Summer PJs, just in time for cooler weather....

Yeah, I know, this is totally lame. But my boys needed summer jammies, and I was trying to use stuff from stash. So last May, I cut these out right after making the "Planets" jammies. I went through my stash for short lengths of flannel, and I chose this for Thing 2, with the shirt from leftovers of the planets shirts. I think I'd had this remnant in my stash for two years or more....The shirt is T3, with 2 inches added in length, and the shorts are T4, both from KS SFT. These were actually finished back in June and have been in use since. For Thing 1, I chose this pirate ship flannel that I love, and a coordinating black interlock. The shirt is size S from KS 3043, and the shorts are size S from KS SFC. These were finally finished last night, just in time for a movie night....

Both have appliques on the shirt to tie the shirt in to the shorts. I like them that way, and so do my boys. (This way, it'll also be more clear to the husband that a shirt is a PJ shirt, should he ever help fold the laundry....)

Luggage Tags!

So I've seen various free patterns to make luggage tags and always thought they were neat and would make great Christmas gifts. I saw these a long time ago and thought they looked fast, easy, and cute, but there that idea sat. (I've always got more gift ideas than time, don't you?)

But then I saw these! I really liked the privacy flap idea. After all, who wants everyone in the airport getting your contact info while you wait for a flight? I figured these would be more useful, and they also looked easy. And then I remembered that I'm going on a trip to a conference shortly, and I could actually use these! Of course, I can't just cut out ones for myself - that's no fun! So I cut out eight luggage tags, but I've only made two so far. Naturally. Because I'm still supposed to be studying. :( But I needed two, so I made two. These are my prototypes, because there's a definite (though small) learning curve. As I figure out over the next days whether I'll have any checked baggage, I may need to make another. But that's okay. They didn't take too long.

Dribs and drabs....

So I changed the serger thread to brown, to make my new chocolate brown scrub pants. But of course you can't sew just one thing at a time! Or at least I can't....so here were the tag-alongs! One pair of pirate print cotton pants for Thing 1 - these are KS3042, size S, cut out sometime last year (winter, I think). They should still fit for school this fall. I love the print, so hopefully he will enjoy wearing them. As usual, they have slash pockets and a pocket bag from a contrasting color of broadcloth.

Then there is another pair of cargo shorts for Thing 1, from a chocolate brown twill that was on sale recently at JAF. This is B3475 again, but this time I took another inch off the hem. He thinks that it is about perfect now.

And finally, a pair of shorts for Thing 2 out of the leftover brown twill. Taking that last inch off the cargo shorts made it possible to cut this pair of shorts, and Thing 2 is very happy with his new shorts with blue pocket bags. These are KS SFT size 4T.
And then, of course, my chocolate brown scrub pants - M9359, size M, with my now standard modifications. I think these may be my favorite so far....

More bits and pieces....

Can you believe that until yesterday, I had exactly one pair of cut-offs? Shocking! And I love wearing them, despite the fact that I need to darn the holes in them, and despite the fact that they're looking ratty. They've been well-loved. This weekend, I found an old pair of jeans that were still in great shape, and that actually fit reasonably well. (I'll have to wear a belt with them, I'm sure, but I can live with that.) Time for a new pair of cut-offs!

However, I really didn't want them to get ratty too fast. I thought about using bias tape or hem facings, but I didn't think of it before I cut them, and I didn't want to lose any more length. Instead, I decided to try binding the edges with swimsuit fabric. I had an understated black/white rose print that I thought would be perfect. And it was! I can't wait to wear them.

I also finally finished the other Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirts for Things 1&2. I've had these cut out for months and decided to leave off the long sleeves. We'll see how well the boys like these, but they love dinosaurs, so I think they'll be a big hit. The dino fabric is a jersey I bought from a coop years ago, the browns are interlock and ribbing from JAF.

I also finished a pair of khaki scrub pants - no pics yet, as they went straight into the wash to get the spray adhesive out of the cargo pocket. Next up: a pair of chocolate brown scrub pants for me and a pair of dark brown cargo shorts for Thing 1. After that, more scrubs, I think....

Odds and Ends

First up, finished items! As I am transitioning into surgery four days a week at an animal shelter, I have a need for more scrubs. I finished a shirt (M9123) using a cotton print I bought at least five years ago at a WM in Mississippi, planning to use it for a friend. Well, now I decided it was here and would be used by me! I have already worn it to work once and was asked where I buy my scrubs. ;) For this, I also used the bound neckline and pattern-matched the upper pocket. I have decided for the moment that I don't really need the lower pockets for surgery, so I'm leaving them off. Instead, an upper pocket for a pen and a cargo pocket on the pants for a cell phone, and I'm good to go.

Next, the second pair of solid shorts for Thing 1. I bought a khaki twill on sale at JAF and used B3475 again. This time, I shortened the pattern by two inches. I think I will shorten it another inch on the next pair. I didn't shorten the pockets or alter the placement, but I think I need to raise the placement a little for the next pair, so that the pockets aren't below the hem.

I lined the pocket flap again. I am a little annoyed with myself, because I didn't look at the previous pair to see how I did the stitching. On the previous pair, I echoed the double topstitching on both pocket and flap, but this time, I did single topstitching on the flap. I definitely don't think that this pair looks as good. Oh, well....next time.And what's to come? Well, I'm currently working on inventing a padded case for Thing 1's Didj. He really likes playing with it but has no case in which to store it or the games. We just discovered that he has lost one game in the last several months, so I upped this in the priority list. So far, I have quilted the fabric with two layers of Warm&Natural batting in between and bound all the raw edges of the pieces with black swimsuit fabric, as I am not lining it. I plan to install a zipper in the main compartment, and I am adding a zippered pocket to each side, for storing games and headphones. I hope to finish it today.

I also found a blog tutorial for making toy sacks with clear plastic windows, to see what toys are inside. Eureka! This may be the thing for attempting to contain all the toys on the toy table. I've got two sacks cut out and in the process of being made. I have a bunch more planned, too. I'm using prints from my stash for the outside and solid broadcloth for the lining. I even had tablecloth vinyl in my stash already! I am so convinced that this will go well, that I bought more solid broadcloth on sale at JAF this week. But the two in progress are completely from stash, and I'm making both at once because I'm using the same lining and thus can use the same color thread for topstitching. I'm okay with some assembly-line work.

Otherwise, there's more scrubs in the line-up, so hopefully I'll have a new top and pants to wear to work this week.

Shorts for the Things

The Things have very few solid colored shorts, which is bad when I like to make them print T-shirts. So I decided it was time to do something about that, especially since I'm starting to make the button-front shirts and they'll need something to wear with those. Thing 1 possibly has the greater need, since no one expects a four-year-old to match anything, right? So I decided to try the shorts pattern in B3475, but they looked awfully long. Still, I made size 4 as is, to see how they would turn out. After all, I see a lot of kids at Thing 1's school wearing long shorts, so apparently it's the style.

I used a greyish stretch twill/denim that I bought at WM a few years ago. It seemed kind of boring, so I used bright green to topstitch. Just for fun.

There are cargo pockets on both sides, so I didn't see the need to add slash pockets.

And I decided to line the pocket flaps to make them look better. For these, I used a leftover bit of a fish pucker print. (This became summer shorts for both Things two summers ago.) I think it's a nice touch.

I had intended to make Thing 2 a similar pair in a size 2, but my fabric piece wasn't large enough to cut out both pairs. Instead, I cut another pair of KS SFT shorts in size T4. I also used green thread for topstitching these, and the pocket bags are a solid green.

A little Bugs Bunny

This is the Bugs Bunny scrub shirt I sewed for a friend's husband. He found the print, but there wasn't enough for what the pattern needed. So I asked how they felt about using a coordinating grey cotton to make up the difference, and they thought that'd be okay. It still posed some problems. I used the grey to do a bias bound neckline and add a contrast band to the chest pocket, mostly to tie it together, and I added a band at the bottom with the grey. The problem still lies in the fact that he likes lots of pockets, and I couldn't figure out how to do lower pockets. I don't have enough of the Bugs Bunny left to make full-size pockets, and I don't think it would look right, anyway, since they'd be partly on the grey band. I think that pockets that were grey at the bottom and Bugs Bunny for the rest would look weird. And if I just made the pockets from the edge of the Bugs Bunny up, they'd be too small to be useful. So I chickened out and sent it as is, with a note to let me know how they wanted the pockets, if he really needed them. Nothing like passing the buck. ;)

Of last weekend's pile, I have now finished the new scrub shirt for me - the dogs in carriers print. I'll get photos when it's out of the wash. The two Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirts just need neckbands to be done. The alien shirt needs hems and buttonholes, and the dinosaur shirt needs the same plus sideseams. I'm also about to cut out two more pairs of scrub pants and another scrub shirt, as I'll be wearing scrubs at least four days a week, starting next week, and I definitely don't have enough, without doing laundry every other day. Hopefully those will work up fast.