MADE Kid Shorts Pattern (Version 2)

Back in July, I purchased the MADE Kid Shorts Pattern after seeing it light up the blog-o-sphere.* I grabbed some light blue denim from my stash, some pink and white striped seersucker bias tape and set to work. Did I mention this was the night before a trip to Utah? Yeah, I was up all night sewing that first pair. Totally worth it.

please excuse the lack of feet on Miss E - taking full body shots of this kid is hard!

These shorts are Miss E's favorite. Since that first pair, I've made two others, with two more in the works. Thanks to mild California winters (can we even call them winters when it's 80 in November?), she is still wearing the heck out of these shorts. Our favorite combo is the racer short with the front pockets. There is something so magical about a pocket with a fun lining for Miss E and I am in love with the curved hem of the racer short. Miss E is a tall drink of water, so I added 1.5" to the size 5 girls' pattern.  The length addition makes for a nice modest length for Kindergarten playground shenanigans.

For this particular pair, I cut out up an old 90s romper. Back when my sister and I were kids, matching rompers were all the rage. We waited eagerly to wear this particular pair to pick our parents up at the airport, from a long trip to London. I felt like such a cool old kid in that peter pan laced collar and balloon panted romper.

Miss E found my sister's when my parents were moving and fell in love. Sadly, it was far too short for her. I'm not sure I would have let her out of the house, even if it had. There was, however, enough fabric in those voluminous pants, to make a pair of shorts. Out came the pink and white bias tape and in an hour, we had an adorable pair of modern shorts. Have I mentioned how in love I am with a vintage floral paired with a striped seersucker?

Anyways, I have to say these are my favorite pair of Kid Shorts yet. Nostalgia and function colliding makes my heart all fluttery. I am such a sucker for re-purposing fabrics and items from my youth.

As far as the pattern goes, it's a simple, beginner pattern, that includes a bevy of sizes. My first pair took a few hours to make, as the directions are online and I just couldn't be bothered to read online while I sewed. Subsequent pairs have come together in an hour, after I took the time to read the directions. Fancy that, right? My only complaint is that I had to search for the seam allowance. (It wasn't easy for me to find in the online directions) For a digital download, a seam allowance marked on the cutting lines would be more convenient. Other than that, this pattern is well worth the moolah.

*These opinions are completely my own. I was not asked to review nor compensated for them in any way.

Romper part duex

A few weeks later and I have images of Geth wearing the romper I made. I am nothing if not consistent in my delayed blogging.

My parents' home has simply lovely lighting. When they move and I loose the opportunity to use the buttery afternoon glow, my heart will break a little. The People's Public of California (bless you Tina Fey) is not the more retirement friendly place and they are looking for greener pastures on the other side of the Sierra Nevadas. In all honesty, my heart will break more than a little when they are more than a mere twenty minutes away.

Back to the romper! Quickly, this piece has become a favorite - the first item I grab for when the laumdry is clean, after the muslin baby blankets. Rompers have a lovely ease. One outfit, one set of snaps. So simple to dress baby!

 For the second romper, I want to add in a gusset (if you look closely, you can see the gaping snap tape). Soon that other romper will be in rotation, I hope.

Stumped

Images from Mini Boden

Infant size boys clothes have stumped me for a while now. Slapping an iron-on on a onsie is easy enough. Yet not enough for a seamstress. With baby girl fashions, I've been able to create new styles and outfits I couldn't find in stores. Baby boy fashions are more basic: shirt & pants. Easy items to find well made in the ready-to-wear market.

Then I had an epiphany: don't re-invent the wheel.

Instead of coming up with original designs, I pulled out the staples from Geth's wardrobe. Drafting patterns from rompers, pants, and onsies, I've come to the realization that boys clothes are about simplicity and fit. Now, those two goals I can achieve!

Geth is a long and lean baby, with a long torso and shorter legs. Any standard pattern needs a bit of tweaking to fit him perfectly. My first romper draft needs a few tweaks, still: ie, a gusset in the crotch, an inch out of the sides. Also needed is a snap machine. I am finding snap tape to be an expensive headache I'd rather avoid.

Cute boy knits are proving elusive, so I've descended on our DI pile like a vulture. The Hubs has discarded quite a few polos which are made of awesome knits. I snatched my two favorite polos and cut out a romper from each. One shirt easily yields one romper, while shirts with out a placket would yield two. Only one romper has been completed, while the other lies in the pandemonium of my sewing room.

My mother gifted her sewing center, made my father back in the 70s, to me last week. A beautiful piece of practical and functional furniture, it's arrival has caused an explosion of fabric and crafting debris in my room. An explosion compounded by my purchase of comic book boards, which I am using to create miniature bolts. (inspired by Craftiness is Not Optional) When the dust settles and organization reigns once again, I plan to add onsie and shorts to the list of patterns to draft up.

Two Months & a Baby Blessing

Geth is now two months old. I feel like one day I was pregnant, the next I had a baby and now, day three, he's two months old. As my sister-in-law remarked today, "all of this" happened so quickly. In fact, I think all of 2012 happened in a blink of an eye!

Geth, the most smiley baby ever, was blessed last week. It was a beautiful day, filled with our wonderful family. Somehow, we managed to fit all 35 of them into our backyard! Our (1800 sq ft) home was filled to the brim with love.

Our first family photo since Geth's arrival

Poor baby ended up being too big for the blessing outfit I made him. Grandma to the rescue! She ran to the Janie and Jack outlet near her home and found this adorable outfit that fit. I hate to admit this, but I liked it better than what I made. That story, in full, is another post for another day!

Easter

Hmm, I think I should rename this blog "MIA" or "It's been a while", with how frequently I post. Oh well.

Easter 2013 was very low key and wonderful this year.

I didn't even attempt to make Easter outfits. I wore a dress that my mother gave me, E's dress was purchased at Costco, and Geth's was a simple onesie with a tie ironed on (the only thing I made). 

Oh, I never mentioned that I had the baby? Oops.

on my way to be induced

Well, I did.

Geth (his nickname/initials) was born three weeks early in a whirlwind of hospital stays and an insanely fast emergency induction. I developed a mild case of preeclampsia at 36 weeks. Mild or not, preeclampsia means induction in the last few weeks of gestation. So after three hours of induced labor (half the time of my first), our sweet baby boy arrived.

At nearly two months old, he is a perfect baby and we are all in love. I'm just now getting back into the swing of life, but happy as can be.

Hopefully that will mean more blogging, but we know how good I am about that.