coat I had in mind.  I looked in my stash and my hand landed on this beautiful velvet sleeveless top.  Mmmmmmm velvet, lush, rich, vintage-y fabric.  But velvet, my friends, is the mean nasty Siren of fabrics.  She lures you in with her pretty 'pet me' pile, and then laughs in your face as she slips and moves and frays and CAN NOT BE PRESSED!!!  Wait, what?!!?!  OK, she can be pressed, if you have a pin board or want to risk the towel method.   But since I was cutting this out of a SLEEVELESS fitted women's top, I had no spare material to potentially scar.  In the end, I love this jacket, and I love the velvet, but it may be a long long time before I touch the stuff again.
Ok - the jacket has puff sleeves with velvet casings.  For the back of the jacket I really wanted a detail that fit into the butterfly theme, and landed on a triple pleat.  The lining is gathered to give fullness that forces the pleats open.  I added a bow just above the pleat to lighted up the darkness of the velvet and to tie in to the sleeves.  The front yolk fastens with two snaps and has another bow detail.  The jacket is fully lined with the butterfly fabric and hand stitched at the hem.  I chose to top stitch around the front and neck since I could not press the lining flat (whyohwhyohwhyvelvet?!?!?!?).  I really do love this jacket, it is so cute!!!  But beware the call of velvet my friends!

The Wrap Sweater-  I knew I wanted a simple knit sweater for the 'present' version of this look.  Looking at the dress I realized that a cropped wrap sweater would be perfect.  I drafted a basic pattern that wraps across the front and ties in the back.  The hem and neck line are finished with the twin needle.  The tie of the under layer of the wrap feeds through a button hole so that both ties are on the outside in the back.  This sweater brings me back to my days of dancing as a child and again in college.  I added the subtle butterflies to the shoulder as a small detail to give the sweater some texture (they are made out of heart shaped pieces and there are 5 in all - smooshed together they look like flowers which also works perfectly).  Now I just need to make one of these for me ;o) *the hem on the sleeves is a re-use of the original hem on the shirt.

Credit:
*The Dress and Wrap Sweater are my own pattern designs.
*The Bloomers - Once again pulling out Simplicity 0291 as a basic bloomer, adapted to add the fabric casing, bows, and hand stitched detailing.
*The Jacket - I used Schwin and Schwin's Blackbird Tunic as a base for this jacket.  I enlarged the yolk and adapted the pattern to have an asymmetrical closure down the front, full lining, added sleeves, incorporated a triple pleat in the back, and added bows.

And here is more of our 'Past and Present' photoshoot - I love my baby girl so much!

Dada's hands will always keep her safe 

(I think this is my favorite picture of all,
one guess as to who she is looking at in such adoration!)

Click Here to VOTE for your favorite - and if you get the chance, hug your kids close and tell them you love them with a butterfly kiss!

Project Run and Play Week 3: Elephant Shoes

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*So this is going to be a shorter post (at least for me!).  I have a house full of sick; sick toddlers, sick baby, sick husband... luckily I am not sick, but I am exhausted from all the sickness surrounding me.

BOYS WEEK!!!!!!!!  Wohooo, I absolutely love anything that promotes sewing for boys, and I love that blog land seems to be in a time period of really raising up sewing for boys and showing how fun and gratifying it can be.
So let me explain the title of this outfit... no, let me sum up; this outfit is called Elephant Shoes because it is inspired by B's elephant shoes.  ;o)  Seriously though, he loves elephants!  The elephant sound was one of the first animal sounds he mastered (which is what he is doing in the opening picture - he is showing my mom what an elephant says).  He loves his outfit and didn't want to take it off after the photo shoot was done, how do you say no to a sick little boy, how do you say no to those eyes?  I compromised and let him wear it until lunch - I just could not let it get ravioli-ized on the day it was completed.

The Break Down

Top: Knit Henley T-shirt.  I love sewing knits for my boys... so comfy, so wearable, so easy to wash, so cute.  Ahhhhhhhh knits.  And yet, don't ever try to look for something specific in a knit - it doesn't exist.  There are some amazing knit fabric stores on-line, but I didn't really look soon enough and the only fabric I ever found that came close to my vision is out of stock.  But the great thing about knits is that they are fairly easy to find in solids and then transform.  I had solid black knit in my stash along with a teal womens T.  I was able to pick up a grey long sleeved T at Goodwill for 83cents, BooYaw!!! And that became my base for the elephant print fabric.
The Elephant print was created by using a wooden stamp and tulip soft fabric paint.  I love that the elephants have a level of variation among them.  I drew on the eyes and ears with a black fabric marker.
The finishing on the hem, sleeves, and collar are done with a twin needle.  At the collar this is a great finish because you get the even twin lines of stitching on the outside and the nice zig zag to catch your turned edge on the inside.

Pants: Teal Corduroy lined with black 'something' (I grabbed it from a skirt in my stash, it was the right weight to pair with the corduroy.)  The pants have front slash pockets, knee pockets with elephant lining, and back pockets with stitched on elephants.

The Hoodie is another of my own designs.  I knew it needed to have clean lines so as not to compete with the base elements of this outfit.  I also wanted it to be something that B could use A LOT, so versatility was key.  I went to Joann's hoping to find a really nice thin pleather with some distressing or texture.... ummmm I think I was asking too much of my poor little Joann's.  Instead, I discovered a polyester with this great elephant skin-ish print on it.  Perfect, the garment remains washable (if not dryable ;op).
I didn't want an attached kangaroo pocket to add any bulk, so I went with an inverted pocket (the front is cut as one piece) that is backed with the elephant print.  The pocket trim follows the same angle as the shoulder epaulets, and the front placket gives a nod back to the Henley while also facilitating ease of getting it on and off.  It also keeps him nice and toasty warm - it has been in the single digits this past week, brrrrrr. The hood is lined with elephants and hand-stitched on the inside for a clean finish.  The hem on both the bottom and sleeves are done with the twin needle to give a professional finish and that little bit of stretch.

Credits, Credits, Credits:
Henley~ My own T pattern adapted to develop the two fabric design and slash detail as well as the placket neckline (I did use Melissa's Henley tutorial as a starting point for sizing on the placket)
Hoodie~ My own basic hoodie pattern adapted to add the inverted kangaroo pocket, placket, and shoulder details.
Pants~ My own basic pant pattern (created using Dana, from MADE's,  pant pattern making tutorial) and adapted to add slash pockets, flat feld outer seams, lining, back pockets, and knee pockets.

A few more pictures of poor little sick B?... well if you really want ;o)

 oh, oh, almost the crack of a smile...

*'All done mama, all done'.... poor baby boy ;o(

If you like what you see, go and VOTE for me (or the one you like best!!!)

~ and remember, an Elephant never forgets

Project Run and Play Week 2: Stripes and Polka Dots

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The Collegiate Cool Look:

(aka the 'Hey MOM' meme look)

Ok, ever since this theme was announced, I've been singing 'You put the line in the polka dot and mix them all up...' (a la 'Lime in the Coconut')  I'm just kooky like that ;op

I knew immediately that I was doing a look for my boy 'A'.  And not a simple play look, but an all out layered look of STYLE.

I think of this as a modern collegiate look, but I think it also fits the vibe of current actors and boy bands (why do I know anything about boy bands???? Oh yeah, I read People while running on the treadmill!)

(a bit of my inspiration: click on the pictures for links)

On Top:
I started with the Blazer, wanting to capture 'classic' in a modern way.  When I stumbled upon this gorgeous black and white teeny tiny stripe at my mom's house I knew it was the right fabric.

The lining was where I had fun.  With a very interesting polka dot and stripe fabric (yep this is one of those fabrics for little girl dresses with the pre-gathered top and border bottom), I set to work laying out how to create a lining that incorporated the lines and dots - well why not put the 'line in the polka dot....and mix them all up'.  Gahhhhh, make the song stop!!!

I made two linings because I was not happy with the first.  VERY happy with the second!!!
The back of the lining is three sections that I created by modifying the original pattern peices.
I added an extra welt pocket inside the lapel... 'cause those cool collegiate/boy band/actors never leave home without their smart phone.

The welt pockets and trim bring in another dot.  The dark grey on grey brought in pattern in a clean way that I feel grounds the jacket.

Next up is The Shirt.  A white on white square dot - does that still count as a dot... yep, in my book it does!

 My boys have plain white shirts, so I wanted to do something to this to make it feel a little edgy without doing too much.  I decided to take a risk and sew my white shirt with grey thread.  Wow, it feels COOL - I was sold when I stumbled upon these dark grey/silver buttons on a men's button up in my re-purpose pile.  The grey buttons not only tie in perfectly with the stitching, they also tie back to the grey on grey dot fabric.  This shirt is certainly made for this outfit, but it is still something that the boys can wear with a pair of jeans or other dress slacks for different looks.

I used a free French pattern for this shirt... and I just can't recommend it.  I mean, I am happy with my shirt, but I had to fenagle quite a few things.  Essentially I took the front, back and collar pattern pieces for sizing and then made up how to put it all together... and created my own cuff pattern because there wasn't one.  I am incredibly happy seeing as this is the first dress shirt I have ever made and the first button holes I have sewn since COLLEGE.

Moving on... The Tie... Oh the tie, I am so in love with the tie!!! I think I could make ties all day and be oh so happy.  Ok, maybe I would get bored... but these go together so quickly and you can mix and match fabrics and the elastic band makes them very practical for little boys.

I used the grey on grey dot for the outer fabric.  And a red & white dot as the lining (this plays as a reverse of the white and red dot fabric in the blazer lining).

I used a tutorial from Sharing the Wealth.  I narrowed down the width to get closer to a skinny tie look.

The Sweater.  This is the first recycled piece of the look,  This was a men's polo sweater I picked up on sale at the Goodwill for 83cents.  I love the heathering.  I love that it is grey.  It is neither a stripe or a polka dot, but in a layered look like this, you need the one calm piece that holds everything else together.  I went with a simple V neck to show off the collar of the shirt and top of the tie.  This is such a wonderful staple for my boys closet.  It will get tons of use through the winter months ahead, which makes this mama happy!
This pattern is modified from a long sleeve T pattern I drafted for the boys in the fall... I wanted to make sure the sweater wasn't too bulky and would work under the blazer -  and it had to have  'V' neck to show a peak of tie.

I bound the neck seam with the grey on grey polka dot fabric to once again tie all the pieces of this look together and keep it cohesive.  I think this is also important to stabilize the neck hole on certain knits so that they lay correctly and don't get all stretched out and wonky.

On Bottom:
The Pants..... The PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNTTTTTTTSSSSSSSS!!!  I have been wanting to make colored pants since I started sewing for my boys last summer.  The time is here, the time is NOW.

I created this pattern using a pair of jeans that fit both boys as a base (A is skinny with no butt, but if things don't fit both boys it becomes very frustrating to get them dressed.)  When I held up the mock up pair (that are made out of the blazer fabric so I technically have a suit now) I turned to hubs and said - these are sexy!!!  Hmmm, maybe not the normal reaction to have to a little boys pair of pants, but if I make things for baby girl that I wish I could wear, I make things for the boys that I wish hubs WOULD wear (he is a sweats and t-shirts kind of guy, but he is still sexy to me!)
I started by upcycling an outdated red twill skirt (ankle length that buttons up the front - you know the kind) for the base of the pants.   The great thing about twill is that is has a natural stripe in the weave of the fabric - stretching too far???  Ok, it isn't truly a stripe or a dot either, who cares... it is RED.  My husband thinks I am crazy when I think outside the box on the boys clothes, and yet even he likes how these turned out.
I couldn't just make a regular easy pair of pants.  I wanted the finishing of jeans.  Flat feld seams, back yolk, back and front pockets, front fly, and details,details, details.
The details are where I started having fun.  I mixed the main blazer fabric in as part of both the front and back pockets.  The grey on grey dot became the trim to pop the edges of the pockets and the fly.  I feel like these details  really make these pants a perfect fit with the more classic blazer.  The red also perfectly matches the dot fabrics in the jacket lining and tie lining - home run!

And the top stitching is a super fun design... that ummmm... maybe, kinda.... well dang, YES they are W's.  I am the W obsessed lady after all, but this I can blame on my husband, his idea.  I thought about embroidering on dots or stripes... and while those would have fit the theme they would have made these jeans almost too unique pushing towards circus rather than walking the fine line of cool.

*I had to snap this picture at home the next day - the attention span of a 22month old isn't long enough for adding and removing too many articles of clothing during one photo shoot.  I really wanted you all to be able to see the details of the front of the pants on my little guy.

AND THE CREDIT GOES TOO:
Blazer: Melly Sews Basic Blazer (AMAZING, go buy it NOW!!!  Added the trim and inner welt pocket)
Shirt:  French button up (yeah, kinda sorta... I'll still give them credit since I used their basic sizing to start)
Tie:  This great tutorial and free pattern from Sharing the Wealth (I adapted the pattern to get a skinnier look)
Sweater: Self Drafted
Pants: Self Drafted

More pictures of A strutting his stuff... why yes, I can oblige!

 I cuffed the jacket just to show off the dots in the lining... he could so wear it this way in the Spring with jeans and just the button up, soooooooo cute ;o)

 You can't catch me!!!!

Hey Girl, Vote for Me.  (*Or at least go vote, and if you vote for me, THANK YOU!!!)