i believe i may have let out an audible sewing nerd squeal when i saw dana’s tutorial for retro racer shorts show up in my blog feed last week.  this is actually the SECOND pair that i’ve sewn since her post.  the first, i accidentally printed out in portrait rather than landscape mode.  i am so trusting of dana’s patternmaking skillz, i sewed up what appeared to be a 12-18 month size (not her fault, mine)!  those have been gifted to my niece, who should fit them perfectly next summer.  and then i printed the pattern out properly and promptly made another pair in the exact same fabric for em.

the reason i was SO excited about this particular pattern is because of a blog called katie did, probably the blog that has been the most inspirational in how i sew for and dress em.  katie no longer blogs due to a creepazoid that pretended her children were theirs.  really freaky, and the main reason i decided not to say my kids’ names or show their faces on my blog.  anyway, katie made these really cute split side shorts in a tiny floral print, and when i saw them i had an immediate flashback to my childhood summers in the ’80s.  i HAD to make them.  but at the time i saw her post, i could barely sew, let alone figure out a pattern on my own.  now, i probably could, but dana did it for me!  yaaaaaay, dana!

the fabric is a liberty of london for target scarf, and the binding is vintage from my grandma’s stash (she left a bunch of her trims and notions, plus her vintage singer to me when she died, since i am the only grandchild that sews).  how great is this packaging, and on sale!  way to go, grandma!

i shortened the shorts more than a few inches (i didn’t even attach the bottom page of the kid pants pattern, then shortened them further by 5.5″ or so) to make them girlier and more retro.  em is so skinny they ended up a little baggy on her.  that’s okay, i’m calling it “growing room.”  i used dana’s flat front pants pattern, as recommended.

oh, i love them so much.  funny thing, too, is that em doesn’t wear shorts very often; she is either in a skirt or pants 99% of the time.  showing off her knobby little knees just cracks me up, and these were fabulous for climbing on the playground and racing with her cousins at the park this morning.  of course, it wouldn’t be a complete “portland” outfit without a fleece jacket.  it’s so often used, the zipper toggle came off this morning!

anyway, thanks again to dana!  have you seen her brand new beach robe pattern?  i’m buying it!

what took me so long to try dana’s 90 minute shirt?  i’m not afraid of sewing with knits!  i guess i am a little scared of making my own pattern, though.  maybe that’s why.  anyway, i was silly.  don’t be silly like i was!  this is a fantastic tutorial.  and look, it makes a “real” shirt!  even the husband said “wow, you made that from scratch?”  yes hon, yes i did.

the gray is from an old t-shirt of my husband’s (definitely took the tip to use the existing bottom hem), and the green rib knit is from joann.  need to get more of that in more colors!  i sewed it all on my regular sewing machine with a ballpoint needle, which worked great.  i have a serger, but i’ve never threaded it.  i really need to learn how.

the front neck opening is a little high, but that’s easy to alter on my pattern for next time.  i took dana’s instructions a bit too literally when she said to add a seam allowance.  not necessary to add one on the neck opening area or ends of the sleeves, since they’re bound by ribbing.  should have figured that out.  i like the tight little arms on it – kind of a retro look.

and here’s my son chewing on his foot.  he was being a little squirrely and not cooperating for a good “look at the entire shirt” photo.  oh well, you get the idea.

you may be seeing a few more of these types of shirts in the future, and i was also thinking about lengthening one into a summer nightgown for my daughter.  both of my kids have big heads and sometimes grow out of the head opening of a garment before they grow out of the garment itself.  DIY lap-neck shirts are dana’s gift to large-noggined children with parents on a budget everywhere!

this is a tough one.  i found a free online pattern for baby kimono booties a while back (not even sure how i found it, it’s not one of my usual blogs and i think the gal that posted it isn’t blogging anymore), and decided to try them out last night (it is “impromptu celebrate the summer boy week” with dana and rae after all!).  the pattern and tutorial are no good!  i don’t even want to link to it.  the pattern pieces were really off, the instructions were both incorrect AND incomplete…it was a mess.

that being said, i think i “made it work” well enough to make a decent-looking pair of houndstooth baby shoes with grippy soles for when my little guy needs traction.  i had to buy the houndstooth fabric to make some shoes after i saw these adorb ones.  they were a quick sew once i figured out and corrected the pattern errors, and they barely used any fabric.  i made the 6-12 month size, but they’re way too big on him now and i’m not sure if they’ll ever properly fit.  i just hope they’ll stay on well enough for around the house once he is ready to crawl/stand!

maybe i can work on the pattern a little more so they fit better, or maybe i need to buy a “real” pattern on etsy and try again.  we’ll see.

now i’m posting a button, because buttons are fun!

there have been many mornings when we get em dressed for her day in practical playclothes (jeans and a t-shirt), then i get dressed for my day at the office in a skirt and jacket.  she suddenly gets very upset.  “i wanna wear a skirt like mommy!” she says.

so in a sudden burst of inspiration, i made her a skirt inspired by one that i often wear (mine is store-bought from ann taylor loft a while ago).  when i first showed it to her, she giggled.  as i dressed us in the same outfits this morning (down to our metallic ballet flats), she said “hey mommy, we match-match!  we got the same skirt on!” with the biggest smile on her face and more giggles.  someday, this may embarrass her.  but today, to my little 3-year-old, it was a dream come true to look just like mommy.

her skirt is midnight blue linen.  i drew on a grid with tailor’s chalk, figured out how to make the design by connecting diagonals, and outlined it more heavily.  then i carefully machine-stitched on the satin ribbon following my chalk-lines.  i did this all while it was still just a rectangle of fabric.  after that, i constructed the skirt as usual (a good tutorial for a simple skirt can be found here), matching up the ribbon design the best i could at the back seam.

the linen was somewhat see-through, so i lined it with another layer of linen.  i love that the lining gives it a bit more fullness.

i didn’t have much room left at the bottom after the design grew a little larger than i expected, so hemmed it with a baby hem.  i’d never done a baby hem before, but recently saw it on vivat veritas’ scallop waist skirt tutorial (which i’ve yet to try for myself, but looks beautiful).  it’s a really nice effect.

sewing, as my personal creative outlet, can be so empowering.  an idea comes, a few hours are spent to execute it, and then my little gal gets to enjoy the product.  she is made so happy by little things, and proudly says “my mommy made this for me!”  it feels so good.  i know her enthusiasm may not last forever, but i’m sure enjoying it now.