Sewing For Boys Sew Along:Kickin Back pants and Mr. Two Faced Pants

The "Kickin Back Pants" were a fail.  I had intended to make them for my little buddy Kail (who's two and this was the size 2-3 pattern) but they were much too long. I tried to hem them to fit but by the time I was done, they were all crotch and very little leg. I appliqued a cute pocket but decided I hated it and took it off.

Pocket

The boy tried them on so I could get the legs even. He loved the feel and the short length so I let him keep them. They could be summer short pants except I lined them in flannel, which seems contradictory.  So, they are sleep shorts in the 80's Jams style. Totally Awesome dude!



I wasn't giving up on making pants for Kail though so I sewed up the "Mr. Two Faced" pants which came with smaller dimensions.

Front

Back

These are the 12-18 month size. I didn't have two contrasting knit fabrics so I just used one fabric. Now, this is a cute pocket! These were fun and EASY to make. No hemming required on these super casual pants. I used a 70/12 ball point jersey knit needle and set a zigzag stitch at 3.0 long and 1.0 wide. I also top stitched all the seams down to make them more comfortable. I'll be making more of these. I just wish I could find some affordable and cute cotton knit fabrics for boys. Slim pickings out there for the guys.

All this knit sewing is making me think I need a serger...

Tip: To make the pocket, I used double sided, light weight fusible web, and fused the two fabrics together. To get the pocket to stay put while I sewed it on, I used Elmer's washable school glue and a hot iron instead of using water soluble basting tape (which the book calls for). The glue washes right out after laundering.

Here's  a silly picture of the boy flying. Such a happy kid, kicking back in his Jams. The 80's are back and he's styling!

February Free Motion Quilt Challenge

This is my February entry for the free motion quilt challenge which is happening over here, http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/free-motion-quilt-challenge.html.

Participants who take the pledge to improve their quilting and complete the monthly challenge (regardless of the quality of the work) are entered into a monthly prize drawing. To be entered to win a prize I have to complete the challenge, blog about it, and then submit a link to the above host site.  I'm always up for the chance to win free sewing supplies! I particularly like that the emphasis for this challenge  is not on winning prizes but improving skills. I'm in!

February's challenge was a free motion feather/plume. Here are some before and after shots of my first and second attempts.

1st attempt-just going for it. It was MUCH harder than I had anticipated  to control everything!

Second attempt, after drawing practice

Back of Block. Still having some thread tension issues.

 The first one was done with no marking, and no advanced practice. It's terrible! The second feather was also stitched on unmarked  fabric but after I had spent an hour or so drawing the design on paper. I went through A LOT of paper. Then I had a "duh" moment and started using a drawing app and stylus with my ipad.

I want my feathers to be fat (more like the first picture) and although my second attempt was more controlled than my first, I still have much practice to do before I am confident enough to stitch this onto a quilt. Fortunately, I still have the rest of the month to practice!

Chaos and Neglected Fatties (Free Fabric!)

Saturday was grand. Really. Who wouldn't want to spend 5 hours of a raging blizzard getting cozy with restless boys, a few dogs, and cats? Not having heat, electricity, or water, really added to the family chaos fun.

Taking decent pictures of quick moving boys, in a power outage, is a little challenging.

The boys work off some energy with a quick game of No-Contact Air Ninja during the power outage.

After working off some physical energy, it was time to get creative. Brian helped the boys draft and build  paper boats. These aren't your grandpa's paper boats!

Yes, the lights and heat are on in this picture. They started the project the night before.

"The S.S. Amazon"-named for the up-cycled amazon.com box.

While chaos was reigning in the living room and I was feeling inspired by this post http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2011/01/stashing.html, I decided reorganizing my fabric stash seemed like a low-key way to spend the forced inside time.  If you can use any of these (mostly fat quarters) of fabric, leave a comment telling me what your favorite sewing tool/notion/trick is and tell me the fabric that you want. If you need me to ship it to you, I will. I want to see these neglected fatties go to a home where they will be appreciated.

3 fat quarters of Nicey Jane-one of my favorite fabric lines. I've used this yellowish green and blue fabric in a quilt and it adds a nice pop when used in moderation.-Sending it your way Erika!

Amy Butler "Love" - 2 fat quarters-For Marjorie!

Orange and Gold Joel Dewberry "Modern Meadow" - One fat quarter

More Modern Meadow, green and brown- 3 fat quarters

Modern Meadow, larger scale trees and birds in yellow-green; 1 fat quarter-This one is going to Jenny of http://corbincreekquilter.blogspot.com/

Amy Butler "Love"- 3 fat quarters-Sending these your way Tammy and Jenny!

Moda "Berry Delicious" - 42 X 22 inch piece-Going to Tammy!

42X39 inch piece-This is a really beautiful fabric. The colors don't show well here and the centers of the flowers have some sparkle. I made some baby kimono shirts out of this for a friend.

If you don't have a favorite notion or sewing tip, tell me how you spent your last storm day, don't forget to tell me which fabrics you want. The odds are good-not a whole lot of readers here so I am sure everyone will get something they want!