Knitting....

This is the third time that I've started this hat. I hope I finally get it right.

I'll post photos of the items I crafted recently/stuck in the bag for my niece either today or tomorrow. I took some photos but I'm not happy with the ones of just the hats. I'll need to re-photograph them.

I've been doing some more baby sewing/crafting. Today is so grey that I'd have to find something to put the stuff on and take it outside to photograph. Maybe tomorrow. I have to weave in ends and sew up turning holes still anyway.

I've started three hats this week. I actually crocheted two of them but I might take one apart and and knit it instead. I started knitting a pilot cap and got really far in but I'm unsure of whether I have enough yarn and I wanted my increases and decreases to be neater so I frogged it. This is the perils of being a self-taught knitter. I thought I corrected myself when I was knitting backward  but I think I'm actually still doing it.

I loved the hat Meg from Elsie Marley made during KCWC on day two so much that I made two yesterday. I think they're sized for a newborn and won't fit too long. I made a grey and white one that's a little bigger than the stripey one so it should fit longer. While trying to print the pattern bigger I discovered how to scale up and down a pattern in the print dialogue for PDFs. I think I'm going to try again later and click tiling since the size I made was coming of the paper a little bit and still wasn't quite big enough.

Yesterday was a fail/yay!/so-so sewing day.

The Fail:

1. I tried making a baby dress from the McCall's pattern I had cut out already.  I added ribbing to the neck edge (Note to self: Try to always using baby rib ribbing. The other type is quite thick) and basted it and everything but it just looked odd and maybe a bit big.  My mom's sewing machine, me, and knits aren't too fond of each other especially when hemming needs to be done so I hated hemming the sleeves. Then when I used my serger to attach the skirt to the bodice I sewed a little of the bodice into the seam, thankfully it didn't go so far as to be cut, and a good bit of stripe that should have been in the seam in the front wasn't showing. When I tried fixing those issues I got even more since the gathering had gone out of the skirt. It looked horrible. I cut off the bodice and used the skirt to make another hat and will use the leftover for baby mitts.

2. I cut out a wrap around baby onesie after I sewed the first one 2 or so months ago. I started sewing it today but still don't have any grey thread so  I couldn't sew the ribbing on. Then I realized that when I cut out the pieces I had cut one piece out with the stretch going up and down.

The Yay!:

1. I made two hats from this Martha Stewart pattern. One in grey ribbing and white cotton/lycra and one in a stretchy knit with blue and green sparkly stripes.

2. After I realized I'd been making two things that would have to be trashed I was really sad but then I remembered that I'd wanted to adapt the wrap around onesie pattern to not snap at the top. So I took out a piece of paper, traced the top of the back pattern out on it and laid and traced the two front patterns over it to figure out how much I needed to add to the sides and practice the swoop I'd be cutting. I used my bias tape maker and an iron to make the bias tape for it and it was so much easier with this ribbinge than with the thicker kind. It just flowed through. I iron the folds out of some of the bias tape to use at the neckline. I like it much better this way since I can just serge it on and then turn the seam down. I sewed one of the sleeves slightly off but it's so cute that I'm really happy with it. I put on an iron-on velour heart that I bought during Bunte Fabric's going out of business sale.

3. Ironed a velour star onto the plain pair of pants I made during KCWC.

The So-So:
1. A pair of pants to go with the onesie and hat. I haven't finished these yet but I'm feeling leery about it. I'm going to add a waistband instead of folding over a waistband casing and I'm still not sure what to do about hemming the legs. I wonder if my brother and SIL would notice if I left them unhemmed, lol.

Baby shoes, baby shoes, baby shoes

KCWC is over. I didn't make as many thing as I'd have liked but I got a lot more done that I would have otherwise. I didn't end up making the shirtdress yet because I'm intimidated by all the pieces and the collar. I've learned something from this months challenge though. I plan on participating in the next one and will definitely remember to have my patterns cut out, thread at the ready, and everything organized by day.

Last night I did a good bit of sewing. I sewed another wraparound onesie and one of the hats from my list. I didn't take a photo of them though. I'm still getting used to swing with knits and how much to stretch the ribbing on the edge. I sewed 5 baby shoes. I made one shoe, my first, the night before last and was traumatized. When I went back to the pattern again last night it was so easy and really enjoyable. I want to make all the baby shoes now. My mom calls them moccasins, haha. The night before last I crocheted a baby hat out of Mirasol Sulka. I love that yarn so much. It is absolutely lovely. I forgot to get a photo of that. I should have posted it on Sunday.

My sister in law hit 30 weeks today. Where has the time gone? I'm so nervous. It's her first baby and I've been faffing away the time when I should be knitting and crocheting warm stuff for her. Tomorrow I'll start knitting a pair of socks for the baby's tiny feet. I should probably do a gauge swatch tonight. I t need to make sure and not peter off with these like I did when I made the ones for my nephew. One is totally done and the other is 90% done but they've just been laying around since last winter.

Pattern: Reversible Baby Shoe pattern from the Weepereas shop on Etsy.

Materials: 

Pink Gingham (3-6 months): Outer: Lisestte Gingham (Pink) from Joann Fabrics Inner: Tiled Primrose (Canary) - Heather Bailey, Organic Cotton Sherpa - Michael Miller 

Black Cars (3-6 months): Outer: Echino Car (Black) - Etsuko Furuya Inner: Kelp Stripe (Brown)- Heather Ross, Organic Cotton Sherpa - Michael Miller

Black Cars (0-3 months):  Outer: Echino Car (Black)- Etsuko Furuya Inner: June Dot (Black)- Alexander Henry, Organic Cotton Sherpa - Michael Miller

Notes:

The wonderful Beth from Weepereas sent me this pattern during KCWC and I can't thank her enough. I really wanted to make a baby set of matching bib and shoes but was not finding a pattern that inspired me enough to make the shoes. Beth's pattern is for totally reversible shoes which is just what I wanted. She includes lots of photos and great tips in her pdf pattern. The best thing? It's multi-sized and goes from 0-3 to 12-18 months. I'm thinking about making a pair for my 14 month old nephew.

I started with the 0-3 month size first. Since it was my first time I probably should have practiced with a bigger size so it was a little less fiddly but they look great. When I got to the part where you join the heel to the toe section I must have stared at the text and photos and pinned and re-pinned my fabric for at least 15 minutes. It just wasn't making sense to me even though it was very clear. My brain plays tricks on me like that sometimes though. Once I finally breathed out and followed the instructions I was ready to go. I think this and pinning all the layers together is the hardest part. I made the first shoe, looked at the pieces for the second and called it a night. Last night I came back to it and all I had to do was skim the pattern to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and dive in! It's so easy once you've gotten the first one done.

On the next 2 pairs of shoes I made I made small adjustments. Putting these here mostly so that I remember for next time.
 1. I was putting thick cotton sherpa to line the soles so I sewed the inside layers together and seamed on the outside. I wasn't sure of my ability to try out a new seaming method with the fabric
 2. I got smart after having ankle openings that looked different sizes. I marked where I would stop pulling each end of the elastic with a dot from a water soluble fabric marker.
3. I like the look of topstitching, so I topstitched at the very the top edge of the toe sections after they were sewn to the heels.
4. I cupped the top of the shoe to the outer sole and pinned into place then cupped both pieces to the inner sole and repinned. Takes a a while but helped me get things more smoothed out.
5. I used wonder tape to keep the heel pieces in place as well as pins when sewing them to the toe pieces.
6. I used this invisible seam tutorial to close up the turning holes.

These shoes are lovely for scraps. I want to go looking in my scrap bags with the pattern and just lay it on everything to see what shoes I can make next. The pink gingham is leftover from the dress to the right. I gave it to the little girl I homeschool. She loves it. The cars and kelp stripe are left over from a quilt I made my baby nephew. Sadly I don't have any more of the car fabric left :( The tile primrose fabric is left over from a knot dress I made without and apron. I don't have any kids so i also gave that away. The sherpa is from a burp cloth I made 2 years ago abut never gave to anybody. I usually throw things away when I haven't given them to someone so I'm really glad I didn't do it this time. The fabric is so soft. I have another burp cloth waiting for the seam ripper so I can 'harvest' the sherpa, too.

I won't be blogging in detail today. I was exhausted so I napped instead of sewing. My uncle visited today as well. I usually don't see him that often since he lives in another state. He brought his grandson and wife with him. I hadn't seen my aunt in years. I'd actually forgotten what she looked and sounded like, so sad.

I'll be sewing tonight. I'm making a pair of baby shoes for sure. I'll be using the pattern from the Weepereas Etsy Shop. Beth was nice enough to send me the pattern when she saw I wanted to make a pair ♥ They are exactly the type I wanted to make. I should be done with these tomorrow and I'll write about them. I've cut out the pieces for a pair in the 0-3 month size. I love that the pattern comes in so many sizes. More about that tomorrow.

Day 5

I posted yesterday's dress to my Facebook and it was a big hit. My SIL and cousin liked it so much they want dresses like that for their daughters. One of my friends called dibs on the dress but I think I'll give it to another little girl. I gave her little sister a Modkids Kyoko dress earlier this year and I think she wants a little something handmade too. She tried it on today and was so happy. I told her she could have it next week after I finish the last touches.

Went to the the store last night and got thread to match my purple twill and poplin. I'm excited to be able to sew with them now. This is the first twill I've had and after prewashing it it is so soft. I just want to run my hands over it. I forgot to take a swatch of the Stenzo poplin but I didn't have enough money to buy more thread anyway. I really might just topstitch the pants I make with it in white.

I actually sewed during the day today. I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, I had to clean up my room first so I could sew in it and time flew.

I sewed another Chickpea bib. I didn't want to use the half yard of  Valori Wells Flannel I have left and the scrap of some other flannel I have wasn't big enough, so I pieced together some batting and used it. It was kind of a bad idea since the batting is not prewashed. I don't know what I'll do. I really wanted it to be flat. I have enough fabric for another bib top but no more black fabric for a backing.

I had some issues applying the snaps to the bib. First I put on two of the same side of the snap. I had to borrow my brother's solderer to get it off. I split my thumbnail trying to get it off before it wanted too. Then I smashed the next snap by doing it off center. I finally got it on and decided to add one more set of snaps so the neck could be adjustable.

Materials: Fabric: Echino Car, Alexander Henry -  June Dot Snaps: Kam Snaps
Pattern: Chickpea Bib  from Chickpea Sewing Studio (Free Pattern)

I sewed these pants at the same time. I wanted to be efficient so I sewed portions one after the other and took the bib and pants to iron at the same time. I was going to embellish these but the waistband went wrong. They're one part of clothes sewing that I'm really going to have to work on. I'm not so good at it. I put a tag in the waistband (sewed a narrow length of fabric then ironed so the seam was in the back, folded it over and tucked it into the waistband). The next time I do that I'll use Wonder Tape to hold everything in place. I forgot to get a photo of the tag. I was rushing to get these in before I went to the library.  It's right up the street from me but today's weather was unpredictable. Sunny one minute, then grey and sprinkling, grey or sunny and pouring rain the next. I really wanted to pick up Oliver + S's Little Things to Sew and Embroidery For Little Miss Crafty. I had to order them through inter-library loan and have been anxious to peek inside them.

Materials: Fabric: Fabric from a pair of Walmart bermuda shorts
Pattern: Basic Newborn Pants from Made by Rae

I added some snaps to a wrap onesie I made from Nefertari Creations free pattern last month. They don't match perfectly and I had to use some smaller white snaps at the crotch but I think it will do for home clothes. It'll probably be grown out of quickly anyway. I also made a matching pair of pants Made by Rae's newborn pants pattern. I added a cuff to them but the edge got stretched out. Today I cut off the old cuffs and sewed on new ones. It's not perfect, but it is better than it was before. Knits and I are still nemesis but I hope if I work on it some more we can one day become best friends. I took photos of the outfit but the color seems off and the photos were blurry. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. My camera's battery gave out while I was trying to take the photos too. It's all charged up now. Contemplating what to make tomorrow. I'm kind of scared the project with the plaid that I had lined up for today. It has a collar, something I've never done before. I guess I should jump in feet first.

I think this is what I'll work on for Day 6. Tonight I'll do the baby stuff, like onesies, pants, bibs, and hat. Or at least I hope I will. We'll see how much I can get done.

My Kam snaps arrived today. I bought them and the snap pliers separately. The pliers came first so I was sitting around anxious for the snaps to come so I could use it. I tried it out on a onesie and bib. It's so much easier than using other snap setters and you don't have to press as hard as I thought you would have too. I think my new hobby will be acquiring new snap colors. I have about 15 different colors right now. I bought a 'choose your own colors' listing from an Etsy seller. I might take a picture tomorrow. It was too dark and grey today.

KCWC Day Four

Fabric: Main dress fabric: Black Carolina Chambray - Robert Kaufman

            Lining: Flea Market Fancy - Orange Posies - Denyse Schmidt 

           Trim: Store-bought bias tape, organic cotton ribbon from Near Sea Naturals, the buttons                         were made from the posie fabric with a button making kit

Pattern: Pocket Pinafore (Size 6) - Little Girls, Big Style by Mary Abreu

Notes: 

I made a few adjustments to this pattern: 

1. Lengthened the Pinafore by 6" to make more of a dress length
2. Constructed the bodice so that no seams would show (I still have to hand stitch the lining down and sew on the buttons)
3. Added shoulder ties (14"x 4" pieces of fabric. Sewed with curved edge. Inspiration from here)
4. Added interfacing to the bodice front and back (I first added just to the area where the buttons and ribbon are but thought the rest of the bodice needed some more umph. Once I put the interfacing in it was like a piece clicking into place. If I make this again I'll definitely put the interfacing in)
5. Instead of folding over the armhole I bound it with bias tape.
6. Did French seams. I really wanted to do flat fell seams, they're my favorite, but forgot to add the bit extra to the seam allowance.

I almost didn't make this dress. I'm borrowing Little Girls, Big Style through inter-library loan and the library it came from did not put the patterns in an envelope, in fact, they're still attached to the book. At first I tried to stick a ruler in the folds of the pattern and make my own pattern from the measurements. Once I was done with one side the pattern page unfolded out of the book and I realized that the bodice pattern I needed was in a fortuitous place. It was right at the edge and if I stood the book up and pressed down a little I could trace what I needed. I'm so thankful that it wasn't farther in the page because I would have been out of luck.

When I was about to start sewing I realized I needed to wind a bobbin with grey thread. I mindlessly did so and went off to lala land. when I looked up I saw there was barely any thread left on the spool and the bobbin was nearly full! I had to rewind some thread back on the spool. I had just enough to get most of the stitching that shows done (Inside stitching except for the lower panel seams is done in black thread). I still need to get some more thread so that I can topstitch around the sides and top of the bodice.

I waffled over what to make with this fabric. I originally bought it from Fabric.com when they had a really good deal on it last month. I waited too long to buy though, so when they got to my order I couldn't get for yards, only 2 yards in a 1/2 yard and 1 1/2 yard pieces. I was going to use it as backing for a quilt for my niece and make something else or do some sashing with the 1/2 yard. The fabric kept calling to me though, and I'm glad it did. I'm smitten with this dress. It took me hours to make. I'm not too bothered by that since I take a while to sew anything. I had to break out the seam ripper a few times and had some brain farts from tiredness but thankfully nothing serious happened. The chambray creased and held the hem I ironed into it beautifully. I usually can't get my folds to stick and have to resort to a battalion of pins.

I've been up all night and it's 10am now so I'm going to go take a nap. I have to get up and clean up my mess first before my mom's homeschool students come soon my sewing stuff is all over the living room.

KCWC: Day 2 - Echino Car Bib

Fabric: front: Echino Car Fabric back: Valori Wells Urban Flannel

Pattern: Chickpea Bib from Chickpea Sewing Studio (Free Pattern)

Notes: I sewed a sample before cutting into my fabric to see how big it was. It's a really cute, tiny size. A little smaller than I thought it would be from the photo. When I made this one I added about a 1/4" all around. I just eyeballed it though so who knows how much I really added *sigh*

 I'm waiting to put a snap on. I have some metal pronged snaps in black but not sure I want to use them. It can be really hard to get everything lined up right even with my Snap Source snap setter. The racket I make banging the snaps in isn't fun either.

The Echino is left over from when I made my nephew a quilt and had to buy a whole half yard even though I probably only need a fat quarter. I still have a little bit left and about a half yard of the flannel.

I didn't exactly do anything the first day although I did sew something before bed. Seeing as it's almost 6am and I'm still not in bed yet, that's not saying much. I sewed the bib from my list and was going to try the baby shoes too but ran energy and patience. I'm a bit stalled and ready to sleep after an hour or so of trying to get the topstitching to work. I don't know why I always forget that different color bobbin and top thread really don't work for me. The one time it seemed to be ok, no bobbin thread showing in the front and no thread going to the back, I ran out of bobbin thread because of all the testing I'd done beforehand. Note to self: Stop trying to use two different color threads. I'll try and take a photo of the bib when it's light out.

On your mark....

Well, the Kid's Clothing Week Challenge starts today. This will be my first time doing this but I'm excited to get started. Click on the button at the top of my sidebar to see what the KCWC is about. I was going to photograph the fabrics I'm thinking of using but by the time I remembered it was towards the end of the day and kind of grey.

 I'm not well prepared. Looked over things today and found that three of the fabrics I wanted to use didn't have matching thread and I just realized that when I bought snaps I didn't take a few things into account. I thought the wrap around body onesies used less snaps than they do. I'll just have to make do.

I'll be making a lot of baby stuff. I have a niece due in December and I'm making some handmade things to add to the store-bought gifts I got for a baby boy who is due this month. I wonder if he was born already. I need to get this stuff out quickly.

These are some ideas I have for what to make this week and the fabric I might make it from. I won't be able to finish everything but it's good to dream big and have choices, right? I like seeing all the projects I'd like to make in one place too. I'm so slow at everything though. Maybe I'll get 25% of it done. I'll have to work for longer than an hour though. I'd have barely done anything in that time.

1.  Knotty Apron Dress from Little Girls, Big Style (I've only made one of these before but I think it runs small.)            Did the pocket pinafore instead                                                                                                                                         
2. McCall's M6156  (Don't know yet whether I want to try a top or dress. I think I want a view with button tabs though. That will be something new to try and I'll have to conquer my fear of button holes.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
3. McCall's M6103 I've cut out view E to see what the sizing is like.                                                           
4. Baby Wrap Onesie from Nefertari Creations (I have to put snaps on one I already made, sew one that's cut out and cut out one more)                                                                                                        
5. Baby Socks in size 0-6 months from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts                                      
6. Blossom Blouse from Sew Liberated  lengthened to a tunic (errata for Blossoms Blouse here)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
7. Chick Pea Infant Bib from Chickpea Studio (This will be for a gift for the little brother of a boy I used to babysit. I'm really running out of time to send the gifts. Of course I got something for the older brother :) - free pattern)         Done                                                                                
8. A baby shoe with elastic in it. I'm still not sure which of the free patterns I'll use yet. (Another gift for the baby. Will have to do this and the bib first.)                                                                      
9. Basic Newborn Pants by Made by Rae (Think I'll make the newborn size and I recently found the pattern piece I adjusted to make more of a 3-6 month size so I might make one of those for my niece too - free pattern)      Made the bigger size                                                                                
10. Quick Change Trousers from Handmade Beginnings  (I've wanted to make this pattern for a while and I have some Stenzo star poplin that I bought during Bunte Fabrics going out of business sale and absolutely love. I want to make something that will fit for some time from it.)                                                                                                                                        
11. Baby Ballet Slippers from Betsy Kingston (free pattern)                                                                        
12. Sweet Pea Pilot Cap from Sew Liberated  (free pattern)                                                                        
13. Baby Hat from 2 Little Hooligans                                                                                      
14. Sewn Pilot Baby Cap (Google Translate is a wonderful thing. Not sure which of these 3 I'll make)                                                                                                                                          
15. Baby Snuggler/Swaddler by Lotta Jansdotter, free on Craftzine or the sleep sack from Handmade Beginnings                                                                                                                                                    
16. Infant Scratch Mittens from Home Sweet Homebodies                                                                           
17. Kyoko Kimono Dress from Modkids

Click the photo to see it larger

These are photos from last year. I went with one of my elder brothers, his wife and my 3 year old nephew. Maybe I’ll finally edit a photo of the ‘carriage’ and post it soon. I was so excited when I found out they were having carriage rides that I had to go. We ended up walking. Thankfully there wasn’t much snow on the ground and it was a relatively nice day. The next day was miserable.

We went the year before as well, or was it the year before that? At that time my brother wasn’t married yet and we went with our mom, niece and her older brother. She was quite small then. We had to keep her bundled up for the whole ride.

My family doesn’t celebrate christmas but it’s nice to go on the rides and see horses up close. My nephew was a bit scared to touch the horse. He eventually touched it once. He didn’t say much while we were out but once he got home he was bursting with things to say about his ride and the horses :) Wish we could have taken his little brother too. He was taking a nap when we left though and the baby was too small to take out in the cold like that.

I learned all sorts of trivia about the horses but I’ve forgotten most of it :/ Knew I should have written it down. I remember some. They were sired by the same white stallion so they think they will eventually turn white also. Hoppy is obviously further along in that process than Hank. They were both born grey. They’ve been together they’re whole life. They don’t think they could separate them now. Where one goes, the other must follow. They were really affectionate with each other. It was sweet. The tack, is that the word for it?, they’re wearing was very old. Older than the guy driving the carriage. I assume he was in his sixties. A piece actually snapped while we were out. You can see it in the last right-hand photo. It had been on Hoppy’s underside. They eat a lot and drink about 20 gallons of water a day, each. They were taken to a car wash to get cleaned before they came. Hmmm, what else? They live for about thirty years, and can actively work until about the last two years of their life.

Fact about me? I didn’t realize what photographing male horses really meant xD I got a shock one day when trying to edit and what had been seen could not be unseen. I guess I had selective blindness. Haha.

I live right across from a park and saw Hank and Hoppy again last week. They were pulling a fancier carriage for a wedding. They were right in front of my house for a long time. I wanted to go out and pet them so bad. It won't be too long before they're doing carriage rides for Christmas again. I can't wait.

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while. I have others but I didn't exactly want to post the stuff I make for the KCWC on tumblr or my other blog type things. I haven't even used posted on them for a while anyway. This will be my crafting/photography blog. I'll probably post about giveaways too because I'm a sucker for them even if I'm not very good at winning them.

I don't have children of my own but I'm around a lot of kids/babies and I love making stuff in small sizes. I tutor/homeschool and I have 4 nephews, 1 niece and another niece coming in December. Going a little crazy thinking about all the tiny things I could make her. Pinterest is not helping at all. I want to make almost everything I see on there. I've already made Nefertari Creations wrap onesie and Made by Rae's baby pants. I've cut out a few other things and am almost finished knitting a vest. When I'm done I'll post about them.

I'm thinking about a pair of Kam Snap Pliers (Speaking of giveaways, Kamsnaps has a giveaway for a pair of these going on here) and some snaps. I've really been lusting over them and my mom gave me a little money for helping with the girls she homeschools so I might go for it. I think it will really help with the onesies I'll be making. A snap press would be super awesome but I won't be able to get that.