Showing posts with label sewing for boys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing for boys. Show all posts

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Super Baby Capes


We were invited to a birthday party for Ian and Alina, cute twin babies turning one year old.  I am currently challenged as far as shopping goes (I haven't figured out how to hop a mile through the aisles of Target on crutches). So, I turned to my trusty sewing machine and my pile of fabric and hoped something quick, easy and thoughtful would happen.

It did.

I remembered that a few months ago, the mommy of these adorable twins sent me a photo of a kid wearing a superhero cape and she mentioned that it was cute and something I could sew. I really didn't give it much thought at the time. But, now the idea resurfaced.

I just pretended that I knew what I was doing. It's amazing how often that works. I used my scissors and just cut out a large bib shape of red velveteen type stuff (leftover from the Captain Hook Halloween costume) and the same shape from some glitter infused red poly-satin. Then I cut out an I and an A from a scrap of blue. Also, cut out two white circles. Using fusing to stiffen the circles and initials, I appliqued them to the outer part of the cape.

Then, I sewed the liner and outer cape together, flipped them inside out and topstitched. After that, I searched frantically for velcro.

No luck. No velcro!

Snap tape to the rescue!  It isn't ideal for this project, but with the birthday party only minutes away, it would have to do.

There you have it.  Happy Birthday, Superbabies!  Faster than a loaded diaper, it's Super Alina and Super Ian to the rescue!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Sewing Stinky Bags

My daughter is turning into a hippy. Long hair, baby wearing, openly breastfeeding, Prius driving, organic veggie eating and cloth diapering. Kinda like her mom!  (kinda)  I'm so proud of her!

I have never been courageous enough to use cloth diapers! Even the thought of cloth diapers makes me want to run away screaming. I'm a big believer is using disposable dipes and getting rid of them as fast as possible! Wash 'em? Ewww! Not me!

But for those who do use cloth diapers, there is a need for this thing called a "wet bag" to store the wet stinky diapers in while on the go. Then when you get home, you add them to the mountain of wet stinky diapers waiting for the next laundry cycle. The wet bag is outing survival gear. It's a must have! Seriously, you wouldn't want to tote your soiled diapers in a ziplock baggie or a plastic grocery sack would you? No! Those are disposable plastics - that would defeat the whole purpose of going with cloth diapers. I'm having a hard time grasping the concept too.

My daughter wanted some wet bags since she's just starting this whole cloth diapering thing. She was using disposables before and recently discovered that she could be even more of a hippy by going with cloth and doing more of the one household chore she hates: laundry.

What's a mama to do but sew some cloth diaper wet bags for her little girl and make her a happy mommy.  I do enjoy spoiling my girls with whatever they want from my sewing room!

I picked up some PUL at the fabric store a while back. I was going to make her some wet bags before she started using cloth diapers but I was thinking of swim suits and that type of wet stuff. it's nice to have a place to store wet things especially if you take a trip to the beach, pool or splash pad. I guess she can use these wet bags for that purpose too. Wet is wet.

PUL is polyurethane laminate. It's fabric that is sprayed with plastic. Nicely water resistant! It's also not cheap. It's not so expensive that it is out of reach, but you don't want to waste any, that's for sure.

I made four wet bags for Katie of varying sizes, and one bag that would hold a small item or some wipes. Two of the bags I used just the PUL and two of the bags I used scrap fabrics on the exterior and PUL as an interior lining. One bag was lucky enough to get an outside pocket for dry items. That was her idea, and I was nearly done sewing them when she told me that a dry pocket would be nice, so only one bag ended up with a pocket.

All of them have a plastic zipper. The zippers are all from my stash and so they are whatever I had on hand, not necessarily the best color choices and not all of them heavy duty sports zippers. That would have been ideal.

Anyway, the wet bags were simple. They are just rectangles with a zipper. I didn't use the serger on the bags because the PUL sort of hugs the needle and I thought the last thing I need is a serger problem, it's a finicky machine. I just used the sewing machine. I doubt there will be any fraying issues.

I also added a loop for carrying or hanging on the stroller. Since the wet bags will be filled with wet diapers, they might be kind of heavy and the loop might need to be strong if she uses it to function as more than a decorative touch. Because it will be utilized to hold a lot of weight, I made the standard tube out of fabric, and then threaded an athletic shoe string through the middle of it. That should be durable!

I enjoyed making the bags. They're cute and practical. Plus, they were easy and a nice break from my other sewing project in progress. Plus, I made my daughter very happy! She is such a good mommy to her sons that I don't get much of a chance to help out. Seems she handles parenting with such ease.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sewing Long Swim Trunks

I looked and looked and looked online, but couldn't find any swim trunks that have full leg coverage. There must be boys that have sensitive skin or just want long pair of swim pants, aren't there? Guess I found a niche market that isn't being served.

That's ok. I have a sewing machine and I know how to use it!

I bought two pair of men's swim trunks (because the fabric is cheaper this way and the variety of fabric is more plentiful) and cut them down to size. I also cut out the mesh panties, or underwear as men say. Then I stitched them up like a little pair of pants, added elastic to the inside of the waist where there was once a drawstring. I attached the decorative waist piece and had a wonderful pair of little swim trunk pants! Perfect!

I ended up cutting the back pocket because of where it lies on the trunks, it was in the way. No problem, it just became a smaller back pocket and the raw edges were sewn into the center seam. Not all pockets go right to the middle of the pant, but I'm not going for perfection here, just improvising and the pocket isn't all that noticeable after all. Funny, it's still perfectly useable! 

I think one pair turned out great, and the other pair looks like clown pants. The striped fabric didn't look as good in the small size. Oh well, those will be the back yard run through the sprinklers and get muddy swim trunks.



Ta Da! Swim Trunk Pants!

I'm so happy that I was able to sew something for my grandson to meet his special needs without compromising his fun and he still looks a lot like all the other little boys at the splash pad. Lookout, world, we're going to have a fun summer!