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| Charlie directing the photo shoot, telling Jasper to take the ChupaChup out of his mouth |
There was enough left from a yard of the caravans to make the front of Clem's, because he wanted caravans just like Charlie. Jasper requested the 'Science Alphabet' as soon as he laid eyes on it.
I can't rave enough about how lovely this organic cotton knit is. The base colour is natural/unbleached and the colours all come out just a little soft and faded-looking (although the print definition is sharp). It's just so nice for garments.
Clem seems to have a standard set of moves now for photo shoots, which involves a lot of hands on hips and wiggling about. Oh yes and he's still wearing those pyjama pants (and often the pink top) 90% of the time!
I'm a bit peeved that the twin-needle stitching on the hem of Charlie's t-shirt has already started coming undone. I thought I'd mastered it with the combination of Singer 348, twin stretch needle and polyester thread. Bugger.
If this doesn't work out, I'm seriously going to think about investing in a coverstitch machine. It's no fun when something you're so happy with is coming apart before the first wash. If anyone has any words of advice on coverstitch machines, I'm all ears.
Well all ears apart from maybe a couple of nits up there too. EW! Yes I found a couple of head lice on me. Scrub comb scrub comb potions lotions hot wash towels and sheets imagining creepy scalp feelings... big boys are all clear, Clem is on 'maintenance', Andy has taken the cue to go No.2 on the clippers and I'm almost wanting to do the same! Yickity yick yuck bletch.
- Jane x
Jane,
ReplyDeletelove your charming blog and tickled to see your creations (kids AND clothes)!! Great to see what you've done.
When my son was little, I sewed for him. He looked really cute. Now he's grown (I'm a grandma). I don't sew anymore, but I love designing repeat patterns for fabric. My sister, a terrific quilter, said: design me a fabric with kids' building block toys, so I did. Seeing your comments, I'm tempted to buy the organic cotton knit. Do you find it washes up pretty well? All the best, TR
These shirts came out so terrifically! I'm loving the science print!
ReplyDeleteYour kids are adorable. I love the poses. But i have no advice on the stitching. I'm not brave enough to use a twin needle.
ReplyDeleteYour boys are SO LOVELY. Love Clem's dance moves! And the shirts look great. Like you said, the colors do turn out softer than what you see on the computer screen, but it's appealing and the weight is just perfect. Sturdy, not too thin, but very soft.
ReplyDeleteHead lice. Gah. Yuck.
eyecontact, thanks for your lovely comment. After a little internet stalking of you (!) I discovered your Spoonflower designs and I love the chickens especially! Yes I highly recommend the organic cotton. I haven't washed it many times yet but I think it's going to hold up well. The colours probably faded just a little in the first (pre-sewing) wash but in fact I rather like the softness of the colours. All the tees above had the fabric washed already. It cuts really nicely and doesn't curl up so is a delight to sew with.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, thanks so much for commenting over at The Linen Cat, not least because it introduced me to your wonderful blog! You make clothes for boys, I am so very impressed by that as it's my big fail area, I am making my two messenger bags for Christmas but I have never made them any clothing, only dressing up costumes.
ReplyDeleteI have a Bernina overlocker which I wouldn't be without, especially for edging stretchy fabrics. It was quite an expense at the time but I find it invaluable now. Beth :-)
Meant to say, good luck with the lice, we had our turn not long ago and I was lucky to be the only family member not to get them. I still itched for weeks though.
ReplyDeleteThese are great and your boys are so cute. I bought some organic cotton knit from Spoonflower to make clothes for my daughter. She even designed the fabric herself - http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/735525 - but I'm too afraid to touch it. I bought a ball point needle for my sewing machine, I even bought a twin-needle one (which I have no idea how to use). Now I just have to get brave enough to do it.
ReplyDelete@Crinkled: I clicked on your link and that fabric is AMAZING! Wow! That's one talented daughter you have! You have to sew it up. You can do it. It's not that bad. Practice with some old t-shirts until you feel pretty good about it. So impressed she designed that fabric!
ReplyDeleteCrinkled - yes, that fabric your daughter designed is so gorgeous! What a beautiful way to showcase a child's drawings. I agree with Inder - you have to sew with it! And yes, do a bit of practicing on some old t-shirt fabric. I can recommend the Figgy's Tee for Two pattern for use with an ordinary sewing machine (it just uses zigzag stitch... and no hemming!). There's a dress version of the t-shirt too.
ReplyDeleteAnd Beth, thanks so much for visiting! Making clothes for boys is a bit more limiting than for girls obviously, but I work with what I have ;)
These are extremely funky tshirts, Jane! Love them!
ReplyDeleteA question re the knit - how is it's 'curl' factor? I've used some Campan knit before, which is super soft but an absolute bugger to sew!
Oh, just read above comment on curling - feel free to ignore my question now! :-)
ReplyDeletejustmejay - yes honestly there is zero curl factor which I think perhaps makes it a double knit? Or interlock? I still don't understand what's what! There does not appear to be a right or wrong side (apart from the printing of course) and it sits totally flat which makes the cutting and sewing much, much easier than curly stuff.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had an email from Spoonflower saying for Australia, New Zealand and Japan they are having a 'secret' extra free shipping day, this Friday the 11th, so that delivery will be in time for Christmas. Just in case you were wanting to purchase :)
I got that email too - and now I know there's no curl I'm even more tempted! It will take me hours to browse Spoonflower now!
ReplyDeleteThanks :-)
Justine
Thanks for the suggestion. I just bought the PDF version of the Figgy Tee for Two pattern. Going to try do it now before I decide to procrastinate again. I'm thinking that the dress may look too much like a nightie with my daughter's design, so I'm undecided on a T-shirt or dress. Will let you know how I go. What pattern did you use for the shirts above? They look great. And professional.
ReplyDeleteHi Crinkled - yeah I kind of get what you mean about the potential 'nightie' look. Maybe a t-shirt would be more versatile anyway. The t-shirts above were made with the Ottobre Best T-shirts pattern, I ordered it online, I think from Crafty Mamas. It has a straight/boxy kind of t-shirt shape (that's those above) and also a more fitted version; I've made both and been really happy with both. Also that pattern fits about age 1 to teenage which is fabulous. If you click on the 'Figgys' tag on the left side of my blog you can see what I've done with that pattern too. Make it Perfect has a t-shirt pattern that looks good, and has a slightly gathered sleeve for the girly version which is cute. Good luck, I'd love to see what you end up making with that gorgeous fabric!
ReplyDeleteCrinkled: I was thinking the Patterns By Figgy t-shirt as well, instead of the dress. With or without the gathers across the front (which you could borrow from the dress pattern).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice Jane and Inder-ific, but my girl was set on a dress so I decided to risk the 'nightie' look. She's such a girly girl when it comes to clothes and all things pretty. I was such a tom-boy at her age, I don't know where she gets it from. Her little brothers also tend to like the pretty and girly things, but tend to somehow still make it very boyish, like your little boy rockin' the pink outfit. Actually my 3 year old asked me to make him a T-shirt with the same material I made the dress from. Thankfully there are only scraps left, but maybe I can make him something little with it. Undies, perhaps :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, here is a link to the photos of the dress I made -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45215389@N00/6337015406/in/photostream
It is a very comfortable dress, great for playing. I do think it looks a little on the nightie side, but also passable for a daytime dress, but I'm a bit selfconscious about it. I would really like to hear HONEST feedback on whether it looks like a nightie or not. Don't worry about hurting my feelings, I really do prefer honesty. If it does look too much like a nightie, I would prefer to keep it as an 'at home' dress.
Oh, and I somehow failed on making that nice little gathered part on the front of the dress, but I don't think it matters too much if you didn't know it was supposed to have a gathered part to begin with.
Something weird was happening with that photo link I just gave, photos and descriptions kept disappearing when I would click on them. So this one might be better if you are having problems with the one above...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/45215389@N00/with/6262656504/
Crinkled, I LOVE the dress! It's adorable and the simplicity of the pattern really sets off the sweet fabric far better than something ruffly and fussy, in my opinion. It looks less nightie-like than the pattern pic, and I think she should wear it everywhere!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could use some scraps for sleeves on a pyjama top for your 3y.o.? I don't mind a bit of sweetness on a boy while they're young enough not to worry :)
Thanks. I think my daughter really loves the dress too, she hasn't stopped wearing it since I made it (except for it's quick trips to the washing machine), so it is an 'everywhere' dress, whether I like it or not :)
ReplyDeleteMy two boys like headbands (although they both have short hair) so I decided to make two headbands and a little wrist band thingy yesterday and let them fight amongst themselves as to who wears what. It was easy and they loved it. My 2 yr old wore his headband all day, he even wore it to bed. I took it off him once he was asleep and as soon as he woke up this morning he was crying out for it. Thankfully he took it off and forgot about it before we went to the park today :)
Crinkled - isn't it just the best when they love what you make :-)
ReplyDeleteYou totally need a blog to show off your work!
Maybe your right, maybe a blog would give me an incentive to finish all of those half-finished or unstarted projects I have. I noticed your sewing to-do list, and thought what a good idea that would be for me. we'll see. one day. maybe.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, just thought I would let you know that, thanks to your suggestion, I started a blog. It is less about being creative and more about completing unfinished projects (and getting started on all the ones I have avoided). I suppose it is a bit of a boring topic to base a blog on, but I didn't really make it with the idea of having followers. Instead, I created it in an attempt to make myself feel obliged to finish the things I start and to hold myself accountable for my actions (or inaction, as the case may be). Anyway, I'm very new to this, and not very good at it, so please don't laugh, but here is my blog http://justmindingmybeeswax.blogspot.com/
ReplyDelete