Summer sewing projects

Here are some of the things that I've sewn this summer.

"Daddy shorts," as TongJie calls them, upcycled from an old pair of Jeff's shorts, using my trusty shorts pattern mentioned in an earlier blog post.  And a raglan shirt (pattern from "Sewing for Boys" that I checked out of the library) that says "it's green ahead" inspired by the book "Go Dog Go"

Jammies, using the raglan pattern from "Sewing for Boys" mentioned above, as well as the leggings pattern from the book "Growing Up Sew Liberated" that I also checked out from the library:

Two raglan shirts (using the same pattern mentioned above) upcycled from yard sale tee shirt finds, a pair of pinkish-orange shorts (using the same trusty shorts pattern mentioned above) upcycled from an ugly pair of yard sale men's shorts, and the "Basic Pocket Pants" from the above-mentioned book "Growing Up Sew Liberated"

A couple of ties from this free tutorial online, using some scraps of fabric that I had:

The "BBC Vest," a pattern that I actually bought online (but it was definitely worth it, and I'm sure I'll get lots of good use out of it, since it goes up to size 8).  The sweatshirt fabric is from an old homemade vest of mine that I tried to make when I was still not very good at reading patterns and it turned out really bad so I never wore it, and the green lining is leftover from my fabric stash.

And, finally, the "Small Fry Skinny Jean" pattern that is available online for free here in size 2T only.  I like anything free, so I wanted to try this pattern, but I was pretty sure that 2T would be huge on TongJie, since the other pants/shorts patterns that I sew for him are more equivalent to 12 month, even though he turns three next week.  So I used some rather ugly fabric that I really didn't care about as a test - it's from a once-black sweatshirt from a thrift store that I bleached and then tried to dye a dark bluish green color, but it didn't take the dye.  Anyway, I followed the pattern pretty closely except used 1/2" seam allowances instead of 3/8" like the pattern said.  The pattern is supposed to be for something like quilting cotton or stretch denim, so using the knit fabric that I did was already a "stretch" (no pun intended, ha ha!), but the pants actually turned out really good, except way too big.  The knit sweatshirt fabric looks really comfortable, and TongJie enjoys wearing them if I roll the waist over so they stay up better.  This was my first time making a half fly, though it was totally unnecessary in this case.  I wanted to practice the technique though, and I'm glad I know how to do it now because it makes it a lot easier than having to deal with a zipper fly, especially for little kids, but very functional to get over their hips if it's made with a woven material or for slim-fitting pants.  Another thing I like about these pants is that they include a back yoke, which I've never done before, and I think it makes them look much more professional.  These pants will fit him for a very long time.  They are also way too long and as you can see in the photos below, they're rolled up at the bottom.  I think the rolled-up look goes well with this style of pants.

As you can see, the pants are pretty big on him

You can especially tell how big they are in the back

He likes the pockets

Here's a picture of the back with the waistband rolled over

So, there are some of the fun things that I've made this summer.  Almost no cost involved (except for the vest pattern that I purchased, and 50 cents here and there at yard sales for fabric to use) but a lot of enjoyment sewing, and many new techniques learned!