Thursday, June 4, 2009

CUT. IT. OUT!

I did cut it out! I got all three boys' outfits cut out yesterday. I do NOT like to cut out. That's my only reason for procrastination sometimes. But, my girls gave me a new rotary cutter and a new cutting board for my birthday/Mother's Day. They also gave me a new little bitty iron so I can get into those little bitty corners, etc... on little bitty clothing. I had a rotary cutter, but it is one of those really big ones, and it isn't conducive to cutting little things. So, I never used it. It was a cinch cutting with this one, though. I also really like the cutting board for lots of reasons that all of you sewists already know.
(The girls also cooked me a DELICIOUS meal, including cherry dump cake, yum! and one of my SILs made me a beautiful bird house. He also made both my mother and my MIL one each, too. I hung Mother's outside her nursing home window. )

The big boys will have navy shorts from this Simplicity5581 pttern and their shirts are from the Butterick3475 pattern.
Neither of these had a size 10-12 in them.
The shorts came in S-L boys and S-XL men's. In comparing the measurements to other patterns that I have, I discovered that the L boys' size was really a 7-8 and the S men's was way too big. So I added about 2 inches to all pieces in length and width for the 10-12. I figured this out by checking out measurements on several different patterns I have. Hope it works.
The shirt was in sized 6, 7, and 8. I added the amount to go up 2 sizes based on how much difference there was in the 6 and the 8. Again, I hope this works. I do this with my little girls' patterns all the time. Surely, it will be the same for boys.

The little boy is getting a short romper from this Easy McCall's 2033 pattern. His shirt is from Butterick 6030. I like this pattern better than the one with the romper because of the collar. The romper pattern has a peterpan collar, which is ok, but for this I wanted a regular collar.
I realy like the girl's view on the McCall's pattern. I've never made it, but think I will have to this fall with the cardigan.

These are American Doll dresses that I made last year to match the big girls' things that I've made them in the past. The first two "sort of" match the Valentine's outfits that I made for Jenna and Kellen last year. The plaid is flannel and the gray is fleece. I need photos of the big girls' fashions. The lavendar is a "sort of" copy of Jenna's Easter dress from last year too. Again, for some reason I didn't get a photo of her actual dress. It had madeira applique around the hem. The bow on teh bodice was shadow embroidery. The sash was a narrower ribbon sewn to a wider ribbon using a decorative stitch.


My FIL is doing ok. The physical therapy is going to be rougher than he thought. He has had a bum knee for so long that his muscles are out of whack, and he's got to retrain them! Ouch!

9 comments:

Trudy said...

Cutting out is my least favorite part as well; therefore many projects get put on hold for a while because of this.

Your daughters sound like such a blessing. You are so fortunate.

My Little Miss 8 would love to be able to sew up some Amercian Girl doll clothes as soon as her sewing skills get to that level. She has one of the dolls. She's learning how to sew on buttons today and possibly other fasteners at www.sewingsister.blogspot.com for anyone interested in following her progress. Two days ago she learned the cross stitch along with her brother. They are learning to sew together. Then before that it was the blanket stitch. In a few days she'll get to sew her first real project, a drawstring bag. After about 13 projects, she'll be ready to start learning on the machine. She is very excited.

Hope the physical therapy gets easier for your FIL. Still praying for him.

knitmachinequeen (KMQ) said...

I don't think I have a least favorite part of sewing. It could be making buttonholes because I don't have a machine that will do a decent one. Those American Doll clothes are too cute!

gwensews said...

What cute little doll clothes! Oh my! I have an 18" doll living in a closet. She has some outfits. You will LOVE your little iron. It will take some time for your FIL to recover. He will probably have to go to PT for a while. Good luck to him. Keep sewing those beautiful little clothes!

Meg said...

So cute....

Tanya said...

Cutting out is definitely my least favorite part of sewing. I haven't found anything to make it less of a chore so I just do it so I can get to the fun part---sewing. The dresses are too cute, love your work.

ittybittyandpretty said...

hello to my newest follower, thanks for visiting my little blog. i would love to see a photo of the bird house that you were given that would be a treat.
have a great weekend
%*_*% rosey

Karen said...

Hello to my latest follower. Thanks for stopping by and commenting,too. Always nice to know someone is reading.
I'm so looking forward to seeing these when you get them finished. I'm hoping to start sewing a pair of shorts and shirt for my little grandson soon. Loved seeing your sundresses, too. So sweet.

Unknown said...

I can't stand to cut either, which is probably why, when the mood hits me, I cut out tons of projects.

Those doll clothes. Amazing! I made doll clothes for a swap last year. Hated every minute of it -- Kudos to you for making them.

window dressing said...

I love the doll's clothes. They are so precious. When I was younger I had a doll my godfather gave me and when I visited my grandmother in Greece I left it there for her to keep. Well only years later when I was an adult did I discover that she had created a whole wardrobe for her in crochet.
You should photograph each and every outfit you create (the ones for the grandkids and for the dolls) and keep them in a book for your reference to remember all the designs you created. Like a photo album.
I am glad to hear your father in laws surgery was successful and pray for his full recovery.

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