Sewing For The Boy

First off, this is so NOT a tutorial post - I will leave that to the awesome sewing bloggers I've found through Pinterest ( oh yea, I'm on Pinterest now! ). This is more of a hey! Look what I can do post, with a few pictures along the way. See, since acquiring myself a sewing machine my interest in sewing and creating has really taken off, but it occurred to me that I'd only made things for Tully, and my gorgeous boy was kind of missing out on Mummy's creative attention. One day he asked me to make him a bunting for his room, similar to the next I had done for Tully. So this is what Flynn got:

                                         

His verdict? ' Mum, that's amazing! '.... pretty high praise indeed. So I decided I wanted to make something else for him. I'd been making Tully some cute skirts and have pinned a whole heap of gorgeous dresses for her, but there isn't a lot out there for boys. But the one thing I was pretty sure I could do, and he actually need? Pyjamas! So I Googled and searched Pinterest, read some tutorials and got to it!

I traced around a pair of shorts that fit him ( folded in half ) to make a basic pattern on some newspaper. Then I pinned on my folded fabric and cut so I had four pieces. Technically the two back pieces should be slightly bigger than the front - to accommodate the booty! - but he's a toddler.... he doesn't have a big bottom, so I just made each piece the same. I was aiming to make them roomy anyway so he could be comfy while he slept. It was basically sew front to front and back to back at inner seam, new front piece to back piece at crotch and then sew up the sides, creating an elastic waistband to finish. This is what I ended up with:

I cut a rectangular patch of the same material an sewed on the front of a $3 T-shirt from Big W so that he'd have a matching top for his new jammies, then when it was bath and bedtime he got his little present from Mum. What do you think?

Me Sew Crazy

So I mentioned that I'd taking up sewing as a hobby, didn't I? I started out wanting to make some furnishings for Tullys room ( which I posted about here : http://www.amywellsblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/a-crafty-promise.html ). Then when I was finished her room my darling Flynn asked if I would make him something, so I made him a bunting to go above his bed aswell, with his name on it in nice, bright, boy-flavoured fabric. But what to do with the left overs?

I thought - hell a little baby skirt couldn't be too hard, could it? So I thought on it a while, cruised the net for some tutorials and then gave it a go.... and this is what I came up with:

That's my adorable little pumpkin modelling the very first skirt I made her! ( I hand sewed the headband too ). The fit was a little snug but only because I didn't have quite the width of fabric that would have been suitable but I was stoked with how cute it looked, and how easy it was to make. So I made another one, in a different fabric with a bit more room for those bunched up baby legs.... and I think Tully liked it:

Woo hoo, cutie petutie! It was a much better fit and got her a few compliments the day she wore it, which has given me the confidence to try a bit more. So far I've tried a " pillowcase" dress - the first one was a bit snug so I redrew my pattern a bit bigger and made another one ( photos to come on a day that's warm enough to wear it ) and have bought fabric to try a simple pinafore style dress and some PJs for Flynn.

Maybe sewing/dressmaking is a bit old fashioned - its certainly not as hipster trendy as knitting! - but for right now its fulfilling a "creative " side of me I had forgot existed....