The Birthday Shirt: Lego Hero Factory Splitface Tee [with Template]

Today is O's ninth birthday!  Most years one of his presents is a special tee (earlier shirts: age 5, 7, 8), often one that he designs himself.  We've been talking about this year's for quite a while.  His first idea was a half gunmetal grey, half red shirt, a la the Lego Hero Factory character Splitface.  Easy enough.  Then he showed me the chest plate piece and I said, "Oh, why don't we freezer paper stencil on the design? That would be cool!"  He quickly agreed.  On the one hand, I didn't need to sew a shirt (although I did hem the sleeves of a long-sleeved tee to get one in the right color).  On the other hand, I didn't look closely enough at the piece.  It is super detailed!  I could have simplified it, but O is a detail guy, so I knew he'd appreciate it if I made it as accurate as possible.  I would not necessarily recommend that you try to replicate this in one day or cutting by hand with an x-acto knife.  But that's what I did.

I started by taking a photo of the chest plate using a macro filter.  Then I used this tutorial (more or less) to make a stencil in Photoshop.  I decided to stencil the black outlines and fill in the rest with a paintbrush.  I'm sure there are simpler ways to do this, and you could definitely leave out more of the details and still get the general idea, but that's what I thought would work best for how we wanted it to look.  We decided to leave out the part below the belt.

Cutting took around 2 1/2 hours, even leaving out some of the smallest details.  My tips for such intricate freezer paper stencils (other than giving yourself a lot more time than I did) are to: 

• Print out a copy on regular paper to use as a map of sorts to keep track of the pieces as you cut.
• Keep the map and pieces on a tray so nothing gets lost.  I used a jelly roll pan.
• A hole punch works great for the tiny circles.
• Have a tweezers handy! 

After all that time cutting, I was pretty worried I would screw it up, but the outline turned out great.  Then I used a small -- very small -- paint brush to fill in the red and silver.   You could also cut the stencil so that you're painting the silver and red parts and then add the outline after.  It would be easier cutting for sure, but I wanted the placement of all the black elements to be exact.  Yes, I may have a problem.  The painting was actually really fun.  If I had spread this project out over a few days, I would have enjoyed it a lot.  It was cool to see it all come together.  O was home by the time I was painting, and he was really encouraging about how it was looking.  That was pretty adorable.

He went to bed before I had finished the silver, though, so the final product reveal this morning.  He was thrilled, which made the many hours so worth it.  We both agreed that the image could have been a bit larger, but that it looks good anyway.

He commented many times on how accurate all the details were and how I had only left out a few tiny things.  He said something like, "Anyone who knows Lego Hero Factory would know right away that this is Splitface's chest plate!"  Haha.  I think that's a small target audience, especially since it's a discontinued model, but I'm so happy that he loves it.

I can't imagine there are a lot of people out there who want a Splitface shirt and would like to put several hours into making one, but since I made the stencil template, I put it up here.  If anyone DOES make one, I'd love to see it!

Happy Birthday, O!

O's Birthday Tee: USS Constitution Style [with Template]

Originally guest posted at Once Upon a Sewing Machine as part of their Sew You Had a Boy series.

Most years I make O a birthday shirt.  Last year he even designed his own outfit!  His 8th birthday is next week, but he didn't have any suggestions this time around.

We recently went on a trip to Boston, and one of O's favorite things was a tour of the USS Constitution, so I used that as my inspiration.

My original plan was to somehow applique or stencil the ship onto the front of a tee, but fortunately I realized that simplicity is a virtue and a life preserver would be less likely to make me want to tear my hair out.

For the shirt itself, I chose the Fishstick Designs Patrick Curved Raglan, which I have sewn more than any other pattern.  It is definitely one of my go-to boy patterns!

The life preserver is a combination of raw-edge applique and freezer paper stencil.  I sewed the left side seam, then placed and sewed the applique before sewing up the other side.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, so I hope O likes it too!  If you'd like to make one for your own little history lover, you can download the applique and stencil template here.

Tutorial: Camp Half-Blood Freezer Paper Stenciled Tee

Originally posted last month on Heron's Crafts as part of her Storybook Craft Project series.

About a year ago, my teenage niece suggested that O and I should read the Percy Jackson books.  We share a love of Harry Potter, so she thought we'd enjoy them -- and she was right!  O has been pretty much obsessed with all of Riordan's books ever since.  I made him a Camp Half-Blood tee for Christmas and my niece loved it, so I took this opportunity to make one for her as well.

Materials
Orange tee
Black  fabric paint
X-acto knife
Freezer paper
Template

 

If you're new to freezer paper stenciling, start by reading through Rebecca's tutorial.

Open the text template and add whatever clip art you'd like, or make a separate stencil for the image. I chose a centaur, but other suggestions would include a pegasus,  Poseidon's trident, Athena's owl, Zeus's thunderbolt, or the symbol of another Greek god.  I used the Adonais font for the text, if you'd like to make your own stencil with a different layout.

Print and carefully cut out the stencil with the X-acto knife, making sure to keep track of the tiny negative space pieces. I didn't realize until I made this one that I'd forgotten the piece that separates the centaur's arm and arrow on O's shirt.  Apparently not a big deal, since I didn't notice for over a month!

Center the stencil, iron it on, and paint.

The black covers well, so it only needed one coat in most areas.  When you're satisfied with the coverage, peel off the stencil.  It helps to use a pin and a tweezers to get the itty-bitty pieces off.

Admire your work.  All that detailed cutting seems worth it now, right?  Follow the paint instructions for drying and finishing, and enjoy your new shirt.

Tutorial: Pillow Bed from XL Twin Sheet

If you've spent much time on Pinterest, you've probably seen some variation of the pillow bed.  My cousin's wife asked me if I'd make one for her son, so I did some investigating.  Some of the pins suggest sewing pillowcases together; another goes to a tutorial that no longer exists.  I based mine on this tutorial, but she did a lot of eyeballing, and I am a diehard measurer, so here's my version with measurements. 

Materials
XL twin sheet (mine was 66x96")
Ruler
Fabric marker
Coordinating thread
Pins
Five standard pillows

Lay your sheet out right side up and fold one of the long sides over 15" and pin.

Fold the other side over 22", making a finished width of 28". Double-check that this is a snug fit for your pillows.  The ones we had varied in length by a few inches.  This comfortably fit our longest ones, but was a bit loose for the shorter pillows.  Pin.

Move your cat out of the way.

Sew along one of the short ends.  I serged mine, but you could also sew just inside the existing hem (on the far side of the above picture) if you don't have a serger or cut it off, stitch and then zigzag the seam allowance.

Measure 85" from the seam you just sewed.  Mark, sew, and finish as you did the other end.

Turn right side out!  I didn't do this on the first attempt, because I was rushing to finish before E. woke up from her nap and then had to do a whole lot of seam ripping. Push out corners.

Smooth it out so it's as even and wrinkle-free as possible.  Mark lines every 17" and sew, backstitching at both side edges.

The blue line doesn't show up well, but it's there.

Insert your pillows and test it out!

Ladybug Baby Carrier Slipcover Tutorial

Do you still need a costume for your baby?  Here's a quick babywearing costume that I originally shared on The Train to Crazy as part of the Handmade Costume Series. 

Look at how little -- and chubby -- E was!  This was her first Halloween costume.

Materials
Baby carrier, such as a mei tai or soft-structured carrier
Ladybug wings
Red fleece
Black fleece scraps
Heavyweight sew-in interfacing
Hook & loop
Matching thread
Tracing paper

Instructions
Cut the elastic shoulder straps off of the wings. Cut a piece of hook the size of the area connecting the wings. If your hook is too narrow, you may want to use two rows so your wings don't sag. Sew the hook to the wrong side of the wings.

Wrong side

Use bobbin thread that matches your wings, since it will show.

Right side

Trace your carrier, marking openings for the straps.

I don't  have the original Honeybunch mei tai anymore, so I'm using a Kanga XT as an example.

Add a seam allowance (I prefer 1/4") to all of the non-strap areas and cut out your pattern.

Cut the front and back (inside) pieces from red fleece with the greater stretch going side to side. Cut one piece from the interfacing.

Decide how many spots you would like on your ladybug -- mine has three 3" spots -- and cut them from black fleece. Applique them to the front piece. I prefer a straight stitch when using fleece. If your carrier isn't perfectly symmetrical, make sure you're applying them to the correct piece!

Take the piece of interfacing and cut away a bit from the strap areas, so that it doesn't show if it gaps when it's being worn. It will look something like this:

Use a glue stick or pin the interfacing to the back of the front piece. The interfacing reinforces the fleece so that the weight of the wings doesn't cause them to sag.

Cut loop the same size as the hook on the wings. Decide where you'd like your wings to attach; the bottom of my hook is just above the center point of the body. Sew the loop onto the front piece and interfacing.

Place the front and back pieces right sides together and sew seams, leaving openings for straps. Make sure you catch the interfacing in the seam allowances, as shown two photos above.

Turn the slipcover right side out. It's done!

Slip it over your carrier, stick on the wings, and enjoy!

If you'd like to make your little one a simple costume to wear when out of the carrier, start with a basic a-line jumper pattern. I used the Ottobre 4/08 Nasta Pinafore, sewing shoulder seams instead of using buttons and finishing the neckline and armholes by turning them under 1/4" and using a zig-zag stitch. This was also the base of E's bee costume and her owl costume. Sew some dots to the front and back. If your little ladybug is walking, you could also sew some loop to the back of the dress and stick the wings on when she's out of the carrier.

Round out the look with a black onesie and tights. I also made some ladybug slippers from the free Darling Diaper Minimoc pattern (bottom left of the page).

KCWC Day 2: Owl Shoes (with a tutorial for altering a soft shoes pattern for use with braces)

I did sew on Day 1 (Monday), but it's a gift and the mama of the recipient is a reader, so I'm waiting to blog until she gets it.

Yesterday E got her new braces, so she also needed new shoes to fit them.  I was going to just make a quick plain pair, but then I got sidetracked by the idea of an owl applique.  You know how these things go.  The applique took longer than the shoe construction.  Ha.

I took a few pictures along the way, thinking there may be someone else out there who might need to make something similar. E doesn't wear them outside, so she really just needs a lightweight non-skid covering for her braces. A soft-soled shoe is perfect, but the braces add considerable bulk, necessitating some pattern alterations.

You will need a basic soft-soled shoe pattern.  I use the Darling Diapers Minimoc pattern (scroll to the bottom left of this page). You will also need some sort of non-slip sole material.  I like Toughtek, which is a rubberized material that is durable but easy to sew. I found some on Etsy when E got her first pair of braces.

Trace one of the braces and add a 1/4" seam allowance or whatever your pattern requires. If the braces are different lengths, you will need to trace each one; otherwise just remember to flip the pattern piece over when you are cutting the soles so you'll have a left and a right piece. Soft shoe patterns are often the same for both feet, but I like the snugger fit that you get from making a left and a right shoe.

Compare your new sole piece to the sole pieces provided.  E's was close to the size 2 (she has tiny feet!). Trace the comparable toe piece pattern onto Easy Pattern or some other material that is easy to manipulate. You will need to adjust the toe piece for the added bulk of the braces, creating additional volume in the toe box.  Cut directly down the center of the piece to the tip of the toe.  Now drape this over one of the braces.  One  of E's has a 1 cm lift, so that was the brace that I used. Making sure to take the seam allowance into consideration, measure how far apart the middle cut edges are. I needed 2.5" of additional room.

My measurement was across the strap with the bees.

Retrace a new pattern piece with your old piece spread as much as your measurement.  You may also need to smooth out the curve on toe edge a bit (not pictured). Transfer any markings.

You can see how much wider my new pattern piece is compared to the original.

If one has a lift, you may want to add some additional height to the heel piece also.  I just sized up one size.

Now that you have your pieces, you can add any embellishments and follow the sewing instructions as normal.

The brace on the right is the one with the lift.

There is hidden elastic on this pair, but on her old ones, I used elastic cord and a toggle.  This was handy both for getting them on easily and for tightening up the one that was less bulky, since I made the both to fit the larger brace. If these don't say on as well, I will switch out the elastic for some cord and a toggle also.

The originals

Trying them out in her walker this morning.

Owl Bag Tutorial

E. started school this fall too. She's in an early childhood class four mornings a week and needed a mama-made bag of her own. My original plan was to make a messenger bag and applique an owl like the one on her second birthday dress. O. suggested that it should actually look like an owl, so I came up with this little guy.

I kind of love him.  Actually, there's no "kind of" about it.  I've been trying to decide if, at age 32, I can pull off using the bag when E. isn't, but I'm pretty sure the answer to that is a resounding no. 


Want to make an owl bag of your own? Here's how:


Supplies
Pattern
1 yard of main fabric, medium to heavy weight
1 yard of lining fabric
1 1/4 yard heavyweight sew-in interfacing
1 1/4 yard fusible featherweight interfacing 
Fusible webbing of your choice -- by the yard, the sheets are too narrow
12" square of fabric for the face
2 - 5x10" scraps for wings
Smaller scraps for eyes
Magnetic snap (optional)
Small piece of plastic canvas (optional)
1 packages of piping (optional)
Spray adhesive or fabric glue stick (optional)

** All seam allowances are 1/4 inch **


Print the pattern, making sure page scaling is turned off, and assemble.  Please note that to save paper the pages for the main body run horizontally, and the gusset pages are vertical.   I just realized that the gusset is mislabeled as the strap on the pattern, so please pretend that it's correct until I get a chance to go fix it.

Cut the two body pieces and one gusset (on the fold) each from your main fabric, lining fabric and both interfacings. Also cut a 5x30" strap piece from your main fabric.

Apply the heavyweight interfacing to the main fabric body and gusset pieces, either by basting or with the spray adhesive or glue stick.  Iron the fusible interfacing onto the lining pieces.

If you are using a magnetic snap, apply the pieces 1.5 inches down from the center on each lining piece.  If  magnetic snaps are new to you, Rae has a great tutorial here.  I like to reinforce mine with a small square of plastic canvas also.

Plastic canvas

Both sides applied

If you want any tags or pockets on the inside of your bag, add them now.  E. didn't need any pockes, but I did put on a tag.

Next, trace the face, eye pieces, beak and wings onto fusible web. You'll want to trace the nice Photoshop drawn circles for both sets of eyes, I just left the wonky badly-traced ones on the pattern for a placement suggestion.  ;) 

Tracing the face.  I used Heat'n Bond Lite.

Applique the face pieces onto one of your main body pieces from the bottom up: face, wings, outer eye, middle eye, pupil, beak. If you need an applique refresher, here is a tutorial.

Baste piping to the right side of the sides and bottom of the front and back pieces -- not the top!

Now pin the gusset to one of the body pieces, right sides together. I like to mark the centers and then pin from each center out.  Sew.

Repeat with the remaining body piece, then turn right side out. 

Baste piping to the right side of top edge of the bag. You will need to angle the piping where you start and stop.  I would *not* recommend doing this on the gusset, as my machine didn't like the number of layers once the strap piece was added also.  The center back may be a better choice.

Sew the lining gusset to the lining body pieces, leaving an opening for turning.

Prepare your strap by ironing it in half the long way.

Then open it up and iron each side to the middle.

Think  I need to wash my ironing board cover?  Eek.

 Refold along the original fold and iron again.  Topstitch both edges of the strap.

Center the strap on the gusset and baste into place.

Pin the lining and bag right sides together and sew along the top edge.

Reinforce the strap area by bartacking (sewing a tight zigag).  Turn the bag right side out.  Sew the hole in the lining, either by machine or by hand.  As many of you know, I avoid hand sewing at all costs, but decided to suck it up and do it for this bag. I'm glad I did, since you can't even see where the opening was.


Fill it up and enjoy!  We usually have a spiral notebook, E's leg braces, and a thermos of milk for snacktime in the bag, with some room to spare.

It fits perfectly in the basket of E's fancy-schmancy adaptive stroller.