Tie on that Patriotism

This is one of those projects inspired by the fabric itself. It's from Riley Blake's All Star line. When I saw the paisley I knew exactly what to do with it: Ties!


These were taken on July 4 in my mom's backyard. The flag made for some really fun pictures, although it was stressful trying not to let the boys drag it on the ground!


I love the chest puffs...


The sweetness...


...And the enthusiasm. But enough about my cute boys. Let's talk about the ties.


I had originally planned to make them like a classic tie so I wouldn't have to mess with the clip and all that. But when I cut them out, measuring from a Children's Place tie, I forgot to account for the part that goes around the neck, though at least I remembered the knot!


My local quilting shop sells clip-on tie patterns and the clips, so I made an emergency run over there to buy the clips so I could finish the ties in time for Independence Day. I didn't know how to do the knot (and still don't!), but I just played with it until I got it right, then put in a few stitches to keep it in place.


I made three of these ties. On this one I top stitched the red "lining" in place. In the other ones I sewed then turned. It's nice to try different ways.


Since I cut the ties out on the bias of a yard of fabric I had plenty of leftover material. Here's the first tie, along with matching skirts that went to my nephew and nieces for their birthdays. I had never made little girl skirts before so I had a blast with these.


Here are the girls wearing them on July 4 (taken with a cell phone in Milwaukee--so far away!).


Little Patriots

I suppose I should have posted this for Independence Day, Labor Day, or even September 11. We're closest to that last one, so let's just say this it's 5 days earlier :)

Zippity Yay! Patriotic Shirts!

When I saw the Zippity Doo Dah Moda fabric I fell in love (PDF of fabric collection here). When I saw it a second time I knew I had to get some of those stripes to make the boys some patriotic shirts for July Fourth. I bought the cheaper stars fabric for the main parts and got the Moda to use as accents. The difference between working with the cheap fabric and the Moda fabric surprised me.

I sewed Monkey One's shirt first. I didn't use a pattern for the shirt, I used some of Monkey One's older shirts. It's really fun for me to work that way, trying to figure out myself how to make it. It's like solving a puzzle, but fun.

I initially had the shirt's collar inside-out so the red stripes were on top, contrasting with the stars. But it looked a little too obnoxious. Marito had a funny reaction: "Is there any way you can make it more... masculine?" So I turned the collar back around so it wouldn't be quite so show-tunes-like.

Next I sewed Monkey Two's romper. I copied a button-up shirt of his and a knit romper. I like the contrasting lining and pocket. I realized his arms were a little confined so I took off the sleeves and added extra fabric at the shoulders (I call it shoulder patches) to make sure he would have plenty of wiggle room. I was very pleased that it fit in the end, and the shoulder patches look like they're there on purpose.

I used no-sew snaps because, I should just say it, I hate sewing on snaps. (In fact, the first romper I sewed for Monkey Two before he was born is still sitting in my to-finish pile with only half the snaps sewn on. He's long outgrown it, and never even got to wear it!) Anyway, if you buy the no-sew snaps be sure to get the easy attacher tool that holds them in place while you're hammering. Also, I think I owe an apology to my poor next door neighbors. I was hammering away snaps at midnight while they were probably trying to sleep! What was I thinking?


Here are my boys posing in their shirts for me before we headed off to the parade.

Before I finished the boys' shirts I decided to get some more fabric to make a shirt for myself. Afterall, the fabric was 20% off at Material Girls, and I needed something cute, too! Again, maybe the fabric is a little obnoxious for a woman's top, but I figure anything goes for the Fourth of July. But now that I have the shirt made I certainly have to wear it often, obnoxious or not. I think it's cute. Marito says he likes it, too. The peasant-style blouse is very comfortable, but makes me feel like I should be pregnant.

For the sizing I looked at a few shirts of mine, but I made up the style as I went. I especially like the no-fuss, over-the-head neckline and the button-thing on the back. Did I mention that I love the striped fabric? The solid navy was something I had in my stash. I'm glad I didn't have enough of the jacks fabric because the solid fabric really gives it a... well, solid look. I'm inspired to keep sewing for myself. I certainly have some fabric piling up in my closet that would make a couple of cute tops.