Summer Sews

While we shift my explosion of sewing/crafting supplies downstairs, I have been hacking away at a few pieces to get me through the summer. Because I'm running after my daughter a lot this summer, I felt a good maternity swim top was in order. I've been eyeing up 5 out of 4 Patterns for awhile, as they do quite a bit of on-trend Activewear (in particular check out the Agility tank, which you see versions of every day). After my bomb of a Bombshell attempt last fall, I had almost sworn off swimwear.  Almost.

They sold me on the pattern when I saw all the options the tank came with. One swim tank also comes with nursing and maternity options, AND also can be made as a bra - so essentially a nursing sports bra. Sold. Although I'm not happy with the binding on my muslin, and I've bought power mesh (aka power net) for my next attempt, it's very wearable. So much wearable that I doubt I'll make another maternity option, saving my intended fabric for a "regular" one next summer. My other favorite thing about 5 out of 4 patterns: no trim patterns. I always find trimming, assembling and taping PDF patterns the most tedious bit.

A slew of showers and birthdays at the end of August led me to try out Brindille and Twig's Super Slim Harems and Super Slouch Beanie as gift sets. I know I'm really late to the game on both of these, and I'm hoping to add a few pairs to my daughter's own closet so that she isn't entirely clothed in Maxaloones this winter. I found that the harem pants seemed to look a bit more ridiculous as the sizes increased, with the skinniness of the legs quite pronounced against the baggy harem bum. Must pay more attention to seam allowances. I made the slouch beanie unlined, and didn't do anything consistent to amend the hem line, just winged it.

As the space in which I will sew gets closer to being workable, I'm starting to plan a newborn cloth diaper stash. While there is a risk of wasting my time on diapers that won't fit or work well, and the subsequent frustration of not having time to sew up more that do actually work, I'm looking at it as an interesting exercise in cost effectiveness and upcycling.

Refashion: T shirts to Nighties

In November of last year we were headed to the Dominican for a wedding. At that time, most Canadian stores don't have any kind of summer clothing for sale, so I rounded up most of little's wardrobe on buy and sell pages. It wasn't until we only had a few hours before we left for the city that I realized her fleece one-piece jammies might be a bit warm for Punta Cana.

Immediately I thought of my box of too-dear-to-toss t-shirts. These could be an answer.

Of course they're not dear to toss, but I did save them because 1) I once cherished them (they were mostly staff shirts from my old summer camps), and 2) no one would ever want to buy them from a second hand store. So instead of relegating them to rags, I jammed them in a box for a time when I could figure out how to give them a death with honour.

The first tutorial I found said that I would have a new nightie in 15 minutes - about the same amount of time it would take me to drive to the mall, one way. Sold. I decided that I would cut a shorter sleeve and forego the elasticized cuffs, which would cut down on time even more. From my discards box I pulled out two t-shirts that had some drape to them, leaving the "crunchier" shirts for a more fitted project.

I traced a shirt that fit her fairly well, estimated a sleeve length to give her a bit of a cap sleeve, then sewed the sides and arms up again on my regular machine. I was surprised to find that a one year old's neckline isn't too far off an adult's. Kids have crazy big noggins. 

After we tried it on I hemmed it. I didn't bother to hem the sleeves. I love that the major construction work is already done in this garment (sleeve setting and neckband), so you get to reap rewards after 2 easy seams.

And my beloved staff shirt lives on.

Finished project - Flip style diaper

 I needed to increase our diaper stash and so made it a goal this week to finish at least one diaper. Although I have made a few different  diapers using both purchased patterns, those freely available online, and combinations thereof (I once made a Franken-diaper that pulled from as many sources as there were seams), I've come to settle on Arfy's freely available patterns and tutorials as top of the line.

This diaper is sewn using her Flip style pattern and tutorial. I find this style of cloth diaper easy to diaper with (less washing), and easiest to sew. Sewing waterproof legs is a talent. The less fabrics to interfere with this process, the better.

I made this diaper with a velcro closure, even though the reviews say that snap closures are pretty much the way to go (they don't wear over washings, a big deal in cloth diapering). I have made a few diapers with snaps already, and the application process is quite time consuming - hence the velcro. I just wanted a diaper today!

The fabric is from Diaper Sewing Supplies. I was sucked in by the soulful eyes of the puppies. I probably wouldn't have sewn my own diapers at all if not for those eyes.