A little detour!

So I follow Kadiddlehopper's blog, and she has just started posting ahead after a bit of a hiatus. And today I saw that her most recent post was a free pattern/tutorial for a reversible scrub cap. And it just so happens that my cat-sitter might love a new scrub cap! So I had to drop everything and try this out!

Thing 2 helped me pick the fabrics. One side (the "main" side to me, just because this is the one I knew she needed) is rainbow cats.

And here you can see the back.

And the reverse is this multicolored paw prints on black. I think it goes with the rainbow cats pretty well.

The orange bias tape is homemade, from the bias tape I used to trim a friend's baby sling (looks like I didn't blog about it, but I made a black linen sling, trimmed with orange bias tape - she loved it!).

This worked up quickly in about an hour or so! Hopefully it fits the cat-sitter's head!

Knit PJ pants!

Thing 2 has been in dire need of new PJs for a long time now.  He had outgrown the few pair that he still wore, but he wore them anyway.  I refused to buy new PJs, especially since he tends to only wear the pants, and especially given my current state of fabric.  So I finally decided to bite the bullet and stitch some up, as I'd been promising forever to do.

First problem - the pattern I thought I could use proved to be problematic.  It's a men's/boys' pattern, and Thing 2 has outgrown the boys' sizing but not yet reached the men's.  So off to JAF I went, where I found S8022.  I was intending to use fleece fabric from my stash for these, so I figured a one piece pattern would be ideal.  These are size M in the boys' sizing, and he loves them!  I made this first pair basically as is just to test it out, which worked well.

For the second pair - also a knit from my stash! - I used the same sizing, but decreased the seam allowances from 5/8" to 3/8", just to give a little more room for growth.  Probably not as important with the thinner knit but would definitely help with the thicker fleece.

There has already been another (not pictured) fleece pair from my stash, as well as another knit that I simply couldn't resist.

More boxers!

We've mentioned before how boxers are a go-to gift for the men in my life.  So of course I needed to sew some new boxers for Thing 1's recent birthday.  I bought these fabrics a year ago (with his approval - he's of the age where you don't just pick for him!) and even cut them out then, but with all the upheaval in my sewing room, there they sat.  So his birthday was motivation to finally stitch them up.  These are size XS men's.

Cocoon Cardigan

I mentioned the Star Wars cardigan I made for myself when I blogged about my niece's cardigan.  Well, this is another one from that pattern, Cocoon Cardigan from Patterns for Pirates.  I bought the knit Tardis fabric at JAF quite a long time ago, with intent of making this cardigan for a friend who's a die-hard Whovian.

I got Thing 2 to model it for me for pics.  It's not his usual style (well, maybe - when combined with PJ pants!), but he looks pretty dapper! ;)

This is size S, with the short bands and 3/4 sleeves.  I did add the patch pockets, and I also added short bands to the sleeves to avoid having to hem them.

I hated sewing with this fabric, but I love how it feels and looks.  And my friend loved it, which is what's important!

Toddler fun!

Ah, I remember the days when I did a lot of little kid sewing, and it was so gratifying.  Well, a coworker has a toddler, and I had been meaning to sew for her for a long time.  It all started with finding this Nightmare before Christmas knit remnant at JAF maybe a year ago. So finally I did a lot of cutting (patterns from Kwik Sew's Sewing for Toddlers) and sewed these up over Memorial Day weekend.

The Nightmare before Christmas pants are size 2T.

Along with those pants, I also had a few other knit fabrics.  From top left and going clockwise - Nightmare before Christmas, rainbow spiderweb (stash - 2T pants), cats (JAF - 2T shorts), sharks (stash - 2T shorts), superhero cat words (JAF - 2T shorts), and blocks of cats (stash - 2T pants).

My coworker was surprised and excited to get these for her little one!

Cardigans!

So I made myself a Star Wars cardigan a year ago (never blogged it, apparently) using the pattern Cocoon Cardigan from Patterns for Pirates.  It's super comfy - and it even has optional pockets!  And there's a girls' sized pattern, too - the Butterfly Cardigan.  So naturally I thought my niece needed a cardigan or twenty.  This is the first prototype, to see whether she likes it and how the sizing is for her.  I found this fabric at JAF - pretty sure it happened to be on sale that day.

This is a size 8, tunic length (she's 7 at the moment), with "short bands," patch pockets, and three quarter sleeves.  All of these are listed options in the pattern.  I added bands to the sleeves to avoid hemming.  I can't wait to hear how she likes it!

And of course I figured her doll needed a few, as well.  The pattern is a free one from Fleece Fun.  No changes made to that.  The first cardigan is from leftovers from my niece's cardigan, so that they can match.

The second is from leftovers of my Star Wars cardigan!  (Hopefully it doesn't give my niece any ideas about what her next cardigan should be!)

I'm still alive!

You know how it goes....long time between posts.  I'll start with what I just finished and work backward.  It's Father's Day, so new boxers were in order.  This was a last-minute trip (Friday) to JAF for fun new fabric.  Novelty cottons were on sale for 40% off, which worked out splendidly.  So I got two.  You can see the bright taco print in back - I knew he'd love those!

And a close-up of the sunbathing bananas print.  This was too hysterical to leave behind.

Thing 2 came with me to the store and picked the bananas. ;)  This is the usual Simplicity 9958, adult size S, no changes from my usual (I think I folded an inch out of the hem years ago?).