racer back ePattern photos

I had these two sillies model my new digital sewing pattern, the Racer Back Athletic top.  This is girl child and her best buddy from roller derby.  They are exactly one day apart in age.  To model the racer backs, I told them, 'Just do stuff,' so this is what I got.  Actually, I have about two hundred photos of two friends daring each other to do goofy things in front of the camera.  It was so much fun. 

If you notice, they are wearing the racer back athletic tops also, sizes B and C.  If you might be interested in an easy, fast and inexpensive pattern for it, please visit indieutes.etsy.com. 

Coming soon

athletic racer back pattern

So close to being done this little athletic racer back top for tweens.  I popped a couple quick pictures to show y'all.  Below is one of my prototypes on girl child.  There is some changes for the final pattern but we both like this blue/black one.

The pulling on the fabric from elasticized armholes is one of the things that has been altered on the pattern.  Turns out the best way to do it is the simplest.  With all the variations on this top, I'm glad it only takes me twenty minutes or so to sew one up.  Especially with girl child playing roller derby and needing a number of different colour scrimmage shirts.  Now it is faster for me to make up a racer back and paint her player numbers on (nicely, with freezer paper, of course!) than to run to the store, buy a shirt and get it printed.  And at a fraction of the cost.

Hopefully, if life stays sane the next couple of weeks, this pattern will be available for tween girl sizes by the end of the month.  Specifically, for girls with chest/bust widths of 27" to 32" or sizes 10 to 14 in US.

What do you think?

racer back sports top v.1

Have I mentioned that girl child has started playing roller derby?  She had her first game a few weeks ago and is busy filling her summer with invitational jr scrimmages.

You know, it's funny that I have been in derby for five years and have to do more than alter tee shirts and fit jerseys for myself, but girl child apparently needs an entire wardrobe custom made for her now that she's played her first game.  Because it's difficult to find sleeveless scrimmage shirts for juniors at a cost I can afford.  Oh, and I like making stuff.

It's taken a few tries but I finally nailed down a pattern that I'm almost happy with.  Working edges with the four way stretch knit has been a whole education in itself, never mind fitting a racer back top to a child's frame.   But here is girl child in her almost ok sport top:

I am pleased with the back.  Girl child doesn't want me to, but I think I'll flare the bottom a bit.  Ultimately these shirts have to stand up to roller derby practices and games, so all the seams need to be triple reenforced and a lot of excess fabric to grab and pull isn't desirable. 

I do very much enjoy working with the knit, though!  This particular fabric is from here, and probably is a touch too stretchy, but I have some Lycra with nylon in it to play with as well. Maybe something for me too, sometime in the future?  (I always say that, and never do, so just ignore that last sentence.)

blueberry dip dye jacket

A new jacket for girl child!  The design is a heavily modified version of my Fair Weather Jacket pattern, designed to fit over full skirt party dresses.  From the Fair Weather Jacket, I kept the hood but ditched the belt.  From there I flared the bottom hem and arms.  The whole shebang is made out of a raw linen duvet cover I found in the thrift store some time back with a bedsheet lining.  Ha, I suppose it's a bit like taking your bed with you where you go.

The exciting bit for me is the dip dye we made out of blueberries.  I was wondering out loud at my friend about where was the best place to buy dye for this jacket and she said, why don't you just make your own?

Funny how it never occurred to me before.

I used a tutorial from Alina's Adventures and it was super easy, not to mention delicious smelling.

Blue stew!  Instead of mashing the berries I just took a hand mixer to them, which I later regretted since I simply could not strain the blueberry sludge properly and had to use the whole lot, sludge and all.  But it all turned out okay still, like most things do. 

That's the jacket in the slow cooker for the fabric fixative.  It seems I have only one large pot in the house, something that has never been a problem up until this particular time.  The slow cooker worked well, even though I couldn't fit the whole jacket in.  Good thing I had already decided on a dip dye.

The jacket hung out in the dye for about, oh, eight hours or so.  I would of left it over night but a weird effect of the fixative on the jacket made it turn a bit brown from the linen colouring and I panicked. 

The brown stains washed out just fine, however.

You can see on the jacket where the fabric was a bit folded in order to fit in the pot.  It doesn't bother me but if I was going to do this again, I might try to find myself a more suitable container, maybe a wall paper paste holder?

Although the blueberry dye isn't nearly as vibrant as a commercial dye would be, I really like the subtlety and appreciate the lack of chemicals.  Plus also I got to have my house smell like blueberries for a whole day.  Yum!

upcycled shirt to apron

A new apron for girl child who sorely needed one.  She has been using the one I made for her when she was just three years old for all these years.  Since she'll be ten in just a month and a bit, something that actually covers her clothes seemed long overdue.

This apron was reconstructed from a button down men's shirt I thrifted.  The applique spells out 'courage', something I think we can all use when we bake or craft.

For this one, an extra large pocket was requested for holding... stuff.  What exactly girl child failed to specify, except for a scissor sleeve for hanging onto when she crafts.  The pocket is stitched into two compartments, one about the right shape for a pair of scissors.

You'll have to excuse my atrocious bow tying; one art that has always eluded me.

For the top pattern I traced out one of girl child's tank top's neckline and arm opening, extending the arm opening down to wrap around the back and attach at the waist.  The bottom of the apron is the bottom portion of the back of the shirt.  I kept the bottom hem and hemmed in where I cut the side seams.  A slight gather brought the whole thing to size.

And then there was a mile of ruffle from black broadcloth to make for the bottom edge of the apron.

And there we have it, girl child ready for any mess she can throw at herself. 

Max: Where The Wild Things Are

I pulled out the unfinished project box today.  It's a scary place. 

But.  I managed to spend the five minutes it took to finish one entire project. 

Max from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are has a felt body and painted face.  The face shaped was formed by heavily starching linen over a doll's head to make a face shape.   I think next time I'm going to try white glue and water mix rather than starch. 

But, hey, done project.  Go me.

cloak, pants, cat

Girl child has asked for a cloak just like Thorn has.  Thorn is apparently some sort of character from the Bone graphic novels.  I know nothing about this Thorn person other than she wears a green cloak and then a red one later on.  Or is it a red one and then a green one later?  And when you Google her, you will get some well rendered fan art of a woman in a green (or red) cloak intimately involved with some white blobby creature.  Bless fan art.  It's why I have to use the safe search option.

Anyway.  I've made up a tester cloak from some lightweight woven fabric that The Man's grandma gave me a little while back.  I've lined the hood with some dark blue poly-cotton blend of unknown origin to give it a bit of structure.  The result is a cloak that girl child has failed to take off in two days.  Even after the neighborhood kids made fun of it.  (I've taken note of which kids insulted my cloak, said it looked like a kindergartner's tie dye experiment gone wrong they did, and they will bereft of treats in my yard this summer.)

The cloak.  The edges are just serged.  Since it is a tester I didn't want to get too carried away.  Plus more effort I put into something, the less girl cihld seems to like it.

That is not an outdoor toilet in the background.  Just in case you were wondering about us in Canada.

It seems cloaks are terribly comfortable, casual summer wear.  Behold girl child hiding under the gazebo, reading Bone and eating macaroni and cheese. 

Which, having at least one distracted child, also explains how I've had time to even make boy child some super jump pants.

They are actually Thai fisherman style pants with an elasticized waist modification in the purple version of the cloak fabric, but in order to even get them on him I had to tell him that they'd make him jump higher on the trampoline.  I am not above such deception.  Boy child is not much of a poser so this is the only shot I have of them.

These Thai pants were a bit of an experiment, which I think turned out pretty well, considering I put in an elastic waist instead of the usual ties.  Boy child will have nothing to do with ties as of yet, but we do like the relaxed fit and geometric construction.  I'm going to make him another pair or two for the summer.  Perhaps I'll be able to get a better picture of the next one.  But I won't hold my breath.

Instead of more boy child pictures, I do have one that is evidence that he has been about.  I walked into the living room to find this little tableau on the couch.

That is a mammoth (fake) on a cat (living) on my book (Victorian tailoring) on a tee shirt (dirty) on a blanket (handmade) on the couch (from the dump).  I happen to know that the boy had left the room at least twenty minutes before I wandered in.  The cat is a saint.

Happy new year with an ePattern giveaway

**Thanks all for playing along!  The giveaway is now closed.  Could Liz A and Kelly please email me at vegbee@littleprintdesigns.com and I can send you your patterns. ***

I did it!

I FINALLY created a PDF version of the Fair Weather Jacket sewing pattern in children's sizes 5-8.

It is available in my shop now, but before you hop over there, I thought I would offer up a free copy to two readers here on IndieTutes.

To enter to win a free copy of the Fair Weather Jacket ePattern (pdf) in sizes 5-8, please leave a comment below.  I will randomly select two commenters this evening, after the kids are in bed, approximately 9:30pm mst.
 

If you would rather have a copy of the sewing pattern in children's sizes 2-4, please state so in you comment.  It is the same jacket pattern, just for smaller people. 

You can always visit my shop for more sewing ePatterns for children.  I send them typically within a few hours of purchase and definitely within 24 hours. 

(Just as a heads up, over the next few months I will be releasing a new line of patterns and retiring some of the older ones.  If there is a particular pattern that you've been meaning to try, I would recommend getting ahold of it soon-ish.) 

If you are feeling nervous about trying ePatterns for the first time, there are several patterns available on IndieTutes for free, where you can check out how to print and assemble and ePattern at your leisure.  Try the Solar Dress ePattern to become aquianted with downloading and reassembling pattern pieces.  I am always here for questions and comments, just email me at vegbee@littleprintdesigns.com or info@littleprintdesigns.com.

Thank you everyone for stopping by and entering the giveaway.

Happy New Year!

**If you would like to see more Fair Weather Jackets, check out the Flickr and Photobucket pools to see what people have made.  Feel free to add your photos of what you have made from Little Print Designs patterns and IndieTutes tutorials**

summer sewing for the boy

A little bit of summer sewing before I pack up the machine.

My dashiki with a deconstructed collar.  I'm saying 'deconstructed' like I meant to do it, but fact is that I goofed and put it on the wrong way.  But, now that I decided to pretend like I meant it all the while, I sorta like the frayed edge look.  Relaxed and beachy looking, yes?

I just noticed the nasty skeeter gnawing on my boy's neck.  Grrrr.

It has been suggested that in addition to the tutorial, I also make up a full pattern for those who are not pattern-making inclined.  Would anyone else be interested?  What sizes should I aim for?

I have plans to make up a few more of these dashikis, along with the shortening of the ankle exposing pants into shorts for the summer.  The dashikis are nice for sun and bug protection, with their longish sleeves, but still loose and comfortable in warm weather.  While I probably won't be able to keep his shirt on all summer - both my kids would rather be nekked than anything - but I'll have better luck with this style than a hot, stuffy t-shirt. 

I'm still debating about whether I'll put the collar on the right way next time or not.