My Little Plumcake Shorts

Is there anything cuter than toddler legs in shorts?.......I don't think so!

These shorts are made from a pattern by My Little Plumcake.  I had the pleasure of testing them for Michelle (along with this skirt) and oh man are they cute!  The pattern should be releasing next month with the rest of her spring line

I was excited to use that pink Nicey Jane fabric on them; I bought it in a pack of random cuts online.  The cuts were all so small I had no idea what I was going to use them for, but they are the perfect size for these little shorts.  Now I just need to sew 5 or 6 more pairs to use the rest of the cuts!

I have mentioned before that we pretty much live in shorts for most of the year so I know these will get tons of use (along with the 5 or 6 more I said I was making :) ). 

I love the paper bag waist band and the little leg bands that have a button detail on the side.

I adore those little pink shorts, but these blue ones are definitely my favs.  I used some Riley Blake Indie Chic fabric I have been hoarding on these.  

I think I want a pair of these in my size...

Ranger Shorts

Have you heard of One Thimble?  It is a fun e-zine filled with patterns, tutorials and sewing tips that you can download as a PDF file right to your computer.

I was given a copy of the latest edition and asked to sew up some of the patterns inside.  The magazine is 229 pages long and includes 9 printable patterns; these Ranger shorts are one of them.

We pretty much live in shorts for most of the year so I usually sew my kids at least one pair for summer (like these, or these, or my favorite...these).  Kids shorts are so quick to sew and take just a little bit of fabric.  

A was so excited that I was sewing for him.  I don’t do enough sewing for him; it is so hard to find good boys patterns out there.  But these shorts are adorable!

The pattern comes in sizes 2-8, they have a flat front and elastic back, and pockets…lots of pockets, probably his favorite part, he loves having somewhere to stash his rocks. 

They have these cute welt pockets on the back, but these are just for looks.  There are instructions for real welt pockets in the magazine but I opted for the fake ones.  What does a three year old need back pockets for anyway?

I picked up this cool houndstooth fabric at JoAnns.  It is a twill that was in with the suitings and bottomwieghts.  I didn’t even realize until after I had it cut that it stretches!  These shorts turned out so comfy for him , he can really move and play in them and still look like a rock star :)

This kid is growing like crazy, his feet have grown 2 sizes in 2 months and he has completely skipped over size 3 clothing and went straight to size 4.  I made him these shorts in size 4 and the fit is great with some room to grow.  These shorts have a cool half belt on the front sides so I can snug them up when he is wearing them.  I *hope* he will be able to wear these for a while, but who knows, at this rate he may be in size 5 next month!

Rainbow Bias Tape Skirt

Guess what...I am a new contributor over at Make it & Love it!  I have been following Ashley's blog for years and I just love it, so I was pretty stoked when I opened the email asking if I wanted to come on as a contributor!

I will be over there about once a month sharing fun sewing projects for kids and I am sharing my first one today!

I designed this fun rainbow striped skirt with St. Paddy’s Day in mind.  I love St Pat’s, it was always a big celebration in my house when I was growing up.  We would wear green clothes, eat green, food and drink green soda.  One year my dad even made green bread, which was super fun on St. Patrick’s Day, but I got some pretty strange looks in the school cafeteria when my PB&J was green for the rest of the week!

Not only are these rainbow stripes fun for St' Paddy's Day, but the colorful skirt will be fun for Em to wear all spring and summer.

And it is the perfect match for her favorite shoes, they are like the pot of gold beneath the rainbow!

I am sharing a full tutorial over at Make it & Love it today so you can make a rainbow skirt of your own, or change it up and use any color stripes you want.  Head over and check it out!

ModKid Melanie

Hey guys! I have been doing some more sewing for me and I am over at Pattern Revolution again today sharing my review of the modkid Melanie!

I made a fun keyhole modification to the back of my Melanie.  It is something you can do on the back of any knit shirt or dress pattern and I am sharing a tutorial on how to do it.  Go check it out!

Valentine Envelopes

I am over at SNAP! again today sharing a tutorial for these cute valentine envelopes.  Go check them out!

Casual Lady Top

Have you herad about the new series over at Pattern Revolution?  All month they are sharing reviews and tutorials for womens patterns!

I have been busy sewing for me a lot more and I am over at Pattern Revolution today to share two of my self care sewing projects with you, they are shirts I made with the Casual Lady dress and top pattern from Go To Patterns.

Go check them out!

Homegrown Tank

Last week I had the chance to test Little Lizard King's newest pattern The Homegrown Tank.

The dress is made with a knit bodice and woven sash and skirt.  There are instructions for upcycling a tank top for the bodice too.

 

I have been trying to use more of the fabric I already have in my stash instead of buying new stuff.  This skirt fabric came from Joann's over a year ago (but I have seen it there recently too)  and the sash is Amy Butler's Lotus Full Moon Polka Dot in Lime.  The bodice is made from some Ponte De Roma knit I had leftover from another project.

I really love the knit bodice for Em, it is comfy and she can move and play in it.  

I think I will be making more of these for summer this year!

Tutorial: Heart hair clips

I think in the past 6 months Em's hair has tripled in length.  We have been using the fabric bows I made last year on a daily basis to keep it pulled back out of her eyes.  I made these sweet little heart shaped clips to add to her clip collection.  They are perfect for Valentine's day but are something she can wear year round too.

These clips are made of felt and are super easy to sew.  They are a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to add a little Valentine's day love to your little ones hair.

They are made with those little snap clips and the clip is sewn inside.  They are easy to get on a wiggly toddler and stay put pretty well too.

To make these clips, all you need is some scrap felt and embroidery thread.  

Start by cutting a template for your clips.  I used a heart shaped cookie cutter, traced it on a piece of paper and cut it out.  You will use the template to cut all you hearts for the clips.  The heart needs to be slightly bigger than your clip.

 

Use the template to cut out 2 hearts for you clip.

Cut a small slit on one side of one of your hearts and stick the small part of the snap clip through it.

I always part Em's hair on the left and use the clips on the right so I put my clips in as shown in the picture above so the heart will be right side up when I use the clip.  Put the clip the other way to use it on the left, or make a matching set for both sides.

Place the other felt heart on top, sandwiching the clip inside.  Sew around the edge with the embroidery thread.

Bury the string in between the two hearts and trim off the extra.

That's it!  

They are fun to get creative with too.  I made the little double hearts by sewing the smaller heart in the middle of the big heart before making my clip.