The Christmas of the Pillowcase

We are moving the week of Christmas, so as you can imagine, things have been a little crazy here. Partly due to that, I decided to keep the gifts simple this year. Fun yet practical. This is the first installment of Christmas pillowcases! (Well, really the second....the first ones were here.)
This is all flannel from JAF on Black Friday. There is a matching pillowcase for the penguins in the front, and there are two more of the music notes with white trim. It pretty much became that adults are getting a matching set of pillowcases, and kids are getting single cases. Pillowcases are also a great way to wrap awkward gifts! (Or just any gift, especially if you are semi-wrapping-impaired....) The white and red tie-dye flannels are from my stash from my very first Black Friday flannel haul, and the black was in my stash from a recent purchase....or maybe last year's Black Friday? I can't remember.

Anyway, there are at least 3 more sets of pillowcases and at least five more single pillowcases to make. I'm cutting most of those tonight, although it is not crucial that they be done before Christmas. I tend to mail things a bit late....oops!

I am also making more corn bags and flannel covers. I'll have to finally put up some pictures when I finish these. The bags are long rectangles made of muslin, with serged edges, filled with dried feed corn. The flannel covers are simply long envelope style covers. You heat them up in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, then enjoy warmth on your feet/shoulders/whatever. I also made a few square ones with separate channels to fill with corn, which may be more useful for trying to do heat therapy on specific body parts, like knees. Not sure how those will compare....

Finally finished!

My older son has a Didj, which has become a beloved possession. It frequently goes in the car with us, but until now, there has been no case for it. And so it gets carried, stuffed in backpacks, etc. The Didj itself has survived fairly well, but one of the game cartridges has been unfortunately lost, possibly never to be seen again. So I wanted to construct a padded case, preferably with a zippered closure, and zippered pockets for storing headphones and game cartridges. I suppose it might have been wise to also have room to take the recharger, but I decided that was just too bulky to go on smaller trips and would simply be put in an overnight bag for longer trips. My son picked a marble fabric from my stash, and I took the dimensions of his Didj, added some ease, and went to work.

I decided to skip a lining and just make my own quilted fabric, with two layers of Warm&Natural batting in between the cotton, for more protection. I quilted a large enough piece to allow for some shrinkage but still cut all my pieces from it afterward. After cutting each outer piece, I bound each edge in black nylon lycra. Then I cut the pocket pieces from non-quilted fabric and used black zippers from my stash.

So...from the side, showing the webbing straps (I thought that fabric straps looked too girly) and one of the zippered pockets.

And then the inside, showing the outer zipper and with the Didj inside. As you can see, either I over compensated with ease, or I screwed up some measurements, as there is definitely more than enough room inside for the Didj. Oh, well! I also put a zipper pull on for easier zipping/unzipping - just a small piece of black nylon lycra tied through the zipper pull.The only thing I don't like is that I should have rounded the edges of the main piece before binding it. Once I had the pieces sewn together, I had to trim the inner points to make the case look better. Otherwise, the points stuck out too much. So now I have those raw edges on the inside, which I was trying to avoid. Oh, well....so it's not perfect. If I ever make another one, I'll fix that.

The important thing is that it is almost exactly what I was after, and my son loves it. And now his game cartridges are all secure with his Didj!

November birthdays....

November is a great month to have a birthday. My DH (fittingly) was born on Nov. 10, the Marine Corps birthday. I had intended to have another KS 2935 shirt ready for him, but it just wasn't happening. So instead, I (fittingly) bought him the BluRay boxed set of the HBO miniseries The Pacific. (It worked out to sort of be a birthday present for me, as well - I'm a Veteran's Day baby.) We've been watching that at night, and we just finished it the other night. Now we just have the Special Features disk to go.

My brother was born Nov. 13, and I have told him for years that he was the worst birthday present I ever received. :) Feel the love, right? Well, this year, instead of the traditional boxers or PJ pants, I decided it was time to make him a Hawaiian shirt. I found a loud rayon challis on sale at HF a few months ago, and I cut it out during my time in the lab (while waiting for stuff to finish so that I could do the next stuff). I have since discovered that rayon challis would benefit from starch, and that next time, I won't cut it out, wad it up in a bag, and let it sit for months before sewing. (I had to recut both collar pieces because they wouldn't fit the interfacing pieces.) Oh, well....he still loves the shirt and tells me that it'll be perfect for the office Christmas party at the bowling alley. This is KS 2935, size XL. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good, and more importantly, it's done!

My best friend from high school has been the recipient of many sets of scrubs. And she loves the Peanuts gang. So when I find Peanuts fabric on sale, I get at least enough to make her a scrub shirt. I don't remember where I got this fabric - maybe WM before they got rid of their fabric - but it was cut out for over a year before it was finished (it was supposed to be her birthday present last year - oops!). With the Hawaiian shirt also taking orange serger thread, I decided to finally finish this and get it out of the UFO box, just in time for her pre-birthday visit. Hooray! This is M9123, size S.

Halloween costumes and more!

Things 1&2 gave me no help on Halloween planning until literally a week before Halloween. Argh! And then, they totally wouldn't fall in with my "Thing 1/Thing 2" costume idea. Bummer! Instead, Thing 1 wanted to be a penguin....again....but this year he definitely needed a new size. And Thing 2 decided he would be Batman. Obviously, I already had the penguin costume (S3639). I checked my records, and since I had made size child XS the last time, I decided to make size M this time. But since the hood runs small (or my child's head runs big), I made that a size L. Since I've made the costume before, there were really no surprises here. Although, looking at the picture, I'm not sure that he'll be able to wear this again next year, should he still be in love with penguins....

For Thing 2, I found S3595. He is 4, but the size 3 seemed to run big enough (except that the shirt was quite tight - maybe his potbelly is bigger than I thought, or maybe the fleece wasn't stretchy enough). I made a few changes - I didn't like the applique on it, so I substituted the Batman applique from Make Them Yourself's Reversible Cape. Much better! I also changed the mask to be a full face mask - it made it easier for me to get the effect my DH liked. For the cape, I added two small tabs with heavy duty magnets to fasten the cape, but it didn't work too well. I think the cape was just too long and heavy for the magnets, despite being such a thin interlock. I'll change it out for snaps later.

I also used scraps from a previous blanket to make a cat mat. This is simply two layers of fleece with two layers of batting sandwiched between, then bound with black fleece. We'll see if this is as popular with the kitties as simply curling up on the blankets tends to be!

And in the spirit of getting stuff out of the sewing room and making room on the shelves to get all my fabric off the floor, I made another fleece blanket as a Christmas present. I found this Bugs Bunny fleece on a clearance table and thought it'd be perfect for a friend whose husband loves Looney Tunes. (The backing is black, just like the binding.) Since the fleece is bulky, I took the time to make the blanket now. It's long enough to cover a twin bed with a few inches to spare, and it's the full width of the fleece. Great for snuggling under! Now it's in the gift closet, waiting for a trip in that direction.

Next up: November birthday presents....

Not much to see here....

But I did get three flannel pillowcases done out of stash...Stash that's been around a few years, at that! And for a closer look at the fabric...

Those are for three sisters for Christmas. There was talk of getting musical prints, but then I looked at my shelves and said, "These things need to go first!" So that's what I cut...besides, flannel pillowcases are really nice in winter.

And then I started in on this project:

Scary, isn't it? I tore apart my sewing room to Get Rid of Stuff I Don't Need. Which in turn led me to find UFOs so old I'd forgotten I ever had them! Like this:

Which is being made out of this:

And since it's so cool and is going so well, and since I already had all the strips cut out, I figured it'd be a good "in front of the TV" project. So this one can stay. Two other crochet projects are so close to being finished that I'm keeping them, too. But all the others are going to more worthy finishers. When possible, I'm including the pattern with the project so that someone else can make an informed decision about finishing versus ripping. But really, that's just up to them. Because I can't go on with this giant mess!

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.

New stuff....

So the last time I was at Hobby Lobby, I saw that cotton prints were 30% off, and I found another Robert Kaufman Army print that I liked, so I bought it to make boxers for my dad, with the vague thought of getting them done for Father's Day. Clearly, that did not happen - mainly because I decided that I just had other priorities for Father's Day....such as my husband's new shirt. But these have been done for a week or so, and I just realized that I never showed them off! (S9958, size L)

And here is the pile that was my weekend intentions....which didn't get done, of course! From left to right: 2 Patrick Curved Raglan Seam shirts (one for each Thing), green scrub pants, fabric for a scrub shirt, Thing 1's new shirt, and Thing 2's new shirt.
But at least I finished the scrub pants! This is M9359, size M. Minimal alterations - I skipped the inseam pockets, added a cargo pocket to the right leg for my cell phone or anything else that seems necessary, and used 1/2-inch twill tape for a drawstring instead of elastic and self-fabric. The cargo pocket has a finished size of 7.25 inches wide by 8 inches deep. I placed it with the intent of the top being 12 inches below the top of the waist casing, but I forgot that the casing was for a 1/2-inch drawstring rather than an inch wide elastic. So the pocket is a bit lower than I had wanted. I will wear this another time or two before making the next ones to decide on a better placement.

I made these from symphony broadcloth (JAF) and wore them the day after I finished them. I was concerned that the fabric might be too thin and possibly see-through, but this color at least did not have that problem. It will be interesting to see how well it holds up to repeated washings, but at least for the first wearing, it seems thin enough to be cool in a warm surgery suite but not too thin to be useful. I bought a second color at the same time, so I will definitely make it up soon, and as long as it also wears well, I'll be buying more later on.

Friday Musings....

No pictures today. I finished another scrub shirt, but that will be its own post once I download the picture. And I'm down to hems and waist on a pair of boxers, so that, too, should be coming over the weekend. I cut out another shirt for DH - this time back to the earlier weight of broadcloth. He still hasn't worn the new grey shirt, so I don't know how he'll like that weight, but I know that he likes the weight of the navy one I made during the winter, because he wears it all the time! ;) This one will be burgundy, however, and it will have the buttons that were supposed to be on the navy one - oops!

Otherwise, I'm hoping to get back to work on the next size prototype shirts for the Things. That's getting a bit ridiculous, especially if I'm ever going to actually sew the dragon shirts. So hopefully those next ones will be done this weekend, maybe in time for the Fourth of July party we're going to. And I have a bunch of luggage tags to sew - all the interfacing is already fused, so it should be ready to go. And I cut out another scrub shirt for my friend's husband, but I don't want to start it until I get feedback on the one I just mailed. I used the new neckline binding, and I want to know how he likes that before I do the next one in the same way.

That's about it for now!

Pictures! I finished something!

So just in time for Father's Day dinner (yes, I know I cut it close), I finished this new shirt. For those who are counting, it's The Shirt #4/"Real" Shirt #3. (I say "real" shirt, because DH won't wear the muslin. On the other hand, that crazy loud shirt does a great job of residing in the sewing room to serve as a memory aid for subsequent shirts.)

Here it is in all its grey glory. I used a "cotton blend broadcloth" from Fabric.com, which is a lighter-weight than the previously used broadcloths. I wasn't sure about it, but thought it was worth a try. The seams look very slightly puckered, but otherwise it seems fine, and the test run through the wash revealed that it might not be as prone to wrinkling. And this weight may actually be perfect for summer!

To celebrate finishing the shirt and being off the hook for "important sewing," I decided it was time to finally work on a project I've been considering for awhile and gathered supplies for a few weeks ago: a belt for me! I really don't like the one belt I have, but it was the only one I saw while belt-shopping that I didn't HATE. So....I've been stuck with it. And I have a few pairs of jeans which require a belt. So, without further ado, I present to you my paw-print belt:


I took 1-inch white cotton webbing, fused satin ribbon to one side, extending about five inches to the back side at one end and about eighteen inches to the back side on the other end, then stitched the ribbon down. I then threaded one end (the 5-inch on the back end) through both D-rings and then stitched that end down. Now I have a perfectly adjustable, cute belt to wear to work or wherever. One of my vet friends wants one for herself, and I'm getting excited about finding fun prints to make other belts to coordinate with outfits! These are going to be great Christmas gifts, too!

Nothing to report....

No pictures today, as I have nothing completed and didn't take any "in progress" pictures. I haven't been sewing lately, as I've been sick. Also, I've been trying to work on my research project and start writing my thesis. Lovely.

I have cut out some luggage tags, using this free pattern/tutorial. I have high hopes! These will be gifts, though I will likely keep one or two for use on my next big trip. ;)

I also cut out the next shirt for DH. It is a silver/grey, and he picked out buttons that look somewhat like pewter. I'm hoping to have it done for Father's Day. We'll see...the whole "sick" stuff hasn't been helping. But I'm not on call this weekend, so we have the possibility.

On Memorial Day, thank you....

To all those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom - thank you, from a grateful nation.

Some boy stuff

First up, new PJs. Yeah, I know - it's warm weather and these are not. Tough. They may still fit in the fall, but also, sometimes the boys like wearing warm jammies in the cool AC. I bought the fabric at JAF during a sale on both Snuggle flannel and Sew Classics Knits. I just needed a little retail therapy that day, and Thing 2 especially needs new PJs. I have a decent flannel PJ shirt pattern for Thing 1, but not for Thing 2, so I decided that a solid knit with a fabric applique would do nicely and make it obvious that the items went together.

The pants are KS 3042, size S, and the shirt is KS 2894, size S. I added cuffs because it is PJ shirt. Thing 1 chose the applique for the shirt.

This is KS SFT, size 3T for both. I added two inches in length to the body and sleeves for the shirt, so it should last a long time. Thing 2 also chose his appliques. I used self-fabric for ribbing on both shirts. I simply cut a quarter yard piece off the length before prewashing and put it away for use as ribbing.

This is Fishsticks Designs Patrick Curved Raglan Shirt, sizes 3T and 5T. I cut these out long enough ago that they were supposed to be long-sleeved, but when actually stitching them, I decided to leave off the undersleeves, as I don't necessarily expect these to last into fall. The knits are both thin, so they should be good summer/early fall shirts. I used the tutorial to add a hood to each (since they were supposed to be made much earlier - oops!), and I really like how they turned out.

Also, because these knits were not necessarily behaving nicely, I decided to heavily starch them after I had cut the pieces out. So I made starch in a five gallon bucket and starched each piece by hand, soaking them, wringing them out, and then spreading them on towels to dry. Once they were dry, I pinned and pressed the hems up. I have to say that it made twin-needling the hems almost painless. I will definitely do this again! I didn't starch the hood pieces, because those were being serged together, not hemmed.

I like the hood size on Thing 2 - not huge and floppy, but not tight. I'll have to see how the larger size is when Thing 1 tries his on.

Up next: working on the next sizes of the button-front shirts and maybe pulling out the other Patrick shirts I cut out at the same time as the train ones. These are not hooded and will also be turned into short sleeves.

The weekend's progress....

The scrub jacket is as done as I can make it right now.
As you can see, it is missing its cuffs, but that's because I need to find appropriate colored ribbing for it. I actually purchased some dark pink (fuschia, maybe?) ribbing over the weekend, but The Husband wisely pointed out that it would cause the cuffs to draw the eye, instead of blending in. So instead, I'm on the hunt for some pale pink ribbing, to match the background. I have time - this is a Christmas gift.

And I finished the new lightweight summer pants for the boys. I had just bought the fabric this month, so I'm pretty pleased that it went as intended and didn't become stash. And they are happy with their new pants! This is KS 3042, size S, for Thing 1 and KS SFT, size T3, for Thing 2. Both sizes give a little growth room, still.

And while I am currently working on the new PJs - planets flannel and green interlock - I remembered the project that had been shelved ages ago, waiting for more stuff to serge with green thread. These are Patrick Curved Raglan shirts from Fishsticks Designs. I cut these out so long ago that they were intended to be long-sleeved. I decided to keep the hoods (very thin knit) but eliminate the undersleeves to make these more warm weather friendly. The sleeves have been attached but not topstitched, and the hoods have been constructed. Tomorrow night (I hope!) I will sew up the side seams and attach the hoods. Then they'll be ready to wear!Hmm...forgot a scrub shirt that has been cut out for ages, which was supposed to be finally made when green thread was on the serger. Guess I'll have to pull that out. I'm sure that nothing has been interfaced. We'll see what I do tomorrow night.

The new PJ pants are done, and the shirts are mostly done. Left to do: hem the lengths and applique planets to them. Then they need a run through the wash prior to wearing. That's okay - the train shirts will also need to go through the wash, as the pieces were heavily starched to make them behave better for the hemming.

Yep, another scrub shirt....

Since I was working on the horse scrub shirt for my stressed out friend, I figured that I might as well do two at a time, and I cut out this shirt for another friend. (This, however, really will be kept for the going away time.) Despite doing a food animal internship, this friend is truly a Dog Vet, and in fact I nicknamed her the Dog Vet Intern in my short-lived facebook journal of my adventures. So I thought this fabric would be especially appropriate. (The fabric was originally purchased to be a scrub shirt for our technician, who deals with a lot of the dog breeding, but I can't figure out - without asking, which embarrasses me - whether she doesn't wear the skull scrub shirt I made her because she doesn't like it or because it's the wrong size, so I wasn't going to make another.) Personally, I thought the fabric was kind of hideous in the flat stage, but it's kind of grown on me since it became a scrub shirt. I hope that she will like it!
Again, the neckline is from Kadiddlehopper's tutorial, and I dare you to find the upper pocket. :)

Up next? Still finishing the scrub jacket for my friend - that one just needs hems and cuffs, but I haven't yet gotten cuff fabric - the next sizes of shirts for the monsters, new monster PJs, and new summer pants. I think that's all that I've cut out so far....

A new way to make a scrub shirt....

I have a friend who had a very stressful surgery on Saturday, so I decided that she needed a new scrub shirt to cheer her up. I had just the print in my stash, so I whipped it up Sunday and presented it to her Monday morning, much to her surprise! I used Katie Kadiddlehopper's tutorial for making a "Bound Neckline on Scrubs" and think it looks really nice!

And I totally pattern-matched the pocket:And here's what the whole thing looks like! She loves it and wore it the next day. Nothing more gratifying than that, is there? No question of whether she liked it. :)

I have another scrub shirt coming up, and I just cut out the next shirt sizes for Things 1&2. We'll see how quickly those work up. And DH is going to get his next shirt soon, too. I think this one will be grey.

Second monster shirt!

This size 2 shirt fits almost 4-year-old DS#2 pretty well. I think he even has some growth room! Still, since I need to make another prototype for DS#1, I will make the size 3 for DS#2 and compare the two fits before cutting the dragon fabric. This shirt was also made the same way as the airplane shirt, substituting black bias tape for white. DS#2 loves it - told me it was "cool" and "awesome" - and I have to say that it looks pretty good on him! I did use 4 buttons instead of 3, because I have no delusions that these shirts will ever be tucked in. :)

Birthday shirt!

I made my boy a shirt! And it (mostly!) fits. And he likes it. A good deal all around, though I will admit to wishing I'd used a pattern with a back yoke, so that I could more easily enclose the raw seams of the collar. Oh, well - I made it work. The inner facings are finished with bias tape (white), and the armhole seams are as well. The shoulders and side seams are french seams, so there are no raw seams in this garment. Woohoo!

Unfortunately, it is bordering on too small, so the next attempt will not yet be the dragon fabric. Instead, I'll try size 5 in another stash fabric that DS#1 picked out.

Next up!

So I'm working on the shirts for the boys, but instead of using the dragon fabric, I'm testing the pattern/sizing out with fabric that I can get more of (instead of the dragon fabric that was the last on the bolt....). So DS#1 is getting airplane fabric, and DS#2 is getting wild guitar fabric. (I liked both, bought both without boys in tow, and then let DS#1 take first pick because his birthday is next week.)

Pictures to follow, and hopefully I can at least get the airplanes one done by Thursday!

Scrub shirt marathon complete....

Well, mostly, anyway. Though technically, the other scrub item I was working on was a scrub jacket, so the scrub shirt marathon is complete. But I digress....First up, the masterpiece, the Beatles scrub shirt!


I think it turned out really well. And check out the awesomeness that it the matched pocket! Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the pocket was standing slightly away from the shirt when I took the picture, so this doesn't do it justice. From a small distance, you really can't see the pocket.My friend was super excited to get it - not the least because she had given up that I'd ever actually make it. She was thinking that the fabric would be willed back to her. :) It was a great surprise.

Next up, Taz, for my friend's husband:

Then Suzy's Zoo, for my mom:

Followed by McDs, for my friend. This one will probably go into the mail Monday as a Nurses' Day gift. It'll make her laugh. :)

All the scrub shirts are M9123, except Taz, which is M2834 (same thing, but bigger size).