dinosaur costume (mccall 2335)

Xavier's Halloween costume three years ago was a dinosaur costume!  He picked it out, and chose the colors, (which I loved because it's neutral, and I can add a bow to it, if a little girl wants to wear it in the future.)

I used McCall's #2335.  It was a lot of stuffing and pieces, but it was simple enough for a basic sewer, if you're willing to take your time.

I loved that the feet are attached to the bottom of the legs, and that it has optional gloves.

I also made a pink version of this very costume the same year for a neighbor girl who was very into dinosaurs.  I think they both turned out adorable!!

You could also add wings and not put the scales on the hat to turn this pattern into a dragon, if that's what you wanted.

arrrrrrgh, mateys! (mccall's 4952)

Two years ago, Samuel wanted to be a pirate.  "That sounds easy," I thought . . . and for the most part, it was.

Since I don't like to just wing it, I used pattern #4952 from McCall's, and the shirt took me three times as long as I thought it would because it had what felt like a thousand pieces to make up the collar, facing, etc.

In the end, I'm always glad that I put in the time because the shirt was also a much higher quality than I thought it was going to be, and Samuel was a pretty proud pirate.

ARRRGH!

mama's skirt (mccall's 5631)

I have been talking about the things I'm making for a care package to be sent to Texas for the arrival of my best friend's final baby.  The big sisters are getting paper-sewn notebooks with crayon rolls, the baby will be getting the rag tag baby quilt, and now for mom . . .

I believe every woman who has a baby needs something cute to wear.  Not necessarily home from the hospital, but when she gets back to her old shape (or close, anyway.)  My cute friend usually takes a mere six weeks to get back into her old jeans,--yes, you may all puke now--so by the time she's ready to take her baby out amongst people, she should look snazzy in this little number!

The final gift is for dad, and will not be sewn. (I know, you're disappointed.)  Dad is going to get a cd of lively music to keep him awake during the morning commute after the new baby has kept him up all night.

With three weeks until the due date, all these surprises will be sent off tomorrow . . . not a moment too soon!

a (very) full skirt (mccall's 5631)

Since the rule is that you can't wear white until after Memorial Day, I thought it appropriate to make myself a white skirt, and post about it on Memorial weekend. I wanted something full and fun, so I chose McCall's 5631.

I chose this view (maybe because I wanted white, and maybe because I liked the hem line on it, but it was this view nonetheless:)

I used a white on white calico print from JoAnn's for my fabric. Since it was white, I decided to add a lining, which the pattern does not call for . . . after all, I want what is under the skirt to be left to the imagination! I also added four inches to the length, but that is because of my freakishly long legs. (Finished length on the pattern is 23".)

The sewing itself was not that difficult, but more time consuming than it originally appeared. The pattern asks you to pleat the main fabric, and then gather it to fit the waistband. Can you just hear the skirt getting fuller and fuller by the second?

And this is the final product. Fuller than the picture on the front of the pattern, but still more or less what I expected. I like it, but I'm not as in love as I wanted to be.

I do, however want to try it again in a darker fabric so that I don't feel the need to line it, and see what that does to the volume.

Now I have a conundrum that maybe someone out there can help me solve:

To this point, I have never owned a white skirt. There are four very good reasons for that, and they are ages 6, 5, 2, and 8 months! It seems that any time I try to wear anything white, my freshly bathed children appear before me looking like this, wanting hugs and kisses and wiping their faces all over my clothing:

I have seen other mothers wearing white, and I have to ask myself whether their children just never get dirty, or white is more forgiving than I'm giving it credit? Any thoughts?

attractively bunchy (mccall's 6034)

My friend, Sarah of Sew Saucy turned me onto leggings last year, and I have fallen hard for them. For the Disneyland trip, I wanted to look cute, so I decided to attempt sewing something for myself again. I picked out this pattern, but decided it needed a few alterations, so here's what I did:



I wanted the main body for view A:

except with the collar/sleeve line from view B:

with the band on the bottom of view C (I have a thing about having my bum covered while wearing leggings:)

I've got to be honest. The alterations were not easy, and I don't even know how I would go about a tutorial for them, or even duplicating them, but I love the end result!

**One word of warning for view A . . . there are pleats in the back which tend to accentuate a girl's rear end. I wasn't that worried about it since I have kind of a flat rear end, but it would definitely be something to be aware of should you decide to make that top.**