sewing for my twins

I made these 2 monkeys peasant tunics and asked them to pose. They shall be models when they grow up.

Early present to me

From me...I've wanted to make this pattern for since it got cold but t had to take a backseat to sewing leggings and anything cold-friendly. But finally I made this scarf neck cardigan by Swoon. I really like it and so I am making another one. :) J asked me to make her one but will have to go under the many many things I have to make and do.

Mother's day weekend

It's not Mother's Day yet but it has started for me. The girls had their soccer, and then Daddy took all the kids and got flowers for me! Tons and tons of flowers, each their own favorite colors. It was a very lovely surprise. Then Daddy got take out Chinese food, my favorite!

He then tended to the kids for the rest of the day and let me sew in peace as I requested. I thought the day has been the best Mother's Day so far until everyone started cleaning up the house. WOW! Big M was especially eager to help when Daddy told him that the are doing this so that I didn't have to do anything. I'm speechless, simply speechless. The best day ever!


This is what I was eager to try today. I made a bathing suit for the first time. I am quite eager to try new things, and so I was itching to make it. It was challenging to sew, it was a mess, things were uneven, the stitching looks horrible BUT Miss K appreciated it. In fact, just seeing the little pink bow on the back was enough to make her squeal. She didn't care that it wasn't perfect. In fact, she loved it so much she didn't want to take it off. Now J wants me to make hers. Nothing beats making the kids something. I wanted to make a swimsuit because they are expensive, and we could never get the right fit and of course to buy cheap, is to buy cheap quality.  I've been buying too much fabric lately, and not making any money. Considering that this is the first summer that I am making most of the kids clothes, I think I am saving us money in the long run. I think. I'm pretty sure. :)

I've been sewing up a storm

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a lot of shorts for the girls after getting rid of their outgrown clothes. They don't have shorts, and not a lot of pants. Pants is a bit of an issue especially for K. She is full on the waist so I have gone to buying size 8 and 10 pants. Of course they are too long, and he waist is either too tight or too loose.

I bought some patterns and got to cutting. I cut 8 pairs of shorts (some for the boys too) and Capri pants and pants. The girls are size 7 on dresses that I've been making so I just instantly picked that size to cut. It turns out that's a little snug after I completed one pair. What was I to do ? Sew everything up and just barely to into them or make some sort of modification. I tried one modification by adding a strip on the side. It gave K some room but the height of the waist was just too low still. I will probably have to add a waist band to it.

The pants I purposely picked a bigger size. The pattern called for elastic but I chose to making shirring instead. When it was done Daddy said it looked like clown pants. I admit while my fabric choice looked great as a peasant dress, it was on the loud side for pants. But hey, I was just using fabric I already had. I horned out it looked great with understated tops. Because of the shirring it was fine that it was long because it wasn't in the way. These pants would definitely last a while.

The Capri pants was the same size as the shorts. Same issue with the size. I am pretty proud though because I just added the ruffles. Daddy said they looked like bell bottoms. The man is out of touch. Ruffles are girly. :)

I then bought a pattern for me. Shocker! Make something for me? I need a dress for my son's first communion in April. I bought fabric from a sewing buddy's stash (cheaper than retail) and got to work. It looks great, so says my online sewing group, but it needed fixing. The bodice is too loose. Why don't I try these things on before sewing?? It may be because I'm sewing for myself and that is a new experience. So now I get to use the seam ripper. Whoopie. When I love the idea of being able to correct a mistake, I hate using it!

On another note, the hearts fabric were on clearance when I bought them - so everything I make is such a saving. :)

This is a modified Jocole's Essential pants cut shorter than the capri length and then I made up the rest of the length with ruffles.

This is a modified Jocole's Essential pants cut to shorts length (length based on my daughter's measurement) with added ruffle and side panel.

This is Whimsy Couture's Jump around pants modified to have shirred legs instead of elastic. And below is my daughter wearing it.

This Sis Boom's (Scientific Seamstress) Jamie dress. I have a pear shape body and this worked out well and does not make me look pregnant. Always a plus. :)

My little models

I started sewing because If my girls. Dresses are expensive and when I have to guy two things get a little crazy. More often than not, I choose not to buy dresses unless there is a special occasion. Now I do many other crafts, but lately I find that I don't care for those as much as I like sewing. I enjoy Doug applique and trying new things, but I love sewing the most. It makes me feel better. There are times when the house looks like a bomb exploded, I don't care because I want to sew. It's my down time, my me time.

I have opened a shop not only to save money but I guess it's to fund a hobby. I don't have a shop to get rich. I do t think that'll ever happen.

J's dress is my latest creation. It's a design by Petite Kids Boutique. I will be making more to sell in my shop so please keep visiting. I've had all the fabric for a long time and I actually started K's dress as a 1st day of kindergarten outfit but it was too big. The matching Capri pants look more like pajamas, but the top works for layering.

It also feeds the minor urge to dress my twins similarly (thy stopped wearing same clothes at 2).

Miss K is quite natural at posing. She likes to be "stylish" (her word). Miss J also likes to be stylish but every time I make her pose, she looked hunched over. There has been time she absolutely looks gorgeous and posed, but this day was not that day.

This was on a fairly "warm". Warm is a relative term of course. Today at 9am it was -15. All this week has been quite a chore with this arctic weather. I've been driving he kids to school and picking them up because standing at the bus stop can be quite dangerous for Little M. I bundled him up quite well on Tuesday, but we went out too early and the bus came late. Little M's fingers were quite red under his waterproof snow gloves. My legs, which were only covered by 1 layer of clothing were quite numb.

Next week we are hopefully back to more normal and civil temperature.

Upcycling outgrown knit dress into bike shorts/leggings

I have been on a sewing kick lately, sewing dresses, skirts, pants, etc for my kids. Pinterest has proven a great resource for many things, but one thing I couldn't find was ideas on what to do with old knit dresses. My girls have outgrown many dresses that were barely worn, and so I hesitate to give them away.

Then it hits me, I can make bike shorts/leggings with them. Since I couldn't find an exact tutorial for it, I decided to just do it myself and share the process.

1 - I took a legging that fits just right and traced it on parchment paper. The dress is too small to make a full length leggings so I folded it to make bike shorts. I traced it half an inch larger on the side for seam allowance. The waist has about 1 - 1 1/2 inch seem allowance to allow for elastic casing.

2 - I cut out the parchment paper and pinned it on the dress. While doing this, I realized that I can use the side seam on the dress for bike shorts, so pinned the pattern slightly outward to remove the seam allowance on the side.

3 - After cutting one leg, I turned the pattern over and pinned it on the other side of the dress and cut another leg.

4 - 2 legs ready for sewing. 

5 - I used zigzag stitch on the inner pant leg. Once both inner pant leg were done, I placed one inside of the other (right sides together) and then sewed the crotch. Since I used the hem of the dress, I didn't need to hem the pants!

6 - Fold the waist over 1/4 and then again at whatever width your elastic is. Make sure to leave an opening to fish the elastic in. Use a safety pin to fish the elastic in, overlap 1 inch. Then sew the opening close.

7 - Bike shorts!

NOTE: At first I decided not to put an elastic in and used elastic thread instead. It didn't work quite right because it still prevented good stretch while putting the pants on. After ripping that up, I decided to not put any elastic. That almost worked, but since I fitted the pants right below the belly button, it just flared up too big on the waist and the pants eventually started slipping off. For the 3rd try, I decided to just go ahead and put elastic in. That worked much better.

Tank top dress

I recently found t-shirt dresses on Pinterest and I just couldn't wait to try them. I have tanktops that I've been meaning to appliqué for my girls but just haven't done it. I got the tank tops on clearance at Walmart for $2.50 and the fabric is $3 a yard also from Walmart. I bought 2 yards each of the fabric because I didn't know how much I would need.

For the fullness of the dress, I measured their waist and multiplied by 2. For the length, I just cut the fabric at the fold and used that, which worked out - not too short, not too long.

This tutorial said to use elastic thread, which I did. The dress wouldn't have gone through their torso if I had just used regular thread.

For the sash, I just used my measuring tape as a mock sash to figure out the length. I then just cut 5 inches thick (I wanted the sash to be 2 inches thick).

For the flower, I used the mouth of a glass to trace a circle and cut several pieces. There are a lot of tutorial for fabric flowers online.

a little me time = craft time

I've been busy with a few projects lately because I've been craving "me" time. I enjoy the time I make things for the kids. I've also started a few things I haven't done before.

My crafting frenzy was kick started by this PJ for Big M. He picked out this fabric last fall and he has patiently waited this long for me to make it. It is sewn from a Simplicity 9900 pattern.

I then moved on to this dress for J. This fabric along with the one below for K, was not intended for a dress. They were intended for a PJ for the same pattern as the above, but I discovered that I had only bought 1 yard, which was not enough. With this pattern, it took a little puzzle work to make the patterns fit, but it worked out.

And true to our color coding, K has a pink one. (Though it amazes me that after almost 5 years of this color coding, Daddy still asks who is pink and who is purple.)

This embroidery is a new project for me. I have the supplies from unfinished cross-stitching from many many years ago (before we had kids). With a little internet research, I was able to find a Jake and the Neverland Pirates coloring page and that is what I embroidered. I put an "M" on the boots for some personalization. :) Little M loves this character!

With many crafty friends online and Pinterest, I kept seeing appliqué work on shirts. Some of them are being sold for some big money, so with more research I found out how to make one on my own. So here is J with a mouse ears with a bow.

This is K's version. The crown is from the dress fabric of hers pictured above. This has also gotten the ball rolling on a family shirt for our trip to Disney World. FUN!

new routines = busy = crazy

The girls started at their new school this past week and it meant that we all had to get used to a whole new routine. The girls go to school everyday from 8:20 to 3pm. Sometimes hubby drives them, and I stay and walk Big M to the bus stop, and sometimes we switch. Daddy cherishes the alone time he gets with Big M at the bus stop; they get to chitchat without any interruption and just be silly. I, on the other hand, make use of the time I take the girls to school and go buy groceries on the way home.

The girls love their school and their new friends! They also love the fact that they get to bring their own lunch. However, preparing lunches for 3 kids take as much as an hour even with hubby's help. I hate that piece of chore, because it eats into my "me" time after everyone has gone to bed.

Big M also started soccer practice. We found out that the team is co-ed, unlike his team in Texas. We all went to the soccer practice which proved to be a big no-no. It was quite a trek to get to the soccer field, and with kids who have been in school all day, it is too much. Everyone was cranky. Daddy will have to take over the soccer practice while the other kids and I stay home. That's the plan anyway, and we better stick to it for our own sanity's sake.

While everything is busy, I am craving "me" time more and more. I've been watching TV after the kids have gone to bed, and now that's just boring. So I've dug up my craft things and made space. So at night, while watching TV, I've been sewing. I finally finished Big M's PJ that he picked the fabric for last fall. Of course, if I make one for one child, I feel I have to make one for the others. Besides, K and J need a new PJ too. Everything they own are now midriff shirts because they have gotten so tall. So now I have the sewing bug. I've also been bit by the embroidery bug, so I have plans for that. Last but not least, I've started to go into bottle cap crafts. This one the kids have been enjoying with me as well.

Not to be forgotten, Daddy is starting to pick up his wood carving. I guess he sees me sewing away and wants to join in a very rewarding "me" time. He has other unfinished project from last year, but right now he is being driven by the desire to do something for Big M. Big M's anxiety is slightly up again and it is manifesting itself in the middle of the night. He wakes up and he can't sleep. He said he is afraid of monsters/ghosts, but if experience has taught us anything, we need to dig deeper into the cause (if we can find the cause at all). Daddy wants to make him a magic totem that would keep him safe at night, so he is designing that.

Little M is continuing to grow physically, mentally and his attitude. Big M's toddler shoes that I dug up for him in January are now getting small. The boy is eating us out of house and home in spurts. If there is food he didn't get to finish at lunch time, he eats them as soon as he wakes up from his nap. He is proving to be much like his older siblings - big! His sisters started out swearing their size clothes, and jumped up at age 2 1/2. Little M seems to be doing the same thing.

sewing for my girls

The girls are in a ballet/tap dance combination class and they love it. They need to take both shoes with them to class so they needed a little bag. I looked into some cheap bags but then I saw a pattern for a cinch bag that was so easy to make. So instead of buying them bags, I made one for them.  I also had to make one for Big M, but not too girly of course. For Big M I used a Navy military pattern fabric. That was a big hit.

J is on the left with the flower bag, and K is on the right.

Weeks later, I found a very simple skirt pattern online so I used the remaining fabric. So cute!

But then I had to make them a pair of shorts from a very thin liner fabric so that they didn't show their souls to everyone while wearing the skirts.