BOY PANTS

I {heart} this site. No really. The fact that this wonderful woman puts these tutorials up for all us other sewers for no charge is just amazing! There are a few other patterns on her sight that she does charge for so I know she's getting some of her hard work paid for.
Dana (I feel like I know her) has so many wonderful (and not to mention super easy to use) tutorials on kids clothing. Basic pants (which I've made here), dresses, sweaters, vests, t-shirts, UGH, just go check her out! She's amazing!

Here's a little about these pants.

My mom brought me this fabric a few months ago. Yes, that's a dachshund on skis wearing a coat and hat printed with cats, you're not hallucinating. She insisted that if anyone knew what to do with it, I did.

I didn't.

That's why it's been a few months.

THEN. It happened.

I finally had a thought.

I know, I love the gut, too.

I was getting my son dressed in the pants I made him from Dana's tutorial
a few weeks ago and thought That's it! Pajama Pants!

The dog fabric is a fleece lined polyester. Think Adidas track suit. From the seventies. In fact, when I was ironing, I could smell my grandmother's house.

Ok, so I used her tutorial, added a drawstring instead of elastic and, voila!

More Grant's pants!!!

Happy New Year!

A little late, but it's the effort that counts, right?
I am officially re-open for business and ready to accept some major orders!!!
My Etsy shop is still under construction, but hopefully this year it will have it's grand opening! :)
I am also posting a new page on this blog with pictures of all my "ready to ship" products. If you can not wait the usual 10-15 days for shipping, pick from an adorable hat that's ready to ship!
I hope everyone's Holiday season was filled with joy! We saw a lot of family that we haven't seen, some in over 6 years! I have a lot of (37) cousins, and staying in touch is difficult, so any opportunity to see each other is always a great time!
Gotta get crafting!!!

here's a sneak preview...

Procrastination...

Whenever I find my schedule packed with things I absolutely need to get done within a timeline, I ALWAYS find other things to do. For instance dishes and laundry will be piled high while I plow through some hats like some sweat shop worker! Unbelievable.

So, while you and yours aren't getting your gifts from me on time, my children will be receiving their new (not really needed) flannel personalized pillow cases! Sorry!

I had some fun through a stressful week though, and that's all that matters, right?

Ethan helped me pick out the fabric (from my stash) and we went to town.
Grant's wasn't hard at all, since that boy is infatuated with monkeys! Let's hope he's not the guy who grows up and owns a gorilla that ends up hurting people... :O

Ethan's is Shark Flannel with his name done with a pair of old desert cami's Paul "donated" to me.

Please don't think I left Hannah out. She received a flannel pillowcase 2 years ago from Grandma that had her name on it, and she sleeps on it every night. That's where I got the idea to make the boys. Though she may be getting a new one, as she kept asking, "Where's my name? Are you doing my name??"
:)

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!!

Children's Tote Tutorial

This little bag is great for toddlers and preschoolers. They love carrying around all their "important" things!

Let's Get Started!!!
First cut all the fabric out...obviously.

Pin sides to front, right sides facing. serge or sew a 3/8" seam allowance stopping before end leaving a 3/8 gap at bottom. Copy all these same steps for lining as well.

your bottom, sides, and front will need to make a mitered corner so be sure to stop early

Next pin the bottom, right sides facing, to the top panel.

Be sure not to catch the side panels while sewing on the bottom, I folded mine over to avoid it.

If you're not surging, I suggest going over the raw edge with a zigzag to avoid fraying.

Remember little hands are hard on things, and you want to be able to chuck this thing in the wash when he spills a cup of milk on it at the dinner table cause he's not paying attention and you've told him a million times...ugh, I digress. :)

Unfold your four pieces and add the last panel, the back. With right sides pinned, sew. Don't forget about that mitered corner allowance!

Your bag when laid flat should look like a really fat 'T'. 

Now it's time to make this thing look like a bag! Fold it over so the end of the side panel matches up with the side of the bottom panel.

Do this with the other side, and you will see it makes a sort of "house shape".

Don't forget to copy all these steps with your lining.

After that, match up the long sides of the side panels to the sides of the back panel, making the shape of the bag, right sides together pin and sew.

Your bag should look like this so far...Here is what my lining looked like all sewed together with the extra heavy duty interfacing. I wanted this double as a bin when it's not being carried around, this heavy duty interfacing is great, it stand up all on it's own, great for "clean up time"!

Open your main fabric bag and press all seams

Cut {2} pieces belting material or folded felt for handles. 20" each.

Pin handles onto lining and/or interfacing and tack down. I used a 3 in one straight stitch, it's not going anywhere! The kids could whip this puppy around all day and that handle is not coming off! :)

Since this is a {very late} birthday gift, I went ahead and appliqued his initial onto the main fabric before I pinned and top stitched.

Then, form your hem by folding down your fabric, lining up the seams as well as you can, and pinning all the way around the bag. When you top stitch you will also catch those handles again so they REALLY aren't budging!

Play around a bit, too. Try adding two or three top stitches to give it a more textured look. Or if this is for a girl, maybe try out one of your decorative stitches!? Have fun!

I'm hoping he'll have as much fun loading this bag up as I had making it! It was very easy and I think it turned out wonderful!
Have fun!! Feel free to leave questions in the comments!