Fred&Toots

Done!

The coat is finished.  A bit big but whenever I make anything for the kids I always make it on the big side so they can get a lot of wear out of it.  Nothing that a little rolling-up of the sleeves can't fix and why not with that hot pink lining! 

 

 

 

To make it easier for Miss Z to do up her coat on her own I did faux buttons.  That is, buttonholes which I didn't cut open with buttons sewn on front and snaps on the inside. 
Went to Crafty Nest today (lots of beautiful stuff!) and purchased the sweetest little brooch for Miss Z to wear on her new coat.  It's a brown crocheted flower with a cute little wooden squirrel adhered to it's centre. 

Oh, in reference to Gwen's comment, the hats are still missing!  Miss Z is one little tornado who rips through this house every couple of minutes.  It's been a couple of weeks now when on one of her mess-making sprees she turned her bucket of  outdoor wear upside down and spread the items far and wide.  I do know of two hats that are missing for sure.  She claims to of thrown them over the fence!  I've gone through everything inside and out!  Thanks to Marsha Mellow for the link to some funky hat making instructions...Miss Z might get a hat to go with the new duds...if so I'll be moving her outdoor wear bucket to a top shelf.

and and and .... how about that banner!  A big thanks to M who is constantly trying to liven things up here at ol'Fred & Toots - much appreciated! 

Signing off...happy Saturday night y'all...I'm off to finish Mrs. Henderson Presents.

Coat of Several Colours

Calling on 'Molly Ringwald' from 'Pretty in Pink' days I have dissected a nine dollar men's sport coat only to transform it into a coat fit for Miss Z lined with pink satin and all.  I looked around at the shops a bit but just couldn't find what I was looking for so on a
recent trip to the Salvation Army thrift store an idea came to me.  I used McCall's pattern 2403 .  It's an unlined coat pattern but when dissecting the sport's coat I paid close attention to how everything was put together so I'd have some idea how to attach the lining.  Just amazing all the lining, interfacing, little pockets - quite the detail in what seems like quite a simple coat, all for 9 bucks.  For the coat I made there was a lot of hand sewing at the end for the hems and stitching up some of the lining but the whole process was very relaxing.  You can see a bit in the underneath picture on the left the layers of lining/interfacing that was in the front panels of the coat.  It was just thin, stiff fabric all neatly stitched in place.  Whatever was there after I cut out my pieces I left as-is to heft it up a bit.  If one is going to attempt this all I can say is "iron, iron and iron some more".  I truly believe that is key to any sewing project.

All that's left to do is sew on the buttons then I'll post some 'finished' pictures.  As J.T. can attest the whole thing was done in a matter of days (any type of sewing project around here puts the house in a bit of upheaval so it doesn't happen too often much to my dismay).  J.T. figures it will be more work getting Miss Z to wear it then it did to make it.  I have a few tricks up my sleeve. 

There's always sewing

Last week while Cam was at a playdate Zoë and I made a couple of outfits for her Barbie.  My Gramma Olof gave me a couple of Barbie doll patterns!  Zoë picked out the fabric and helped me pin the pattern on and then I set her up by the presser foot of my machine and would holler out go and stop.  I was quick with the on/off switch and had to pay close attention to my fingers at all times but we did manage a couple of skirts and a top.  Next I'd like to try the red jumper below.

For next time I need to apply glue to the edges so I don't have to worry about finishing them.  I think there's a special product out there for that?    

One Gift

I only made one gift this Christmas and it was for my one year old nephew Tavish a.k.a. T-Man!  I based the pattern on a drawstring bag that a friend brought back from Japan.

When Cam was little he toted his hotwheels with him wherever he went.  If Tavish is anything like Cam was then I figured he could make good use of this...

and these cute little wooden cars...

The bag was a bit trickier than I thought.  Which end to sew first?  How do I sew the sides  up while leaving openings for the drawstrings?  Drawstings?  Yes, plural,  I fiddled around with one then realized I needed two for it to pull nicely and cinch up. 

(excuse the dim-lit pictures...the red is coming across as sort of a deep fuschia on my screen)

Nightgown

My daughter recently went through a phase where she only wanted to wear a dress to bed.  Fine with me, I just worried about her comfort because her dresses had zippers, ties, buttons, pleats or something.  I hunted high and low for a nice, comfortable nightie.  I couldn't find anything without polyester without a nice big picture of some Disney character.  Ugh.  Actually I did find one from Gymboree that was mostly cotton but the pictures on the fabric were pretty blah and it was close to 40$.  I couldn't bring myself to buy it so I then went on the hunt for the perfect pattern and voila!

I already had the flannel which was free so for 5 bucks a cute and comfy nightgown ...

Super simple to sew up and fits nicely.  I figure I can use the same pattern for a few peasant tops come summer.  View A on the pattern would even make a cute dress.  With some red or wintery themed flannel this homemade nighty would make a nice Christmas gift!

One Pattern

Here is one pattern that I got from my Grandma yesterday.  I think the lines of the coat are quite cute.  The copyright is 1965.

I don't know how comfortable the coat would be...this is the fine print on the side...

Huh?