Ottobre Home Sweet Home apron dress (1/2012, No 4)

This project started out very tidy and with lots of promise: just the way I like things.  I was using up a bit of my Ikea stash from a few years ago, having found the right venue for lightweight cottons with a lot of white in them.  I had found an excuse to buy a new, narrower bias tape maker and had made up gobs of this yummy stuff:

Making your own bias tape is incredibly satisfying.  Iff you own a rotary cutter and Clover tape-maker.

Best of all, I'd found the perfect Ottobre pattern - something with only one piece!  If you're familiar with Ottobre patterns, you know that the worst part is cutting out the pattern pieces.  There's following a million crazy lines, tracing, adding seam allowances...enough to turn me off before I even get started, most of the time.

But this gem had only one piece.  And only one measly seam allowance to be added - on a straight line, at that.  How wrong could things go?

The catch was, this one's a bit of a bear (as my polite, midwestern mother would say) to put together.  The dress has a 3.5 yard perimeter that needs bias tape made, then basting, and then two more go-arounds to attach the tape.  Including four hairpin turns for the buttoned straps.  

So, you save time on the cutting but you pay in other ways.  Namely, when you try to go back over those hairpin turns the second time, to catch all the bunchy bias tape on the wrong side.  Yowzahs.  While this killed any hopes of having created a reversible garment (probably only I will regret not dressing my daughter in hippos, but still!), the outside is okay:

You think I look mad?  You should have seen my mom finishing the edges on this thing!

The criss-cross back is cute and leaves lots of room to move.

Appliqué provides a preview of the lining fabric.

The tape and lining fabrics are cottons from Ikea's kid fabrics.  The denim is from JoAnn.  The chic buttons which you can't really see (but trust me, they're awesome!) are from my local button shop.

For the shoemaker's children

Since starting to sew more seriously for other people, I have sewn very little for my own children.  Which is to say, I've hemmed one pair of pants in 7 months and that's about it.

Over February vacation week, however, I got my act together and sewed a few spring items.  Dress your children in lawn and linen this spring, I say!  They'll look beautiful and you can pat them to cheer yourself up (if, that is, you're the kind of person who perks up by handling nice fabric).

I haven't made this pattern since Jonah was a little one, and I like it better now.  This is a 2T of the Oliver and S sailboat top in Lisette cotton lawn.  I love the Indian print of the fabric and its unbelievably soft hand (did I really find this at JoAnn?!) but the lines of flowers were printed significantly off-grain which rendered it impossible to have straight rows of flowers while cutting the pieces on grain (proof that oh yes, I did find it there...).  Regardless, I love long-sleeve lightweight tops for spring and summer and this is a great one.  For reasons I cannot fathom, this chunky child slipped into the shirt much more easily that my skinny boy did.

"I want to see Ye-oh-ya!"

 Here you can see the four buttons at the neckline.  Some trouble, but classy.  Don't mind the four extra buttonholes I accidentally sewed on the front of the shirt (now hidden by the buttons).

As for Jonah, he's getting his first pair of linen pants for dress occasions this spring and summer (maybe someone will invite us to an elegant party?  Anything is possible).  Again, this is still the Oliver and S sailboat pattern but in a 4T with the hem modified to be full-length.  I'm trying to extend the pants' life by adding elastic in the waist that I can let out when needed and by adding cuffs, which could open to lengthen the pants down the road.  Linen is a very sophisticated fabric for children's clothing and I like it for that reason.

See how happy my children are that I sew for them?  They just love it.

See that extra elastic?  Only a few more sticks of butter in that boy and we might get there.

Rocking their tomtens

Despite the mild weather we've been having in Boston, there have been ample opportunities for sweater-wearing this month.  Since I'm off from work for a week (whee!), I've had the rare chance to choose the kids' clothes for daycare and preschool.  Naturally, my taste leans heavily toward my own creations.

Here's Miss L in a wool tomten with the full hood.  It's hiding a head of pretty curls but I like how she looks a bit like a medieval knight.

And next is Mr. J, whose green eyes fairly glow in these colors.  I've lined the top half of this cardi in bamboo jersey to fight the itchies.

This pattern is definitely one of Elizabeth Zimmermann's grandest achievements.  It makes a great project for beginners - all garter stitch, hardly any seams - and yields a really wearable garment.

Alpaca lace

One more February baby sweater from Elizabeth Zimmermann, as I knit my way through yard sale yarn.  Here we have 75 cents' worth (i.e. three skeins in dinosaur-era prices) of Blue Sky Alpaca in a lovely cream.  I think that white and off-white are perfect colors for pre-solids babies.  The buttons are garnet-colored with a shank, which makes them easier to use.  I love the bell sleeve of this pattern.

My label looks really chintzy in this elegant setting...may need to reprint those at some point.

Don't look to hard for errors or you're be pleasantly surprised.

Sleep sack satisfaction

Here's a new sack I made today for Liloup, modeled by Miss Liora post-nap:

Sleep sacks are a really easy, totally useful sewing project for beginners.  For under $10, you get something that a toddler will use every day for (hopefully) 10 to 12 hours!  This sack is basically a combination of Simplicity 5720 (for their use of binding tape at neck edge) and McCalls 4236 (for their wider bottom) patterns.  A red zipper and binding tape set off the black and white fleece.

More knitting

I read this great post about Thanksgiving being a time for sewers to get back to their knitting, and I couldn't agree more.  Craft maniacs separated from their machines need a different outlet when traveling.  So here's my third sweater in my blue-green autumn trilogy.  The yarn has a really great story: I bought it (three balls of Rowan machine washable wool) at a yard sale for 75 cents!  At the time, I was worried that the seller was going to realize her ridiculous error and come running after me, at least for the alpaca (also 25 cents a skein, unbelieeeevable).  To give you some perspective, the buttons cost seven times that.  They're alternating gold and silver filigree balls.  Choosing the right buttons for a sweater is something I would really like to get better at.  I tend to go over the top (surprise, surprise) or, on rare occasion, too boring.

This Elizabeth Zimmermann "February sweater" from her almanac is a great pattern because it gives a beautiful result with minimal headaches.  I made one in cotton a few years ago.  It's for a little baby who will be arriving in early 2012 on the West Coast.

Two new sweaters

for him and her.  As a career teacher, I am in the process of recertifying (i.e. chipping away at 120 hours of professional development of varying quality and interest).  One of my goals (not the kind that I submit to my boss, of course...) is to spend as many of those 120 hours knitting as possible.  Thanks to a summer immersion institute and four days of conferences in October, I finished the only sweater I've begun since my daughter's birth 20 months ago.  And, while waiting on Webs to restock the wool for that sweater when I ran out, I knit another!  And then another, but that's a secret until a December baby shower for a friend.

Sweater One is a tomten in Plymouth Yarn Tweed, which has great flecks and body but is quite too itchy for my toddler.  Since it's by far the most expensive sweater I've ever knit for a child, this is a disappointment.  I am planning to line the neck area in bamboo jersey and see where that gets us.  I love this Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern nonetheless and the color looks amazing with my son's green eyes.



Sweater Two is a garter stitch cardigan from Knitting for Baby in Knitpicks' Swish Superwash (I think - I know that it wasn't intended for this project.  I had to grab the wool on short notice before a conference, and since I store all my yarn in my kids' bedroom, time is very limited there!).



Every time I make this pattern I get annoyed that the placket puts the buttonholes too far from the garment's edge.  The yarn is very drapey in garter stitch and has a bit too much stretch to it, but no one will be wimpering about itching!

Introducing Liloup

"You should sell your stuff!" is a comment that my indulgent friends make from time to time, and I have a number of retorts.  I already have a job; I am too busy; I won't make any real money.  These facts remain true...but I can't resist this challenge!  So what if I'm a harried mother of two toddlers and teacher of 110+ middle schoolers?  So what I already can't find time to go to the gym or eat vegetables or shave my legs?  Wouldn't I rather be sewing?

I would.

And so, feeling ambitious one sultry August day, I took note of a new boutique in my neighborhood (The Tiny Hanger) and, heart pounding, filled out the designer application.  Since getting accepted (i.e. allowed to sell my wares on consignment in exchange for a cut of the sale price), I've opened a shop on Etsy, figured out to how to buy a domain name (thanks Elizabeth!), ordered labels and tags, and sewed a bunch (though, to be honest, the sewing has taken a small fraction of the overall time spent thus far - and I hope that will change).

Here I am stopping by The Tiny Hanger to visit my dresses.  The rust and teal items (which you see above, too) are mine:

And here are the bodysuit-pants sets in flannel, all lined up:

For now, my "line" consists exclusively of linen tunics (which start as dresses and work their way up to blouses over time) and flannel or corduroy bodysuit & pants sets.  Stop by the Etsy shop and tell me what you think and what you'd like to see next!

Passport dress

The conclusion to my Lisette pattern trio is Simplicity 2209, known as the Passport dress.  The bodice is a linen/rayon blend with ricrac trim at the neck and waist, and the skirt is some Ikea cotton.  This was my second attempt at this dress (the first came out a bit dumpy and I haven't blogged it), so I knew that the waist needed to be several sizes bigger than the rest of the dress if it would fit me!  If you have a defined waist, this is a great pattern for you.  The rest of us, however, can make it work.  

You might be wondering about the bodice color (my husband is...), so let me explain that it was inspired by this photo in the Lisette Flickr group.  That seamstress added neck and waist trim, which inspired my ricrac-a-rama.  Ricrac is great stuff and I need to remember to use it more often.  Originally I had bought a different fabric for the skirt, a nubby mustard/brown cotton stripe.  Then I opened up the kids' closet a few days ago, noticed that Ikea heap peeking out, and realized I could do a lot better. This cotton from Ikea is fairly substantial, more so than a typical quilting cotton, so I feel it makes a respectable garment fabric.

Side note: I wore this dress to synagogue this morning and I got two compliments, both of which began with, "Did you make that dress?"  Is this a slight of my sewing skills?  Or a keen eye for something original?  Let's hope for the latter!

Ottobre tunic for Liora-loup

Behold the Jänönheinä  tunic (what's up with all those trémas/umlauts?) from Ottobre's autumn 4/2010 issue.  I made it in the 74 cm. size and it's ample even on my little butterball of a 16-month-old.  The fabric is leftover Lisette lawn from my blouse and gingham from JoAnn (why can't they sell 100% cotton gingham?).

Hopefully this will still fit come next 4th or 14th of July!

Shower curtain tunic

Continuing on my Lisette pattern streak (did you miss it?  I've made TWO things!), here's the Portfolio tunic (Simplicity 2245, size 6).  The fabric is a fabulous cotton twill with a fun story: my friend Dawn bought it as a shower curtain, changed her mind, and gifted this pink and orange happiness to lucky me!  This provided some useful pressure (entirely self-imposed, mind you) to actually bring this shower curtain into a new form.

I am curious what Lisette designer Liesl thinks of sewists' interpretation of this pattern, because when I checked the Flickr photo group I found a lot of icky muumuus that made their wearers look rather rotund.  And then of course, I forged ahead anyway and made a floral version myself.  By the way, checking Flickr groups (or Patternreview) is a good technique to get concrete ideas of how patterns look on normal people, not models, before you sew them yourself.  You can also see what a pattern yields in a variety of fabric prints and weights to make a more informed decision.

The tunic has some fun details that you don't usually find in a regular pattern:

1. Front yoke/princess seams that turn into pockets.  As a teacher, I feel that pockets are an essential part of all my clothes, so this is a very good thing.  Normally I would consider pockets on a tunic to be a real no-no (bulky, child-like), but I think these are clever and classy.

2. A little square piece below the neckline (perhaps this has a technical name?!).  Someone more creative could probably make a real fashion statement with this tidbit.

The one part that threw me for a loop was the cuffed sleeve, because I followed the directions for the long-sleeve view by accident.  I will forever be reminded of this error because my facings pop out a bit at the underarm as a result.  Now, do I have leftover fabric so that I could choose to redo the sleeves?  Yes.  Am I going to take the time to make this tunic perfect?  Of course not.