Celebrate the Boy: Raglan Tee

Posted on March 11, 2013 by oliver's fancy

I had so many other projects to get to last week that I didn’t get to do any more boy projects…Boo! But the celebration doesn’t end until tonight so this last project is coming in right on time.

Somehow, I blinked and all of Oliver’s tees are too short! Guess he had a growth spurt overnight. Thankfully, I have quite a few old tees of mine and the hubs set aside to reinvent as Little Man tees. I really wanted to get a couple made today but it took longer than I anticipated to make the first one since I had to trace a new pattern size. I made the Raw-Edged Raglan tee from Sewing for Boys. (Same as this previous tee.) This time I made the size 2/3. The shirt is a teensy bit big but that gives him some room to grow. I had some problems with the collar being too small last time I made this tee, and while this one fits fine, it turned out just a bit wonky. Not bad enough to make me redo it, but a little off. However for a knit-sewing novice, I am fairly proud of how well I did overall. 🙂

Fabric used: The Blue and White stripe is from one of my old tees and the yellow cuffs and collar are from one of Ian’s. I was inspired to add the yellow accents after I saw some of the cool color pops in the Flickr group. Hopefully, I pulled it off ok. Hubs isn’t too sold on it, but I like it. Plus doesn’t this look great with his new skinny pants? (thank you Old Navy clearance!) And check out the other cool color pop- his orange diaper…hey cloth CAN be cool. 🙂

Originally, I had a yellow cuff at the bottom of the shirt as well, but it made the shirt too long and baggy (t-shirt dress, anyone?). I cut off the border and took the sides of the shirt in about 1/4 inch each to make the tee more slim-fit while still giving some ease for growing room. It’s starting to warm up down here but the days still have a chill so these lightweight long sleeve tees are perfect for this weather! Hopefully I will have time to make a few more soon!

By the way, the wagon was a gift from a friend and he absolutely loves it! I had a hard time getting any shots in focus because he was pushing it (running at high speed) all over the yard. He thought it was funny to chase after me and “get” me with his wagon…Glad for some sun and a chance to work off some energy outdoors!

Celebrate the Boy 2013: Update #1

Posted on February 27, 2013 by oliver's fancy

In the midst of all the crazy activity going on over here getting ready to move in to my shop booth on Saturday, I decided to take a little break yesterday to do some sewing for my boys. It is Celebrate the Boy week after all, and I needed a creative break.

First off, a super quick and easy project- some fabric belts. Oliver has been given quite a few pair of pants and most of them fall right off his skinny little waist- even wearing his cloth diapers! Looks like I have a tall and skinny kid…. just like his daddy. 🙂 I have been meaning to try this pattern for a while and just never got around to it. The belt pattern is the Hold ‘Em Up Belt from Sewing for Boys. I modified it a bit to make the belts 3/4″ wide instead of 1″ since 1″ is too big for his pant loops. I used some old D-rings I had saved from some discarded purses of mine. The blue one is my favorite. I just love the pop of color it gives. Fabric is from a Pink Castle order back when she had her moving sale: (FYI if you need a good online shop, I highly recommend Pink Castle Fabrics!) Metro Circles in Turquoise and Sketch in Coffee. Don’t know why I didn’t make these sooner- they came together so quickly and work really well on his pants. I used some Craft Fuse 808 as interfacing to make them a bit stiffer and they turned out a perfect weight.

Next up, we have my first handmades for little brother- some Quick Change Trousers. Pattern is from Anna Maria Horner’s book Handmade Beginnings. I made a few of these for Oliver and really enjoyed the pattern so I decided little bro needed his own pair. Size is 0-3 months. On Oliver, these tended to run big so not sure how soon the pants will fit the little man, but I can’t wait to try them out….Oh only about 14 more weeks till we get to meet this little fella! 🙂 I love the fabrics together on these pants. I used more of my Pink Castle order- the Metro Circles in Gray and some of the Summersville Alphabetty In Seafoam print I’ve been hoarding. Kona cotton blue is the coordinating reverse fabric. I love these metro circles and wish I had bought more! That’s all my extra fun I can have for now- back to shop sewing. Hopefully the move goes well this week and I can tackle some fun boy projects next week. Glad Celebrate the Boy is 2 weeks long!

Celebrate the Boy 2013!!

Posted on February 22, 2013 by oliver's fancy

I am soooo excited that Dana and Rae are doing another celebrate the boy series this year! This is their third time doing this series, and each time it gets better and better. Having boy number 2 on the way in our household makes this extra pertinent for me. I love sewing for Oliver, but I do get discouraged looking at all the cute girl patterns and knowing I can’t use them. This series is coming at a great time for me to get motivated to make baby boy #2 some cool stuff. Check out how cool Elliot and Owen are- definitely sporting cool handmades! I get such a kick out of Elliot’s facial expressions… what a cute kid!

The series begins on Monday and will run for 2 weeks. They have a great Flickr pool going as well as an Instagram hashtag (#celebratetheBOY) for all you IG junkies (myself included in that list:) ). Next week is a busy week for me, but I’m definitely gonna squeeze in some time for boy-related sewing! Hope you will all follow along with everyone and join in the fun! Cannot wait to see what everyone comes up with!