"What do you need, a fat yard?"

Just wanted to share that, from Andy, about how much to order from Spoonflower so I can make him more t-shirts :D

- Jane x

T for A

When you're onto a good thing, hey?

Andy's 'Pronghorn' t-shirt has become quite a favourite. I ordered this great yarnbombing fabric from Spoonflower along with the latest ones for the boys' t-shirts and it got the thumbs up from Andy. 

I used the same slightly-sized-up version of my Ottobre t-shirt pattern as before, adding an extra couple of inches at the bottom because the Pronghorn tee has a tendency to creep upwards as it stretches horizontally with wear.

'Nuff said... here is my dear lovely husband agreeing to pose for some pics!

Not going to blend into a crowd in this one, is he? :D

- Jane x

tees and shorts for boys

 (ouch)

 "butt five!"

 

In case you hadn't guessed, that's more Spoonflower organic cotton jersey made into Ottobre t-shirts. A surefire winner around these parts.

Actually this Spoonflower knit has been sitting in my stash for some months. I wasn't totally sure how it would sew up because it seemed a lighter weight than examples I'd ordered previously. I was a little disappointed when I received it. I am pleased to report however that so far it has been lovely to work with and the boys have exclaimed about how soft and comfy it is. No doubt it will fade as usual but that has never stopped these boys loving these t-shirts.

The green is Aztec Armor (I thought it looked like dragon scales) and the blue, personally picked by Jasper, is Monsters on the Loose. Bands and the back of Clem's tee are from the several yards of unprinted jersey I got from Spoonflower a while back.

Charlie's shorts are some hemp/organic cotton stripe from Kelani, made up to a basic pattern I traced off a favourite pair of RTW shorts he has. Jasper's are a super-soft washed linen that happened to coordinate brilliantly with his t-shirt, made in my self-graded-up Oliver + S Sketchbook Shorts pattern. Clem's shorts are not me-made, but actually some baby shorts that used to have elastic in the hems, bloomer-style. I removed the elastic when he got past crawling age and he is still managing to wear them, now as pyjamas!

Charlie and Jasper's t-shirts are pretty large, as are Jasper's shorts. Sizing can be tricky when these boys are shooting towards the sky at a frightening pace. But better a bit of room to grow, I guess.

Right at the end here is Clem with the latest harvest from our garden. That's a butternut pumpkin (squash), reduced to bonsai size by the special magic powers of our soil. Pumpkin soup for fairies, perhaps?

- Jane x

production line sewing

I tend to get all excited about making one thing and just go for it. Although I might then make more of the same, it's not really in my nature to methodically cut out multiples of something and line up the sewing in stages.
Except I did this weekend and it's pretty satisfyingly productive.
Using my old faithful Ottobre Best T-shirts pattern I made these two, and two others - being made for gifts - are almost finished.

Jasper's is a Spoonflower print (organic cotton jersey) from an order I got a while back. I know I rave about this fabric all the time but it is just so, so soft and a joy to sew. And Charlie and Jasper choose their Spoonflower t-shirts over anything else, any time they can.
Clem's is a 'Lilofant' print in a lovely thick cotton interlock. I bought a half metre in green and yellow (both equally bright!) about a year ago and his green one has been worn a lot and is a bit small now.

Note that Clem insists on wearing these pants with the worn-out knees, on their third winter I think... they're comfy, I suppose I should just patch them.

And check out this pose that the two of them used on me yesterday when they were begging to go to the DVD shop to borrow some movies... "pleeeeeeeeaaase!"

Ack, what am I supposed to do in the face of teamwork like that? Anyway, while they watch movies I can sew!

Do you ever sew production-line style?

- Jane x

on a roll

Sunshiny boy in a sunshiny t-shirt.

Danceability: check.

Label from Sublime Stitching.

Help, we practically have a teenager on our hands! He keeps saying no to a haircut, not that I really mind, but that hair is becoming huge.
On reflection, I may have preferred this t-shirt with plain sleeves. I just got carried away with how cool this Loch Ness Monster print (Shy Ness by ceanirminger) is. The all-over print has a slight pyjama-effect. But he's pretty happy.
In other compulsive crafting news, I've been toying with crochet.

 Chunky 10mm hook with chunky wool which is becoming a little blanket for snuggling under on the couch.

 Experimenting with two strands at once (because I'm impatient), making cotton washcloths.
Andy's brother Rob stayed with us for a couple of days when he came to see the show Andy directed. Rob's a fabulous photographer, just as a hobby but he's starting to sell a bit too. He let me have a play with a couple of his very nice camera lenses. The crochet photos above were taken with his 100mm macro lens. As was this more-detail-than-you-really-want chicken photo.
Heheh. Not sure what this chook is thinking but I have lens envy.

- Jane x

Spoonflower print fade (and why I don't mind it)

**edited to add Spoonflower's own response! see end**

I have mentioned how the Spoonflower organic cotton knit t-shirts I've made have faded over time, and I thought it might be useful to show what I mean.

Clem's caravan t-shirt on the left and Jasper's chemistry t-shirt on the right, with scraps of the original fabric (washed once before cutting). T-shirts straight off the line (excuse the wrinkles).

I made the t-shirts four months ago and they have been worn, washed and line-dried, I would guess, at least twenty times since then. Each has probably had a stain-removing soak or two as well.

Sure, it would be nice if the fabrics retained their original vibrancy. But, I also kind of like the faded look. The t-shirts are just a little less 'loud'. Let's face it, I don't choose the most subtle of prints. The colours fade nicely into the natural cream-coloured basecloth. And the fabric is still soft and lovely.

I suppose it probably has to do with the Spoonflower printing processes. To quote from their website:

"Spoonflower prints using eco-friendly, water-based pigment inks on natural fiber textiles."


I'm prepared to put up with some fade in fabric that has a lower environmental impact.


As Crinkled commented on my last post, "the fabric has faded more than I expected... but it certainly hasn't stopped me from buying more". Um, yeah, I second that!

I hope that's helpful to anyone reading who might have been wondering about the fading.

- Jane x

**UPDATE**
I emailed Spoonflower about the fading and had the following prompt reply and advice:
Jane,
Thanks for writing in about your experience with our printed knit fabric. You are right to say that the knit fabric is prone to fading in the wash. We wish that everyone could be so easy going about the issue as you are, and appreciate your fair treatment of the matter in your blog. The pigment wash out that occurs with the knit results from the bond being weakened by the stretching that occurs when the fabric is washed and agitated. I feel that gentle hand washing would be the most advisable with the knit. This is not an issue with our other fabrics as these are all woven fabrics which do not have the stretch of the knit. I do encourage you to consider another of our fabrics (organic cotton sateen is excellent) as an alternative with better pigment retention.
I hope that this is helpful, but please let me know if you have any other questions.
Best regards,
Stephen Beck
Spoonflower

long weekending

Hooray, I've found a piece of clothing I can sew for Andy that he will actually wear!

I ordered a few more prints on Spoonflower's lovely organic cotton knit. It took around five weeks to arrive by which time, opening the package felt like Christmas. Andy didn't choose any of these prints himself but is currently trawling the site visualising all his future options.

'Pronghorn Linen Aqua' by Holli Zollinger

 I asked the good Spoonflower folks if I could buy some of the unprinted basecloth and they obliged at a very reasonable $10 per yard. Mixed up with the prints as contrast sleeves, neckbands and perhaps t-shirt backs, it will make the prints go further.

'Germy Nation' by ceanirminger

 Mind you, I realised that long cream-coloured sleeves on Jasper would be seriously impractical. This print was particularly appropriate for him: mucky little germs everywhere. See that fingernail? We joke that when we go out places, he pretty much licks every surface. Not quite, but let's just call him tactile.

 We had a holiday Monday and headed up to the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens for a picnic. Clem wanted to play hide and seek and told us that the 'seeker' should count to 28. When it came time for his turn he gave it a try. Then I heard a little cry of "sorry Mama but I can't count up that far" and I had to come out of hiding and help him.

 Yep, thanks for the lovely portrait opportunity.

The boys raced leaves named Bob, Terry, James and Alistair.

photo by Charlie

 Charlie had a play with the camera.

photo by Charlie

photo by Charlie
hmm, don't think those knee patches are quite where they should be anymore

Clem whinged loudly when he lost a special stick, and then when Andy took him back to find it and Jasper broke it, Clem cried some more. And so it goes.

When we came home, I worked on a Spoonflower top with Loch Ness monsters on it for Charlie. All t-shirts are being made with my tried & true Ottobre Best T-shirts pattern, with Andy's using the largest size (170cm) plus a wee bit of added width, guided by one of his existing RTW t-shirts.

Then I went to yoga and came back and drank sparkling red with Andy, which is probably not a traditional post-yoga beverage but worked for me.

More holiday Mondays, please.

- Jane x

animal and fruit shorts

Clem had a wee little pair of shorts in this fabric and he loved them to bits and called them 'my animal and fruit shorts'. More like bug and fungi shorts but, hey. Poor beloved shorts were too small by the end of last summer. But I found more of the fabric and it was even half price. It's a quilting cotton called Woodland Friends by Ellen Crimi-Trent.

It has taken me until late summer to get these sewn up. They were really very quick.

I used the same Japanese pattern from 'Pochee' as for his pyjama pants. It's just such a great cut, the leg is ever so slightly fitted and flared. There's a little bit of an orange print in the pockets and some striped bias on the pocket edges (because they weren't bright enough?).

When I was fitting the elastic and before I had hemmed them, I asked him to try them on. He wouldn't let me take them off to finish them for several hours.

Animal-and-fruit-shorts happiness.

- Jane x

PS that's his Spoonflower t-shirt and yes, it has faded quite a bit but it has been worn and washed so very many times, not to mention soaked in stain remover, that it's probably a wonder it's not just a yicky grey all over by now. Fresh grubbiness in photos above, oh joy. And, that is a soft red ball with rainbow streamers and it is totally awesome.

Andy's 40, how about a new dress?

Today is Andy's 40th birthday, but right now he's in Texas for work so there's not much I can do to help him celebrate. Which is a bit sad but we'll make up for it later. He's bought himself a pair of cowboy boots; very fitting for turning 40 in Texas I think. I wish he was here. Happy 40th my lovely. We sure do love you.

We have one last week of school holidays coming up here. Charlie decided he wanted to make himself a new pencil case for school. With the pick of my stash he chose some Heather Ross Owl & Pussycat fabric and some Tammis Keefe reproduction with cats and birds.

He decided on the dimensions he wanted and I followed this tutorial to help him. He did every bit of cutting and sewing himself, even on the zip. I just instructed and pinned. Somehow I got the zip teeth pointing the wrong way in the final construction and Charlie was so amazingly patient and unpicked it all so we could re-do it. His calm persistence amazes me. At his age I probably would have thrown the project on the floor a few times and maybe never finished it.

It takes some effort to hold myself back from my desire to jump in there and do a lot of the sewing for him. He's really becoming quite confident with the machine and obviously, the more I let him try, the more he'll learn. I guess I'm learning as a teacher, too.

Maybe dear Charlie is also teaching me a few things because these days, I sew with far more patience. I cut this dress out in early December... and finished it just this morning. I've grabbed small moments here and there between kid-projects and everything else. It could wait. No hurry.

Yes, it's my third Miz Mozelle. In Spoonflower organic cotton knit that was part of my Spoonflower binge late last year. Charlie was my photographer.
As with each of these dresses, one of the most difficult things was choosing the one perfect button!

oops, spot the stray thread

I actually sewed most of the bias tape on by hand. Since the hand-quilting I did, I've appreciated more the meditative nature (and satisfying result) of hand stitching. I used some Japanese linen bias tape that I've had sitting around for a while. It's wider than I've used before so it became more of a feature.

I took the time to add pockets in the side seams. I love pockets. I used scraps of voile so they wouldn't add much bulk.

Since I eked this out of two yards I ended up with a much narrower belt than the pattern calls for, but I don't think it matters at all.

lots of summer swimming means Jane is more toned and tanned than she's been in some years!

As it has previously, the dress turned out a bit long for me. So I turned up a nice deep hem and finished on my (ridiculously indulgent purchase) coverstitch machine. I even bothered to change the top threads to match. See, patience!

I wish I could find a bit more saintly patience over wanting Andy to be done with his work trip and be home with us. I'm a bit worn out and battling some sore throat thing. Only two-and-a-bit more days though.

- Jane x