Train PJs

I'm afraid this post isn't going to be earth shattering, but I wanted to record the info for my own purposes. For some reason, I can never remember which patterns for PJs I like and what sizes I have used! It's a problem. Anyway, I finally got a chance to do some sewing, and the boys need PJs.

I started with Duncan, as his need was the greatest. The shirt is a blank from Walmart that I added the diesel engine to with flocked HTV, It's fun and fuzzy. For the pants, I used the Goodnight Sweetheart pants pattern from the Sewing for Boys book. I've been using it successfully for years, but Duncan is in the largest size now, so we'll be retiring it soon. Sad day. I did have to shorten it significantly. I took 3 inches off the length, and it's still got some grow length.

He likes them very much because TRAINS. The fabric is quilting cotton from Fabric.com. Not my favorite choice, but train printed fabric is difficult to find in anything else.

Logan was a wee bit trickier. He prefers shorts and short sleeved tees for his PJs. All the stores around here have switched over to winter stock, so long sleeves are all that are on the shelves. So, the shirt is mommy-made.

I was a little apprehensive about this, actually. I know, just a tee shirt, but sizing for Logan has been really challenging me lately. He's getting into pre-teen sizing, and I don't have the same intuitive feel for that as I do for children's sizing. The last tee I made him was on the small side, and I didn't want that to happen again. After some discussion with the ladies in my Ottobre sewing yahoo group (Thank you, ladies!!) I decided to go with the Dirt tee from the 01/2015 issue of the magazine, as the photo of the shirt looks on the looser fit side. He falls pretty squarely into the measurements for a 148, but after also comparing a few of his favorite tees with the pattern, I ended up sewing the next size up.

He loves the way it fits, so yay! I think the neckline is a bit wide, but since it's a PJ top, I'm not too fussed about it. If I were making it for him to wear to school, I would have made a band for the neckline, rather than the narrow binding, and probably brought in the neckline 1/2 inch or so. The fit through the body is just the way he likes it though, so win! He likes the shorts very much too, and declares he is happy with his PJs.

The shorts are from the 06/2011 - the Green Check boxers. I went with the same size in the boxers as the tee, but of course, cut the waist elastic to Logan's actual waist measurement, which was 25 inches. I skipped the fly as Logan will never use it, and added a tiny bit of topstiching to the side seams, While Logan was wearing them last night, he happened to need a pocket and I was informed that future PJs needed pockets. Ok, then. The boxers are long - coming to below his knee - but he says he prefers them that way, so that was a win.

I'm happy to have a PJs formula for the boys that will work for now, and I have plenty more train fabric to work with, so there will be more of these forthcoming.

Learning about machine embroidery

Nightgowns are an awesome project for practicing my machine embroidery. So, when my SIL mentioned that my niece Emma was growing out of her PJs, I quick made her up a nightgown. Emma has an obsession with Batman, but most Batman clothing is made for boys. There is definitely a lack of dresses and nightgowns with a Batman theme.

We'll just take care of that, shall we? Girlie batman nightgown? Check. I used an applique design from Etsy. You can find it here. I was pleased with the design itself. I scaled it up 130%, and it performed well and was easy to stitch out. I added Emma's name to the design, just for fun.

The nightgown itself is straightforward. It's from the 06/2009 issue of Ottobre and I've made it for both Myra and Emma before, so I know it's a winner. Mostly, this post is to talk about the machine embroidery/applique. I did some dumb things that I don't want to forget...

Here is a close up of the final stitch out. The design is very simple - just a two layer applique, surrounded with heavy satin stitching. The name stitches out last, so it's only one thread change. Easy peasy. I even did a test stitch for some practice and discovered that you want to get REALLY close to the basting stitches when you trim the applique. Here was my big oopsie though - see the lower point assymetry? It's not obvious unless I point it out, so I'm not stressing it, but here is how it happened. For this, I used a medium weight tear away stabilizer in the hoop, with the fabric glue basted to the stabilizer but not hooped. This worked great for the practice stitch out, and I love how easy it is to get the knit fabric smooth and flat without bubbling. The problem here was that all the stitching (two rounds of basting plus the satin stitching) caused the tearaway stabilizer to separate, which made the fabric shift since it wasn't hooped. Fortunately, I caught it quickly and was able to spray baste the fabric back onto the stabilizer, so no harm done. But I think for the future I'll either stick with cut-away, or make sure that sucker is really glued down.

Tearaway stabilizer does give a very neat look on the reverse though. And I like that the finished item retains the flexibility of the knit.

It's not perfect, but I do think it turned out ridiculously cute and I know Emma will love it. I learned a ton making it, so overall - win! So, all you veteran embroiderers out there - any advice? What do you wish someone had told you when you first started out?

Ottobre 06/2015-31 nightgown

The most exciting new feature (among many exciting features!!) of my new machine is that she embroiders. I've been wishing for an embroidery machine for years, and I am so excited to finally have one. It's going to be so fun to encorporate embroidery into my sewing. I decided to start small.

Well, child sized anyway. Myra needed a new nightgown anyway, so I decided to add a teeny bit of embellishment. Can you see the butterfly resting on a rainbow?

Here is a better view. I chose a more open, sketch-like design in hopes that it would play nice with the knit. I probably should have gone with a more stable fabric for my first project, but knits are what I sew. I want to be comfortable embroidering them. I'm still working on that...

The pattern is from the most recent issue of Ottobre, 06/2015, design #31. I sewed Myra a straight size 122 and it is a perfect fit. I am trying to wrap my brain around the fact that she is a size 122. When did that happen??? It's a very simple style - back and front are the same except for the neckline and the sleeves are short, gathered and puffed. I did all the binding with the coverstitch binder, so this was a super quick project.

The fabric is a very soft printed jersey by Hilco. I got it from the Kitschy Coo shop. The binding is an interlock I had in the stash, I suspect it is Chez Ami. It's a perfect match for the hot pink elements in the print.

To be honest, I was a little loath to use this fabric for a nightgown. It's a bit pricey (although worth it for the quality), so I lean toward using it in garments that will be seen, but it's so soft and snuggly it really is perfect for nightwear too.

Sleepy girl is sleepy and comfy in her new nightgown.

Pajamapalooza 2015

I took over 100 pictures. And that was the best one...

It seems like every year my kids all need PJs at once. You'd think I could manage to plan for this better, but every year it seems like I am making 12 or so sets of PJs. At least this year it was just the boys.

Sort of. Myra has a collection of nightgowns that I made her several months ago. They all still fit and she loves them, but a friend of hers gave her these fleece pants, and she needed a top to go with them.

It turns out to be sort of fortuitous actually. I've been wanting to make this pattern (Ottobre 06/2010-18) for her since the magazine came out. In 2010. I even bought this fabric with this very pattern in mind. In 2010. I was so on the ball about it in fact, that this is the largest size the pattern is drafted in. And when I got the magazine she was too small for the smallest size. Seriously, how does that even happen?!

Since I had waited until the last possible moment to make this, I decided to go all out with the topstitching. I did a line of stitching on either side of each seam, with the thread color contrasting the fabric. Myra loves it. And it wasn't as hard to do as it looks. I just threaded my coverstitch with the two colors in either needle. This pic also show the cool fabric. It is a knit double cloth. The pink layer is an athletic mesh which is bonded to the green jersey layer. The green shows through the holes in the mesh, and the pink bonding stitches show on the green side. It's a very neat effect.

Duncan's PJs are extremely basic. The pants are one piece pants adapted from Sewing for Boys. The shirt is long sleeve, cuffed sleeve from Ottobre. I honestly can't remember which one it is, but there is one in nearly every issue.

He likes them, and I made 3 sets, so I busted a ton of stashed flannel and knit scraps on these. Total win.

And last but not least we have Logan. Logan decided recently that he wanted to change PJ styles. His past pajamas have been long sleeve and long pants, both made of flannel. He told me a few weeks ago that these were too hot (note: It was snowing at the time.) and that he wanted short sleeve tee shirts and shorts for sleeping. So, here we go. This is set #1, made with Ottobre 03/2013-23/39 and 06/2011-37. 

I've made him two sets so far, and he's very happy with both. You can see the second set in the top picture. Those two sets were random stashbusted fabrics, but I find that the stash is very low on older boy friendly knits, so I ordered a few, and then I'll make more. You can never have too many comfy PJs.

Pajama Party Time!

One of the funny things about doll collecting is the dichotomy between preserving the condition of your dolls and also being able to display and enjoy them. Clothing is one of the places where this particularly becomes a problem.

The vinyl that many dolls are made of has a tendency to stain, particularly when left in contact with dark colored clothing or shoes. So, in order to preserve a doll's coloring, she should be stored in a way that prevents contact with dark colored fabric or leather. Some collectors store their dolls nude, but I like to see my dolls, so I decided to make them some clothing that would be cute, but safe to store them in.

Light colored PJs seemed like the perfect compromise! I thought it would be fun for the J-dolls to have a little slumber party. I recently got the book Dolly Bureau, Volume 2, which includes patterns for Momoko and 10.5 inch dolls. It's a good place to start for these petite girls.

But even before I acquired Dolly Bureau, my friend Kristine sent me a Skipper pattern (Simplicity 5861), which actually is an excellent fit for my J-dolls with only minor length adjustments! So I made a few pairs of comfy jersey knit pants for the girls to wear with their handknit sweaters.

Adeline thinks her soft pink wool sweater and lounge pants are perfect for a PJ party. I agree.

Aria is also wearing Simplicity 5861 pants, made shorts length. The fabric is a reclaimed baby shirt that had a cute lettuce edge hem. I used the lettuce edge for the shorts hem. The top is from the Dolly Bureau book. It's sized for Momoko, so it's a bit big in the shoulders for Aria, but fits her well otherwise. It is also made with the reclaimed baby shirt, trimmed with baby rick rack and stretch lace.

After Aria's outfit, I still had a sleeve left of the baby shirt. I decided to make Talulah a simple tube dress. I trimmed the bodice with wide stretch lace and inserted elastic at the upper edge and waist. The hem was cut on the shirt's lettuce edge hem.

Next up is Marti's baby doll dress. It is also from Dolly Bureau. This pattern is labelled 1:6 scale doll, but is modeled in the book on a baby doll BJD, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the sizing. I thought it might be a bit big. The neckline gapes a little on Marti, but it's still pretty sweet.

The pattern includes bloomers, which just escalated the sweet factor off the scale. The fabric is a handkerchief weight linen from my stash. I love the texture it has.

The final outfit is Christa's two piece set. Again from Dolly Bureau, these pieces are sized for 10.5 inch "super skinny" dolls like Monster High and Ever After High. While the height is right for my girls, J-dolls are bustier than MH/EAH, so I made these pieces out of knit to take advantage of the negative ease. The robe is a cheetah print french terry. It doesn't have a ton of stretch, so it's a good thing Christa's hands are removable or she'd never be able to get it on.

Under the robe, Christa wears a knit tank dress. This is my favorite piece of the collection. I love the way it fits her and the cute ribbon detail on the bib front makes me happy.

I'm do happy that the girls have cute clothes that I can safely store and display them in. They seem to be enjoying themselves.

Now if only Christa would stop texting her boyfriend...

Goodnight Sweetheart PJs: Dr. Suess style

Duncan has lately been busting out of his old PJs. Like, literally his toes poke out of holes in the footies.

I know.  And for some reason, there aren't any hand me down PJs in his size right now. Fortunately, it's Kids Clothes Week! Time for new ones!

They're a little large at the moment, but I know they won't be for long. He's growing up so fast. At least I can keep him in crazy printed PJs for a little longer.

The pattern I used is from the book, Sewing for Boys. It is the Goodnight Sweetheart PJs, which feature an external neckline facing with piping, button (or in this case, snap) closure and a shaped neckline. The pants are basic, but the pattern includes the option of cuffs and a fly opening.

I really LOVE the piping detail on the facing. It makes it look very professional, but it also makes edge finishing the facing super easy to do. I used white piping for this set. I originally thought red would be fun, but the red piping I had was just a touch too light, while the red snaps in stash were a perfect match. So, I went with white. It's more subtle, but I like it.

The fabric is a super soft flannel by Michael Miller. It was part of my very first Tennessee fabric purchase. I bought it at a local quilt shop, Tennessee Quilts. It is seriously fantastic quality, which is good. Dunc is hard on his clothes.

Despite the tough guy exterior, a cozy set of flannel PJs makes every guy happy.

Peek-a-boo!

McCalls 658: Sleepytime for Barbie

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been doing a lot of sewing for this girl and her friends lately. I don't know why, but every time I head into my sewing room, intending to make something for an actual human, I just haven't been inspired. My mojo is slumping big time, but I'm still enjoying sewing tiny things, so that's what I'm doing. I hope you don't mind my occasional dip into Barbie and Midge's fantasy world.

I think one of the appeals of sewing for fashion dolls is that I can make things that have no place in my real life.

Bias cut satin negligee and dressing gown? Yes, please! If I tried swanning about it this, I'd trip over it, or run the feathers through a mess.

But I think it suits Midge. The golden satin goes beautifully with her blue eyes and red hair.

Both pieces of the ensemble are sewn from McCalls 658. The fabric and lace trim are from a camisole that has been in my refashion pile for at least 5 years. So glad to finally find a use for it! And I reused the bias tube cami straps, so I didn't have to make my own.

The only change I made to the pattern was to take in the bodice about 1/2 inch. I wanted a nice snug fit. I also made a little sleep mask. Poor Midge doesn't have functioning eyelids. Tragic.

The dressing gown really makes the look though. All those feathers, framing her face and figure - I love it. It brings back old Hollywood glamour for me.

I did end up taking in the gown significantly at center back. I added a seam there for shaping, and took 1 1/4 inch out of the seam. Yowza! It was seriously oversized. The shoulders were very wide, and despite having a nice tailored sleeve cap, they looked sloppy. I also reshaped the neckline to fit the new back width.

What a lovely way to start the day!