A Dapper Gent

So I know I've been hinting at this project to you guys this week and I am happy to report that it is finished!  Not just finished but I have pictures to boot.  I am one happy momma :)  Vinny is wearing his outfit today, he was super excited to do so and already I've heard "Where did you find that?" more than once.  Does my heart so much good to hear from others that they thought I bought what I in fact made.  Enough chatter, more photos....

cuff on pants

top stitching detail on back of jacket

buttonhole for storm flap

double top stitching around sleeves

Okay, so I think you get the picture though now I'm wishing I had taken pictures of the lining...maybe the light will be in my favor when this Dapper Gent gets home from preschool.  Vinny was a real trooper this morning, posing for me, going all around to different places to get pictures.  Truthfully this kid has been super excited about this outfit.  When I finished the pants and I was trying them on him he said to me "I just want to wear them now."  Not sure if that means they were comfy or if he didn't want to change back into his old pants (which he had to do anyway).  This morning you couldn't contain his enthusiasm when I told him he could wear the coat to school...jumping up and down I tell you.

So a little bit about the pieces.  The top is all one piece and not a refashioned sweater, nor one I knit, the fabric came like that.  I loved it when I saw it (it was gifted to me) and knew something wonderful would be made out of it.  I love the look of layers but dislike the extra laundry and the extra work in getting dressed.  So I just whipped up a collar stand and just enough of a shirt to sew it under the the seam of the neckline on the 'sweater.'  I love that I used a bright yellow as it makes the whole thing just POP!  I just whipped up a pattern of my own for the top.

The pants are also just a quick whip up too.  I new I wanted the cuff to fold over I think it really adds that extra edge to the outfit which while very classic and speaks of almost an era gone by is still very much timeless.

Though the whole outfit begins and ends with the trenchcoat.  I would LOVE to tell you that I designed the pattern, and I know that I could but with time being of the essence plus being sick I went with a pattern.  It's from Ottobre Autumn 2009, number 27 "Roger M." trenchcoat.  I of course made my modifications, first being to lengthen it from hip length to knee length.  I nixed the front storm flap, belt, collar flap and sleeve tabs.  I loved those details but didn't really go with the look I wanted.  The jacket is completely lined an I must say I'm pretty proud of those buttonholes...I do not have a buttonhole setting on my machine so I had to adjust the zig-zag with and stich length to make them.  The pockets were a first for me...slash pockets.  So much fun!

I really think the biggest thing I did for this pattern is the top stitching...it took the coat from nice to WOW, where did you find that?  

My final comment is about the photos, the only editing I did to them is cropping and putting my blog name on them.  I didn't tweak the contrast, I didn't sharpen the images I didn't even add to the exposure.  This is why I am madly in love with my new camera and will never turn it on Auto or use the flash :)

Now I'm about to hit the publish button then link this baby up to the audition link on Project Run & Play...cross my fingers and hope real hard.  Still no matter the outcome I will be ridiculously proud of that coat, proud of how professional it looks, proud that I sucked it up and tried it.

Please, pretty please leave me a 'friendly thought' to tell me what you think.  I'm ever so excited to share this with you.

Knits, Dyes, & Ties on a 6 year old boy

So yesterday was Samuel's 6th birthday.  I can hardly believe it has been that long but only for a moment...because soon enough I'm reminded it is entirely possible with THREE younger siblings screaming at me.  Samuel was much desired and while I've wanted all my babies, he was the one I thought about having the most.  Which is probably not unusual as he is our SECOND child, and second son no less.  Husband and I talked and talked and talked about when we should try for another baby and finally left it up to God...we were blessed with Samuel.

Of course he was my longest labor...I started counting my contractions at 6am but really had been in early labor all night however it wasn't until the NEXT morning, just before 1am that he finally showed up.  He was definitely worth the work and wait but I am anxious to hold this information over his head :)

So of course I have to show a few pictures from the past and then onto the recent and also daring birthday gift I made for Samuel.

Summer 2005 - He has always been so stinkin cute

Post Surgery October 2005 - repair of Aorta

Summer 2005 - Always been stealing big brother's toys

Not exactly sure of the date on this one but this is ALL Samuel....fun and playful

Wow!  Just looking back through the old photo files I was shocked at how far we've come with our boy.  I cried looking at the pictures of him in the hospital.  No parent ever wants their child to be sick or hurt and I'm no different.  I remember the day I took him to the pediatrician because he'd had a cold for a couple weeks and it wasn't getting better, he was 8 months and Dr. Bennett listened to his heart for a really, really, really long time.  He then says that he heard a new heart murmur and wanted me to have it checked out by a cardiologist in case he might need to be pre-med for dental work (incidentally he doesn't).  So I called and got an appointment within a week, ten days at the most.

I asked my mother-in-law to come along with me for moral support, she's an RN and I thought that if something might be wrong I'd want someone to help with the medical jargon.  Haha!  I think I was her moral support!  She went pale at Samuel's blood pressure numbers for his upper body and we never could get a reading for the lower half.  The cardiologist, Dr. Berg, came in and listened to his heart and then calmly explained what she thought was wrong and ordered a echocardiogram, which was done that day.  Three days later we were back at the hospital for a sedated MRI to confirm that Samuel was born with a congenital heart defect, Coarctation of the Aorta, in short his Aorta was blocked (big major artery), worse the blockage was in the arch of the Aorta.  Within two weeks of going to the pediatrician for a COLD we were booked for corrective surgery!  God was so amazing to us.  I look back at that time and remember how loved I felt by friends and family who came and supported us.  I wish it hadn't happened but since it did I see all the glorious things that came about from it.

Okay, enough reminiscing onto the current...and UBER healthy pics of a normal 6-year-old boy who only has to go once a year to the cardiologist.

Okay so I think I was a bit overly ambitious for this present but I think (as does the boy himself) that it turned out fabulous.  I found a discounted bolt of cotton blend knit fabric for $1.50 a yard.  Now I am getting to be a bit more conscious about my fabrics and buying quality, but for this gift I wasn't concerned about if it would last through Thaddeus just that Samuel would enjoy it.  So I went for it.  I cut out 5 t-shirts using another pattern from my Ottobre magazine...raglan tee I think.  I modified it to have the crew collar as it was supposed to be a hoodie (which I will make too).

Equipped with 4 boxes of Rit fabric dye I colored 4 shirts.  Sewed them all together then appliqued a tie onto each shirt.  Let's just say the gift went over very well, especially when I told him that he could wear one everyday to school and never repeat a shirt once.  Samuel has always loved ties and I love that this one can't get lost (well, at least I hope it can't).  I was super fun to dye the fabric, and I colored a few other items along with the shirts as well but you'll have to stay tuned for more.

Have a great week!

Elsa's New Pants

This is your only warning, this post may contain over-the-top cuteness pictures.  Read at your own risk.

So last Wednesday (January 12) I started a pair of pants for Elsa.  I have had the pattern for a while, I've been drooling over it for like...EVER...and finally told myself there are no sewing police and I can sew whatever I want whenever I want (true there are proper ways to do things but no one is going to shun me for sewing a pair of pants instead of a jacket or t-shirt).  So I cut the pattern out and started.  

I knew that this was a time intense project and that I didn't want it relegated to the bottom of the 'will get to it later when I want to pick out a hundred seams' pile.  No, I wanted to finish these.  So I only worked on them as long as I could stand, never more.  I took the seams s-l-o-w-l-y and purposefully and in a week (probably only 4 nights of serious sewing) I had them completed.  I nearly danced a jig in my living room.  I squealed when they fit...oh, I just can't stop the flow of pride and joy in my accomplishment.

So onto the pictures!

I love the back pockets!  They make her little bum look super cute!  Wish the picture was better.

See the sleeve, isn't it cool?

Pretty Heart

A quick little applique heart.

I told her to 'work-it' and she really hammed it up good!

I hot glued a pearl button over the snap-closure for prettiness.

I love the pockets and I love the hand on hip pose she has here too.

When I finished these on Wednesday Elsa wasn't big on wanting to put them on or have me take pictures of her.  However, I had to know if they fit so I made her wear them for the rest of the evening.  Of course we had to show them off to everyone at church and she LOVED the attention so yesterday she was eager to wear her pants again.  She was also fully amenable to a photo shoot too...no bribery involved.

So here is all the information on the pattern:

Pattern Source: Ottobre Design Fall 2009
Pattern 12, "Tulip" Corduroy Pants size 86cm
Fabric:  Home Decor Fabric remnant from JoAnn's (don't laugh, it was cheap, pink, & the right weight to test out the pattern, though I did feel like Maria from the Sound of Music)
I also use some cotton fabric I had in my stash for the binding & lining for pockets and for the applique patches.

The pattern has a fly-front zipper.  I just want you all to know how simple it is.  Really, it took me more time to sew the pockets together than it did to put in the zipper.  EASY PEASY.  I actually think it takes as much time as an elastic waistband when you factor in the time it takes to thread the elastic through, sew the elastic together and then close up the seam.  I did have to go get a pair of Elsa's jeans just to see the finished result in 3-D for me to really grasp it.  I would totally be willing to do a tutorial of putting in a fly-zipper if you like (though I'm sure someone else has already).

Modifications:.

* I didn't add a seam allowance to the pattern because after reading this post by Made by Rae where she mentioned that the patterns seemed huge on her babies I thought to measure the pattern pieces and compare them with Elsa's measurement, minus the seam allowance I would take, and knew that I wouldn't need the seam allowances.  I wish I had added a seam allowance width to the waistband. 

* I tried to do the pin tucks for the back pockets but the fabric didn't like it so I opted for a big pleat.  I also lined the back pockets with cotton because it seemed the easiest way to finish the edges of the pockets.  

* I omitted the adjustable waist and opted for a snap closure instead of a button (this was mostly determined because I wanted to be done and didn't want to do a buttonhole which would take time).  

* The heart appliques are also my design as the fabric I used frays really bad and so there were a couple of holes.  I repaired the seams but stabilized the side seams with iron-on interfacing and then put the heart applique patches over the weakest parts.  I personally think the hearts add to the pants but you could go without if you don't like them.  I also omitted the belt loops.  

Would I make these again?  In a heartbeat!  They were so much fun.  I didn't use a serger at all (though it would have been handy) and I loved the yoke for the back, the top stitching and how the flare is above the knee on the front but below the knee on the back.

Now, if you need pictures to understand directions I wouldn't recommend Ottobre patterns to you.  They are definitely geared toward the intermediate to advanced seamstress because they only had pictures of the fly-zipper directions (and not that great either).  Also, there is no cutting direction pictures.  So you're on your own.  You are supposed to add a seam allowance to the pattern pieces but as I mentioned above I didn't do that and found them to fit perfectly.

When I make these again I will use appropriate apparel fabric.  Stay tuned for more.