bye bye backpack

June 11, 2012June 11, 201229 Comments

meet our friends’ adorable son, miles. miles loves cars.

only instead of “cars,” he calls them “bye byes.” we’re guessing it’s because you “go bye bye” in them?

miles just turned two. for his birthday, i made him a backpack full of bye byes.

the fabric is echino by etsuko furuya cars, with kona olive lining and straps (because it goes with everything!) and white store-bought piping. the pattern is rae’s toddler backpack. it was a straightforward sew and a great pattern (especially with the update to add lining), but shoot, it is definitely not the quickest project in the world. lots of steps on this bad boy. it turns out such a perfect little kid backpack, though, i think it’s totally worth the effort.

the only change i made was to interface the outside front panel and the bottom side panels with fusible interfacing. once done, it was still a bit floppy (the echino is sort of a heavier weight linen/cotton blend), so i’d probably also interface the outer back fabric and top panels next time, just for a bit more structure.

i did sort of a union jack type quilting on the bottom. it makes me happy for some reason.

we took a little walk…

and he did some stuff…

all wearing a cars backpack of his very own! little kids look so cute and “big” in backpacks, don’t they? O was wearing it around before they came over to visit and he was a huge fan of the “baapaaa” himself, so I might need to add another one of these to the list.

happy happy birthday, little guy!

double bucket hats

June 7, 2012November 24, 201338 Comments

i found something out as i got ready to make the kids some new hats for summer…they have almost the exact same size head! my 18 month old’s head is just 1/4″ smaller in circumference than my four year old’s! kinda crazy, eh? i checked, and it turns out my husband and i have the same size head too. i accept full responsibility for largeheadedness of my children.

the pattern is the oliver + s bucket hat from little things to sew, also available as a free download. both are mediums and both fit perfectly. i really love this pattern – these are the fourth and fifth versions i’ve made (others here and here)! O’s is sewn mostly from the pattern, though i did try my buddy jessica’s no-hand-stitching method for the first time. genius. this side is heather ross far far away ii moons, which i’d been hoarding.

the other side is a dark blue thrifted corduroy. i like using at least one heavier material when i make these hats, it gives them nice structure. this hat has just one layer of medium weight interfacing in the brim.

we’ll see if he keeps it on, he likes to say “haaaa” and pull it off, hang onto it for a while, then try to put it back on all by himself. maybe he’ll get more used to it as summer wears on.

Em’s hat is also long-hoarded heather ross, this time far far away i double gauze. i first used it here and had just enough left! i widened the brim 1.5″, again a tip from jessica the bucket hat queen. her mini tutorial is here. i interfaced both sides of the brim but it was still a bit too floppy, so i added three rows of topstitching to give it more structure and add a little detail.

the fabric is a hemp blend from bolt – i’ve been saving it for a while for a skirt for me, but i think it’s perfectly rough and rustic when paired with the pink heather ross.

aside from the widened brim, i constructed this hat the “traditional” way, joining the layers by hand-stitching at the base of the side panels. i’ll give you a wild guess which side she prefers.

i took these photos up at the sound over memorial day. we love it up there.

all set for summer!

bow tie for a little guy

June 4, 2012September 14, 201220 Comments

my nephew, the youngest of three boys (and just 10 days younger than Em), also turned four recently. all three boys are very snazzy dressers, and love to wear clip on ties with their regular collared shirts, shorts, and sneakers…it’s pretty cute. i was deep in the throes of planning for vintage may and had “old timey” on the brain, so i decided to make the little guy a quick and easy REAL bow tie.

there are a million little kid bow tie tutorials out there on the internets, and i searched for a good while before i found one that fit my rigorous demands – the perfect shape and really tied, but didn’t have all the fancy hardware in the back. oh and it was a definite perk if i didn’t need to create my own pattern! i finally came across the fantastic free dapper little man bow tie pattern by just another day in paradise (found on pinterest, repinned from brooke powell). it was everything i wanted!

i made it in a lightweight gingham cut on the bias. i wanted to add a little structure, so i ironed medium weight interfacing to one side before sewing. i first had elastic in the back, but when i tried it on Em i realized that wouldn’t work – already tied, it was too tight to fit over her head. it took me forever to learn how to actually tie the darn thing, so i wanted a better easy-on, easy-off solution for my nephew. i added a little extra length and then velcro instead, which works great. when i make this again, i’ll add 2″ or 3″ to each end of the pattern at the start so the velcro is better centered in the back, but it’s hidden in his collar as is. i had really wanted to make a bunch of these to give him at once, but i just ran out of time.

instead of a box of bow ties, i paired it with a justin bieber-esque hoodie (he’s a big fan of the beebs), and the present was all set! he opened it and immediately put on his new accessory.

it went well with his ukulele-playing. i think the kid might be a hipster. 🙂

pink elephants on parade party

May 30, 2012September 14, 201239 Comments

way back before vintage may started, Em turned four! since her favorite thing is still the color pink (she’s obsessed with it, seriously), her party much resembles last year’s but with the added flair of elephants (her very favorite animal!). it’s a pink elephants on parade party!

the living room got the full elephant treatment, with even her favorite stuffed elephants in attendance…

the art was painted by my talented friend Erin in Em’s nursery colors before she was born, inspired by one we saw at a local store. she moved bedrooms so it normally hangs in O’s room now, though she has requested it be moved to hers soon. the elephant statue is from west elm a while back. i made the elephant garland out of felt using the same method as the elsie marley eye patch tutorial, which worked great though it was pretty much the most tedious sew ever. i wanted to do it right rather than glue it or something so it could hang in her room later (which it now does).

dining room decorations were a bit more subtle – just a little pink garland and a couple elephant drawings by our resident elephant artist…

our house is pretty small but has a great floor plan – the living and dining room are open to each other and separated by an archway, so we can fit a lot more people in than we should based on the square footage. and for parties, all i need to decorate are two rooms! kind of nice. we had the party in the morning again, which i love doing. the kids got a pancake bar and the adults got biscuits and gravy from pine state – yummmm…

Em helped me color her cake to be…which colors? oh yeah, pink and purple! i don’t care if this is all over blogland, pretty much no one at the party had seen it. Em helped me with the sprinkles (i cut a 4 out of cardboard and she sprinkled…er…dumped them into the stencil).

it was well-received.

the birthday girl wore a new oliver + s ice cream dress, a pattern i first made for her second birthday. this one’s View B in a 3T and because she has a big head i cut the neck hole in a 4T, though i should have just followed this tutorial to lengthen the opening because it slips down off her shoulder a bit. i omitted the v to copy gail. Em didn’t like the morning dew on her feet.

it’s in four colors of shot cotton from bolt, and i let her pick either a sparkly pink button or an elephant button…guess which one she chose?

i had originally planned to make the dress ombre but couldn’t find four pink shot cottons that worked, so i moved the colors around and added the purple. then i saw this lovely ice cream dress and realized i should’ve just done the top in the light pink too! gah!

her favorite gift was the sarah jane necklace we got her (you’ll never guess what’s on it).

it’s pretty crazy to me that she’s four already! she suddenly seems so grown up…

vintage may guest: you & mie

May 24, 2012May 21, 201316 Comments

i first discovered you & mie via the project run & play flickr group during week 2 of my season. cherie sewed this awesome boy outfit, won the sewalong that week, and i was an immediate fan. week after week, she just kept making really cool stuff (like this mini hippie outfit and this color blocked coat) and i was so surprised to see she had only been blogging for a few months! she’s already guest posting all over town (including here!) and her totoro costume is quite popular on pinterest (she just sewed mei-chan for this season’s PR&P sewalong!). this girl is going places, i tell ya. you may recall i actually MET cherie when i visited san francisco last month, and she’s a super fun gal in person too. she just has a knack for sewing – almost never uses a pattern and already shares tutorials like a champ! she’s got crazy talent.

cherie has sewn a wonderful historically-inspired jumper for her little gal today with a tutorial for you!

Hello vintage lovers! It’s amazing what Kristin and Jess have put together here and I’m so honored to be a part of it! I must have run through 50 ideas for what vintage-inspired creation I wanted to share with you before deciding on something – the possibilities are endless! I decided to go through some old family photos to see if I could find some inspiration there and I saw a particular style pop up a few times in my mom’s childhood photos from Japan in the 1950s.

(LEFT: My mom, standing in front, with her two brothers and mother RIGHT: My mom, center, my grandmother, upper left and their neighbors)

(My mom, lower right, with her brothers and uncle)

I loved the simple and classic style of the jumpers my mom and her neighbor are wearing in these pictures. So I created a suspender skirt for my daughter and I’ve got a tutorial so you can make one too!

It’s got a bit of a school uniform vibe, but it’s still cute enough to be worn anywhere. It’s a simple high waisted pleated skirt with a flat front and elastic in the back. The buttons in the front are just for fun and completely optional. The suspender straps are sewn in the front and adjustable in the back for longer wear. You could easily use this technique to attach straps to any style skirt, pair of shorts or pants. If you want to make the straps completely removable, you can follow the directions for the back of the skirt in the front, and then the skirt can be worn alone or with the suspenders. So many options!