Pixie Hat Tutorial

Looking for a quick, easy and adorable hat to sew for your little one this winter?  I am over at Make it & Love it today with a super simple pixie hat tutorial to share!

This hat such an easy sew, you can can finish one in under 30 minutes!  It only takes a couple of straight seams and a hem, so it is perfect for beginners too!

In my tutorial, I show you how to measure your little one and make a hat to fit any size head.  This little whimsical hat is perfect for the holidays...and all winter too!  It can be made with an extra warm lining to keep little heads warm.

Head over to Make it & Love it today to check out my tutorial!

Justice League for Craftingcon

This month is all about the Justice League over at Craftingcon!  My son is crazy about superheros and my daughter pretty much likes anything big bro does, so they were both pretty excited about the Justice League inspired looks I made for them!

This was not the first time the Justice League has inspired my sewing, last year A had a pretty cool Superman costume!  But, these looks are a lot more casual, perfect for everyday superhero wear.

AND our little Justice League is growing!  Sometime in January we will have a little brother to fill this Green Lantern tee! (OK, it will probably be more like August before he can fill that 6-12 month size tee!)

Make sure you swing by Craftingcon to read all the details on my Justice League inspired look today!

Sweet Lily Chambray Dress

Have you ever had a sewing project that looked AH-mazing in your head...but not so great in reality.  This was almost one of those projects for me!  As soon as I saw the Sweet Lilly dress pattern by Bella Sunshine Designs, I knew I wanted to make one in chambray.  I sewed up the bodice with some cute little yellow buttons (and oh man it looked great!) then I added the skirt and....hated it!  So I threw it aside and went to bed, I don't know, but maybe I had just been staring at it too long.  The next day I switched out the yellow buttons for some wooden ones, gave the dress a good press, put it on my little one with the boots from her Halloween costume, and I LOVE it!

The Sweet Lilly dress features a pintucked bodice, I am a sucker for any pattern with pintucks!  It's got elbow length sleeves and some sweet ruffles on the sleeves, bodice, and hemline.

I had bought some chambray months ago with plans to make something for myself, but had not gotten around to it yet.  It is this chambray (affiliate link), and I really love it, I think I will be ordering some more to make that something for myself!  It is lightweight and has a really pretty drape to it.

I will warn you, this pattern is not a quick sew.  There are lots of pieces to cut, both fabric and interfacing, plus all that ruffling (and I really hate ruffling!)  It has some really nice finishing techniques, but they take extra time too.  All the seams on the sleeve cuffs and ruffles are encased and the bodice is lined and hand finished at the waist and sleeves.

This little dress will be perfect for fall!  It looks so cute with her boots and will be cute layered with tights or leggings as the weather cools off...if it ever cools off!

Halloween 2015 - Woody and Jessie

It is Halloween costume time!  I have said this several times before, but I will say it again, costume sewing is my favorite! And I think my kids like it most when I sew them costumes too :)

They have been planning for at least 6 months now what costumes they would choose for Halloween.  Em was pretty set on Minnie Mouse, and she was going to wear this dress I made her for her birthday.  A was going back and forth a lot, but had pretty well settled on Captain America.  Then with a last minute change of heart, they decided to go as Woody and Jessie from Toy Story.

I was pretty thrilled with them picking coordinating costumes.  Seriously...how cute are these two!

And of course since they coordinated, I have to get the whole family in on it!  My husband isn't crazy about costumes, but I have him talked into to dressing up as Buzz Lightyear (but just a t-shirt and some wings, nothing too crazy) and I am working on a Mrs. Potato Head costume for me.

Let me tell you about their costumes! I made everything except the hats and boots.  The boots I picked up at Walmart, super cheap. And I found this Woody hat and this Jessie hat on Amazon (affiliate links).  The hat came with white string on it, but I swapped it out for some brown sting I bought at Hobby Lobby so it looks a bit more like Woody's hat.

Then for their pants, I bought the lightweight denim and cow print at JoAnn Fabrics and used I modified the Small Fry Skinnies pattern by Titchy Threads (same pants I sewed HERE).  I modified the pants to have an elastic back waist and faux fly, but kept all the great jeans details like the pockets, yoke, and topstitching.  For Jessie's pants, I made them more of a boot cut than a skinny pant and sewed the chaps right into the front of the jeans.  Then I added some 1" white ribbons to the side seams for the fringe.

They also each got brown vinyl belts and felt belt buckles.  The belts close with D rings and the buckle is glued on top.  For the belt buckle detail, I sketched out my design then free motion stitched it onto 2 layers of felt.  In hindsight, I think I should have added some king of stabilizer between the layers of felt.

Woody also got a vinyl holster with some felt details on it.

For Jessie's shirt, I used the Classic Oxford pattern by Peek-a-boo patterns (which I made once a couple years ago).  I added the front yoke detailing and changed the shape of the yoke a bit in the back,  I used some polyester trim for the red yoke detail and sewed it on with a zig zag stitch.  And I added some red piping below the yokes.  I also lengthened the sleeves and modified the cuff a bit to it could be turned up and flare out a bit.  The cuffs got the same polyester trim details.  The shirt closes with snaps that are hidden in the hem allowance and I added two big decorative buttons.

Woody's shirt is also made with the Classic Oxford pattern by Peek-a-boo patterns.  I couldn't find the perfect fabric, so I bought some plain yellow and drew the red checks on with red fabric marker.  I drafted a pattern for the vest and sewed it up with the same cow print I used for Jessie's chaps,  Then I trimmed it with some striped bias tape, Hobby Lobby had the perfect tiny stripe fabric to make the bias trim.  I used the same free motion technique I used for the belt buckles to make his Sheriff badge and stitched that to the vest.

I spent a several days trying to convince my kids that Em would be a really great blonde Jessie, but they both insisted she needed red hair.  So I made her a red yarn wig.  I had some red nylon left over from last years superman costume that I used to make a tight fitting cap.  Then I stitched some red yard right down the middle in the front and some straight across the back.  I pulled the hair back to a braid and added Jessie's yellow bow.  This was my first time making a wig, and it has a few bald spots, but the get covered by the hat!

Phew! And there you have it! One Woody and one Jessie!  I had so much fun making these costumes, and seeing my kids get excited about them too make it so worth the effort!

I think these are my favorite costumes yet! How will I ever top these next year?!

Little Bandit Costume

Are your kids Halloween costumes trick-or-treat ready or are you still looking for costume ideas?  I am just putting the finishing touches on my kids costumes and will hopefully be sharing some pictures of them soon!  In the meantime, I have a really quick easy costume idea that you can throw together and it is something that will work for boys or girls of any age!

This little bandit costume is half handmade and half store bought.  I made the hat, mask, money bag, and striped shirt (but you could buy the shirt too!) and added some black shoes and pants.  And the best part is it is really quick to make and cheap too!

My daughter has different plans for her Halloween costume this year, but she has been having a blast playing dress up with this costume and sneaking around the house.  Wouldn't this make for a really fun game of cops and robbers?!

You can find all the details on this costume and how to make the hat, mask, and money bag over at Make it & Love it today!

The Library Cardi

Little Lizard King just released a new pattern that is perfect for fall!  The Library Cardi is a slouchy cardigan with some cool kangaroo pockets.  I think it is about as comfortable as it is cute!  And I hear there is a women's version coming soon, I think their may be matching mommy and me cardigans in the future for us!

Em's favorite part of this cardigan (and mine too) are the pockets!  They are nice and deep for stashing lots of treasure.  The front of the cardigan can be lined, so you can do a cool contrast pocket if you wanted.

I sewed the cardigan up in a size 3, it should fit Em through the winter and next spring.  She may even get a bit of use out of it next fall if she doesn't have any huge growth spurts!  I found this lightweight knit at Hobby Lobby, it will be perfect for layering on cooler nights this fall.

You can grab a copy of the Library Cardi pattern HERE!