The pattern (from Fishsticks Design) and fabric (from Riley Blake) were received free of charge, but all opinions are mine.
Just over four years ago I found out I would be having a little boy. I was so excited and was determined I would dress him preppy like his daddy. I had been able to do that pretty solidly until last year when my "little boy" started outgrowing his 4T stuff.  I went shopping and was horrified to find everything in the boys section was littered with skulls and other undesirable graphics. I remember calling Momma Shaffer crying. I was totally frustrated, because my new 3 year old who was scared of the dark should not be wearing skulls (to be honest I really don't like skulls for any age, guess I got that from my momma).

It was that day that Momma Shaffer reminded me that I knew how to sew and though I didn't know as much about styling for boys I could do it. I started small, shorts and pjs. Then I sewed a few collared shirts. When Bonnie ask me to join in her pattern tour I couldn't have been more excited because a knit V-neck shirt has always seemed scary but my boy style boards are full of V-neck shirts, so I was up for the challenge.
This pattern goes from size 12M-14Y!  I am excited that I will be able to sew this shirt pattern for Ryder for years! The instructions were so easy to follow that I was able to make this shirt in one naptime! Ryder was beyond excited to find the pieces of fabric when he went down were a full blown shirt when he woke up.

I opted to have finished arm bands and bottom band, instead of the raw edges like instructed, this probably added to the length as well. I also left the chest pocket off because I don't want him putting something in pocket that ruins the shirt. I also think it goes more with the preppy style I love!
The fabric and wear ease in this shirt,  allowed for good movement with every direction and speed Ryder moved. As he rushed busily around the library, through the different reading rooms, changing books, rushing to the elevator and splashing in the water at the fountains. In ever instance the fabric recovered well and handled everything he threw at it. On the way home from the library he spilled red sports drink on it and I wanted to cry.
I am happy to report that this fabric even washes well with a pretreat soak the red was out! I think I would have cried if it wouldn't have come out. Now I am trying to figure out what store near me sells Riley Blake knit fabric, so I can buy more of it to make me something. Does anyone know the Salt Lake area well enough to give me a suggestion?
This bright yellow shirt is sure to be the burst of sunshine for loads of laundry in the future. And the energetic little boy who it belongs to is sure to keep up with its positive energy as he meets friends at the library, store or playground.
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Not to be bossy or anything but you should check out what these talented ladies made as part of the Jersey Love by Fishsticks Blog Tour.

This week will will be joining all the other mom's (and potentially grandmas, dads, grandpas) that are sewing for Kids Clothing Week. This is our first go at it, but we are really excited to join the fun. This week we will mostly be giving a quick preview of our accomplishments with the tutorial to follow later (so that we can put more time into sewing than blogging).


Today I made Heber a newsboy cap. I have been dying to make him one pretty much since the moment he was born, but I couldn't find just the right pattern or look. Last week Scary hopped by to visit JoAnn's Daffodil Dash sale. They happened to have McCall patterns on sale. The very first page of the childrens clothing had the newsboy cap I had been searching for the last year. She almost missed it, but luckily for me she didn't and she told me about it. Yay, I was really excited! So excited that I went to 2 different JoAnn's to get it (it was sold out of the first one) all in the middle of flash flooding. This was the final perfect touch to complete his Common Axis look!


I had to make some adjustments to the pattern, so I will let you know how to do it just right sometime in the near future, but the pattern was fairly awesome. It was a McCall pattern number M6575. I hope you're getting excited for what Scary and Jo have cooking in KCW projects. Prepare to be amazed.

From the beginning Heber has always been quiet, calm, and sensitive. He takes life at the pace of his easy going drum. He is shy and affectionate. He has always been full of surprises (especially the day he decided to join our family and we made to the hospital less than 30 minutes before he was born).


If you were to meet him, you would be greeted with big eyes and a serious face. When strangers make him smile, he usually chooses to turn away and hide his grin in my shoulder. If you get blessed for him to share his smile, you will find warm chocolate eyes, a wide open mouth, and 2 very distinct dimples. Even with just his family, he nearly always tries to stifle his laugh and so it comes out more as a grunt.


He loves to give kisses and when he does he opens his mouth really big and goes in quick. This usually leaves me with a slobbery cheek and a red spot from the rushed kiss. His favorite thing in the world is his big sister Ty. Even on the grouchy, teething days, Ty can have him rolling in laughter. Their completely opposite personalities make for a dynamite duo.


This week Heber turned one and I find myself reflecting on my lifetime so far with him. It's funny how someone so little can make such an impact. He has taught me to relax and to not over extend myself because of his need for the easy going pace (even from the beginning). It was such a shocker when I realized that he would only do things when he was good and ready (he waited to start crawling until he was 9 months as opposed to Ty who was 10 months and walking).


Heber's chill personality brings peace to my soul. This weeks project for PR&P was the perfect opportunity to capture of his happy, zen personality. Heber needed a new shirt for church that was comfortable and didn't require a tie (he likes to chew on them and then they are really soggy and make his shirt wet too). It's been my goal this season to meet the needs of my kids' wardrobe as I sew along for PR&P and I think that I have been successful.


The fabric and design probably seem familiar, because I tried to make it correspond to Ty's Concentric Circle Dress. I didn't want Heber to have another white church shirt. I wanted something stylish and fitting for a toddler boy that had a splash of color. Lucky for me I have Scary. Our minds together are capable of near magic when it comes to clothing design.


Lately she has taken to getting the pictures off the pattern guides from the internet and putting them on Photoshop. Then she works her magic until we are completely satisfied with the outcome. This is what our design looked like when we had finished. It was everything I wanted.

Our goal with the circles on the front this time was to make them less bold and a little more distressed than the one on Ty's dress (plus eliminate the hand stitching. I used miraculous freezer paper and my silhouette again. The biggest difference in my studio design from last time was to try to make the perforations as large as possible.


I used Simplicity 1923 pattern, size 1 and hardly had to adjust it. The only exception is the length which I made size 3. Heber and Ty are both nearly in the 100th percentile for height, so we always go up a couple of sizes to get the needed length, but still want to keep it fitted. I also love the length because regardless of the position he is in while crawling or toddling, he will always have his tummy covered.


Just a reminder about our parenting link ups (see right sidebar) that are open for the rest of the month.

Also, while you are stopping by, feel free to check out what other great stuff my sisters and I have made for our kids during this season's PR&P. And keep an eye out for Scary's incredible dress for Boston. Wow, I am excited!
           

This is the first official PR&P Project that I have done something for Heber. Although, you might recognize him from the fall 2012 season when he modeled for his cousin when she was sick. I think the Underwater Land themed top is more fitting, don't you?


So as I'm sure it did with most of you, my mind went in about a million directions when they announced the artistic inspired theme for the first week of this season's Project Run and Play. My first thought was overwhelmed. I mean art is incredible, but what is appropriate for children's clothing and also something I love? I was stumped. Originally I thought maybe I would run with the architecture side of art since that's my favorite. I was thinking of doing a remix of the Eiffel tower into a dress for Ty, but the difficulty, potential cost, and a teething, sick baby vetoed that idea. Hence we went easy this time around.


Next to architecture, my next favorite kind of art is black and white illustrations, more specifically Shel Silverstein. After looking at all of his illustrations I found a picture he did for the Underwater Land album. It was perfect for Heber's personality and nautical theme is pretty big right now.

I used my fabric budget for the other weeks of PR&P so I had to get creative this time around. I ended up going to Goodwill and finding a men's t-shirt that I decided to refashion into a shirt for Heber. I hand drafted some pattern pieces and cut away. The binding around the original neck of the shirt was seam ripped off re-sized to fit the neck line. Once I had put it all together besides the side seams, I got started on the image.


I took the image I found and opened it in Silhouette. I used the trace feature to get the general outline. I cleaned it up and made the image and the line the same color. After doing this you can make the line thickness as much as you desire to make your image bolder. Finally you can use the trace feature again over what you worked on to get a single cut line. And then your image is ready to go.


I cut it on freezer paper so that I could iron it onto the shirt I made. The plan was to use spray paint to get the image on. Unfortunately because some of the freezer paper pieces were so small, they wouldn't stick to the fabric when I tried to iron them on. I ended up still using the freezer paper that I had applied, but just used a sharpie marker to sketch out the little stuff instead of spray paint. Finally, I pulled off the freezer paper, heat set the image, and sewed the side seams from under the arm pit to the bottom of the shirt.


I'm really excited about this tee. Heber looks so handsome and he finally has a shirt that is easy to get over his big head and fit his long body. If you haven't seen it yet you should check out the incredible dress my sister Jo made this week.




Where we are linking up:

So I'm not as talented at this html code thing as Scary, but Boston has an upset stomach and I need a challenge. So here I am and I am excited to highlight our favorites from the designers at Project Run and Play this last season. If you are wondering what we loved, here is each of our top five in no particular order.

We are featuring designs from these lovelies linked below.   We were sew inspired- get it ;) Sew Inspired!
CathGrace
Max California
The Crafty Cupboard
W3
La Inglesita
Little Kids Grow
LBG


Jo's Favorites:
Scary's Favorites:
My Favorites: