A question and a boy

Hi all! I've got a question for those of you who have tall and thin preschoolers. Hello! I have a thin one too. Just don't call her 'skinny', she gets really uptight: 'skinny' isn't 'pretty'.

Here's my situation: As I am just resizing my Smootchie Specials hipster pants pattern, I am trying to figure out if Smootch's dimensions are fairly standard among the tall and thin children set, or if my little darling is an oddball. If anyone is inclined, could you pass along the waist, hip and out seam (from hip bone to ankle bone, down the side of the leg) measurements of your t & l s? Either comment here or send me a message at vegbee@littleprintdesigns.com. I will enter all of the responses into a draw and send along a free copy of the Smootchie Don't-Call-Me-Skinny Specials when it is finished.

Thank you :)

One more thing, here is a couple pictures for Miss Amy, who commented the other day that her boy is a fabric sitter onner, when trying to cut out patterns.

This may seem familiar:


I've started using his stubborn defiance to help me out, by using his bulk as a pattern weight. Since he refuses to move once he gets down on top of the pattern, I can just steady the pattern piece under him, gently adjust his bulk as needed, and cut the piece out underneath him. Another reason to use sturdy paper for patterns instead of flimsy tissue paper.

Defiance action shot:

"No No No No No No No No"

Smootch in the Driver's Seat

I have had a number of opportunities to craft with various children over the years. Even more fun, I have been able to observe hundreds of different adults helping children with crafts. I've noticed that kids all seem to have their own personal set point where the help from an adult turns into interference. With one child, they want you hold their hand through the whole process and another will throw a wobbler if you even so much look at their craft supplies. And some children are very, very nice, and will silently let a pushy or uninformed adult slowly take over their project, turning it into a perfect replica of the 'example' provided by whoever is running the show. (If this is you, I suggest you read over here.)

Smootch has never been one to let anyone hijack her creativity. When we crafting together and I move beyond pure instruction ("This is how you open the glitter container") and into what she considers her artistic domain ("This is where you put the glitter"), she is quick to let me know I've crossed that line again. Usually she's fairly straightforward and polite when she says, "Okay, mom, this is my project. Yours is over there and it's lonely. Why don't you go play with it?"

I consider my kids great teachers in the art of humility and letting go. And Smootch, she's a Master. Here is my big lesson this week:


This modified and embellished t-shirt is one hundred percent pure Smootch. I did get to make cuts and tie knots, but my role was much like a puppet with Smootch pulling my strings.

Smootch has been wanting to embellish her own t-shirts for awhile. I'm guessing, by the definitiveness of her design here, she's had some ideas in mind for some time. I guess this will teach me for letting her watch old Jem and The Hollograms episodes.

To facilitate her t-shirt alterations, I gave her a small budget to spend in the craft store. She walked out with some fabric glue, glitter, a couple of metallic stick-on embellishments, and the string of pink dangly things you see in the pictures.

I had no idea she was going to glitter up a freaky face and then cut the tee to make it look like she should be riding some guy's shoulders at a Twisted Sister concert.


People, she loves this shirt. And I've agreed to let her wear it to school (with a shirt on underneath). Because that's the kind of zen mom I am.


Plus I also really like to see the looks on the other parents' faces :)

snack backpack

The girl child needed a new bag to take snacks in - her regular one now holds 10 pounds of safety gear, such as a helmet and wrist guards, we force her to wear whenever she wants to ride one of her wheelie things.


I made Smootch a modified version of my toddler backpack, using a zipper from some vinyl packaging a bedspread came in, extra wide single fold bias tape, and some rainbow stripey strapping I found in a thrift store (it was totally a steal too, only a $1.50 and I have some 40 yards left). The backpack fabric is a Free Store find, a Holly Hobbie curtain I've been holding onto for months, waiting for the right project.


To make the backpack, I used the back piece from the original back pack pattern, cut 2, and fused them to medium weight interfacing.

The side strap is two pieces of strapping laid side by side. I put the zipper in,


and then, because the strapping was being so accommodating, sewed together the straps with a zigzag stitch.


The single fold bias tape was sewn to the edges of the strapping, and then to the front and back of the pack. A little loop at the top made from the bias tape ensures that the back pack will hang on a hook nice and flat.



****************************************************

This is a free tutorial and I encourage you to use the information in any way you need to (check the disclaimer at the bottom of the page). If it works for you, please consider supporting my etsy shop by purchasing a Little Print Design pattern or toss a dollar or two in my paypal to show appreciation and to encourage me to offer up even more quality patterns and tutorials.

Thank you!
Questions about the Donation? FAQ here.

drawing the line - work and play

I've begun drafting and testing a new trouser pattern in Smootch size (because Smootch needs pants. Bad.) For those of you who have been wondering how pattern drafting is done, here is some insight into my method:


Somewhere under those kids is a pattern. Since I work at home, I have never had very rigid boundaries between personal and work. Then, with the arrival of the second baby, it all got hopelessly jumbled up.


I consider this work/play mixture to be a two way street. I have been known to expect my family to drop whatever it is that they are doing and submit to fittings. Plus, at any moment, I'm liable to turn Smootch's playtime into a photo shoot.


Here is the first run of pants made from one pattern piece for the thin kid who likes to wear everything low down on her hips, like some sort of rock star. This is the kid I'd like to thank for first cracking the wall between the job and the fun. For making work, play.

indietutes flickr pool

Originally uploaded by *urbanhousewife*

This is one of Urban Housewife's take of the halter sundress tutorial, incorporated into the most fantastic costume. I pulled it from the indietutes flickr pool.

I love seeing how one idea - a tutorial or pattern - ventures out in dozens of different directions, with the finished projects being so very different from one another. It's a textile meme, and I'm very grateful for the flickr pool contributors for sharing their visions with me. It's inspiring!

I have just created a photobucket album for anyone to contribute to if you would like. I am a photobucket user, so it is a easier venue for me to use. If you would like to contribute or to just see, come over to here.

I will keep links to both pools on the sidebar also.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Oh Suzanna Smock ePattern giveaway

I love reconstructions. Not only are they usually less expensive than using virgin fabric (I can buy two grocery bags stuffed full of adult shirts for $5 here at one particular thrift shop) but, if I do it right, I can avoid having to do any of the tedious stuff like buttons, while having some sophisticated details - all already done for me. Best of all, it's quick! I don't think I have to convince anyone with children the value of being able to make a garment in a nap time (or in less time than a Dora DVD).

Generally, I use patterns in my reconstructions because I find that they allow me to have the correct fit and do not take any longer than guessimating. I actually think they save time in the end by reducing the number of botched garments sent away for scraps because they ended up fitting odd. Perhaps the pattern route is less adventurous, but wasting precious time sucks even more. Plus, I always end up eating too many cookies after wards, soothing my feeling of failure over having made something unwearable.

So, because I love the reconstruction so much, I've decided to put together a little ePattern for revamping an adult shirt to a child's smock peasant blouse style. You've already seen a version of it here, it here, and I know some of you will recognize that it's a variation on my basic peasant blouse pattern, which is no longer available in the shop.

I'm calling it the Oh Suzanna Smock, mostly because of Smootch's country girl look she's been cultivating lately:


(Can you tell she's been missing her home back in Alberta? My little punk has gone all cowgirl on me.)

The Oh Suzanna Smock epattern has pattern pieces for girls sizes 2-7. There is an option for making your own gathered sleeves or using the pre-existing cuffs from your reconstructed shirt:


You can also re-use the pockets or create your own with a pattern piece:


There is, actually, a whole pattern there that could be put together with virgin fabric. The whole pdf package is 18 pages, with 11 of those being pattern pieces.

Would anyone like a copy before I list it in the shop tomorrow night? To enter a draw for the Oh Suzanna ePattern giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. I will randomly choose a comment (via random.org) Monday (January 4th) at 9:00 PM (pacific time) and sent the winner a pdf file containing the pattern.

Happy commenting!

*******************************************************************

Thank you thank you thank you for playing! Thanks for all the wonderful comments - you all say such lovely things, it's no wonder why I'm hooked on this blogging thing :D

I just drew Anxiously Hopeful's number (who has a picture of her gorgeous fresh one on her blog that makes me feel all broody). Congrats Anxious on the babe and I hope you enjoy your pattern too.

For anyone else interested in acquiring the Oh Suzanna Smock ePattern by another route, I am listing the pattern tonight on Etsy, where it can be yours for a measly $4 US.

I'll be back soon!

peasant blouse

Happy New Year all!

I have no tutorial for you! It's true. But, perhaps inspired by the calender change, I've done something a bit odd and actually made something for myself. This is genuinely a once a year event, so I like to share it.

Of course, when I saw this tutorial on Whip Up's Best of 2009 Refashion (right underneath my sleevy pants tutorial :D) I had to give it a go. It was just so beautifully simple.

Here is my version:


(That is, as The Man pointed out, my 'looking at the kids with amusement and disapproval with something they are doing' expression. Which is only right, since Smootch took the picture while precariously perched on a plastic lawn chair. So, now you know how it looks to be my kid.)

I did sew on single fold bias tape to help fold back the neck and to prevent bunching. The sleeves are just a elastic sewn on underneath.

Hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of holiday and are bracing themselves for January. I should have a little pattern giveaway ready for Monday, if you feel like stopping by then :)