Back of Apron&Skort
The outfit fits nicely! The apron could use a touch more ease, but looks spot on for RTW size 6m (It’s a sewing pattern size NB). She’ll probably be able to continue wearing the skort through 9 or 12 months of age.
Archive for May, 2007
Apron Done!
Must sleep soon.. fatigue… apron.. finished..
I finished Cow’s first apron. Now each of the girls has a monkey apron. This is one of my favorite apron patterns!
Pattern: Butterick 3540
Size: NB (on a 4mo, we’ll see the fit tomorrow)
Alterations: left off most of the rickrack because I didn’t have enough. Altered the ties by shortening one and leaving off the other, then sewed in a buttonhole and matching button. Cow will be pleased to roll comfortably instead of lying on a knot.
What’s an EC baby to wear?
What to do in an afternoon? Make a skort!
Cow has dresses and shirts, and a few pairs of pants, but with summer coming up, I wanted something else for her to wear. I had this pattern out (from checking where to put the buttonholes), so I went ahead and cut out the skort in XXS.
Now, I’m going to see if there’s enough scraps left to make her an apron top to match!
Pattern: Simplicity 5534
View: C skort
Size: XXS (on my 4 month old), skirt only lengthened to L
Alterations: took in the waist elastic, added elastic to legs
Baby Shirt
“Mommy, put buttons on this so I can put it on the boy doll.”
AJ had found the shirt I’d started making in OK when Mrs. H– was pregnant with their 5th baby. I worked carefully to line up the planets so they would overlap and look nice, but when I sewed it they repeated! I set it in a box. We’ve since moved and the intended is much too big for it now, and they’ve since had a girl, too. I looked at the shirt, set it on my desk, and a few days later the girls ran off with it. That was before Cow was born, maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas time.
When I was sewing buttonholes on my green dress, this shirt came to mind. I went to the toy box and found it. That night, I applied the buttons and holes, put it n ‘boy doll’ and slipped him back into the toy box. Today, Cow is modeling it to show how well it fits on a real baby.
Pattern: Simplicity 5534
Size: S
Fit: comfortably loose, but not baggy
Alterations: none, but I may make future ones longer in the sleeves, hem to fit my slender babies.
My Pockie!
I saw this neat bag while blog-hopping. It’s such a fun, simple idea. I’m working on making one myself. Only, I would like it to have a square or rectangular base and be able to hold more, so I’m thinking a button closure or some such. I’ll have the ties just be ribbon or crochet from the base (not sewn to the bag, like I think hers are).. And, maybe button the bag to the base so they come apart for easy washing.
So, last night I began crocheting the base. I finished it about lunchtime today. This afternoon, I’ve been working on the bag. I had just gotten the basic bag together - the lining was just stitched into the bottom - when BB came in and said, “My pockie!”
She snatched that thing so fast and ran off to play with, “My pockie!” I snapped this picture of her having her “lunch” from the bag.
Crab Stitch
I Finally learned how to do the crab stitch (AKA Reverse Crochet, I hate sending you to about.com because of their popups!!! so, I’ll link directly to the images for the helpful part)
First put the hook through the next st opposite your working direction (if you’re going right to left, as usual, then insert through the next st to the right)
Then, pull the loop through under the working loop! I actually twist my hook to get them to ’switch places’! This is where the twist comes from! This image was the ~AH HA~ that I needed!
Then just yo and pull through as usual. So now I have the crab st in my st vocabulary to use on the lunchbag pattern (a la twelve 22) I’m making!!
Hybrid Nursing Dress
Stitching blog? Oh, actual stitching? YES!
Our friends were over yesterday and we had a lovely time! Their boys are just younger than TJ, and the three get along pretty well. They and the 2 girls hit the pool while Mrs. A and I took the babies in the dungeon to freshen it. It’s been too long since I saw the craft room floor, and yesterday she and I were able to vacuum half of it!
Last night, I fixed a minor mistake on the skirt and finished the center front closure and hem. (If you want to add the nursing access a la CS#446B, I suggest not lengthening the bodice to meet the skirt if the skirt is “1 inch below waistline” because doing that causes the skirt front to have issues. Keep it closer to the natural “true” waist so that the fabric hugs there and doesn’t try to droop under your belly…) I think adding a waistband, like they have, would also help keep the skirt front more even.
I haven’t had a ‘blousy’ top in a long time! Feels very feminine. This style is easy to nurse in (I can keep the top 3-4 buttons closed and still easily feed her and feel covered!) This was fun and pretty simple to make, and will be nice and cool for summer.
Pattern(s): New Look 6678 and Vogue 7280
Fabric: Quilting Cotton (No, I don’t iron much, I try to go straight to hangers from the drier.
Size: mine 
Alterations: exchanged the flounce on sleeve D for the binding on sleeve A (kept shorter sleeves, though). Shortened blouse to attach to skirt as a dress. Made front shirttails shaped to tuck more easily. Added button opening and waistband to skirt front.
Outcome: I Like. It’s a keeper.
Hair Today.. Dress Tomorrow!
This amuses me. I’m already down to once a week or so, but that was during winter. My mad plan is to shower each day (usually I do every other, or my skin’s too dry) and massage my scalp without the ‘poo and using soap only where necessary.. Humor me this summer and I’ll tell you how it goes.
(Ben, I hope you’re not trembling in horror)
On a less greasy note: I’ve been working on my Franken-dress. I took New Look 6678 for the bodice (view D, except that I bound the sleeves -like v. A- instead of adding flounce), and Vogue 7280 (view C, just the outer skirt because it has the center front seam to add a closure to) -this skirt is lined, so one could easily use either the 8-gore skirt or the A-line lining as a dress-skirt.
(note: I’m showing the pencil line marked across the pattern, not the math book binding that shows through the tissue paper)
Basically, I marked a waist seam on the blouse pattern 5/8 inch below where the waist was marked on the pattern plus 1 inch to meet skirt. I used the largest size in my skirt pattern (only one size bigger than the blouse in this instance because the skirt is made to sit “1 inch lower than natural waist”) in order to have a better match for amount of ease in the waist. A skirt could be tighter to hold it at the right place, but a dress needs a little ease for comfort if the wearer wants to move.
Here’s where the back of the blouse is attached to the back of the skirt. I didn’t bother to match up the gore seams to the darts, but it could be done. Someone more couture or pickier than I could easily do it.
I took inspiration from Common Sense Patterns #446B to make this shirt dress have easy nursing access via tuckable shirttails on the front and a facing on the skirt front. I’ve finished the blouse part, just need to finish the skirt and add buttons. It looks so nice, I can hardly wait to start wearing it!
Boopy
Last night, Ben and I stayed up past 1AM to chat and finish this Sock Monkey.
A couple weeks ago, I got my latest order of socks, but wasn’t entirely happy! For some reason, maybe a new supplier since last time I ordered, the socks have humongous feet! I don’t mind if the legs slouch a bit, but we’re talking ankles that are so baggy they go around the arch of the feet here. Then last night, shortly before Ben came home from work, BB had asked me for a monkey. Well. I have a load of perfect socks!
(note: do you see how fat this sock monkey is? Is there really a person these socks are comfy on?)
