The Cape Cod Shirt

So my mom was rummaging through all of her old fabrics and found some really neat stuff.  She should have never shown me this stuff.  I started to drool and got this funny look on my face.  I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it.  No really, I didn't wait...

I'm kind of an air plane junkie.  So this cotton print caught my eye right from the start.  I wanted to make myself a shirt out of it, but there was only about a yard and a quarter of fabric.  Looking through the few patterns I have in my collection, the Cape Cod Shirt by Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop was one that I had not gotten the chance to sew.  This pattern was a great fit for the fabric.

One of these days I'll have a little dude of my own to sew cool-ass shirts for, but until then, you will just have to settle for finished product pictures without someone to model it off.

 One of my favorite features of this pattern is the rolled up sleeves.  How cool is that?  I decided to use clear buttons so that if you decide to go with the sleeves down, the button doesn't stick out too much.

And of course, the back is pleated and has a yoke, which looks very good.

Wish I had more of this fabric, but all that was left were some small strips and pieces.  I'll hold on to them just in case I run across anything cool to use it with.  Stoked to see what else mom pulls from the fabric time capsule!

A Mighty Morphin Pillow

So my mom was digging through her old fabric and sewing things, and found this awesome pillow panel.  It's an original, 1994 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers pillow panel.  I was so excited when she showed me.  When I was a kid, I was a Power Rangers junkie.  If it had the Power Rangers on it, I wanted it.  T-shirts, lunch boxes, book bags, underwear, toys...anything.  The TV show was my absolute favorite, so much so that I would race home from school on my bike just to be able to catch it when it came on.  Me and my friends would play Power Rangers, I would literally dream about it.  There was nothing more I wanted in my hugely imaginative kid brain than to be a Power Ranger.

So, I did what anyone else would have done.  I made the pillow.  Very simple, obviously, but hugely satisfying to make.  Still on the fence about whether or not I want to keep it for myself or try and sell it.  We'll see what happens!  Talk about a throwback.

A Birthday Present

I picked up a pattern to make some aprons, and this is my first run at it.  The pattern was very...involved I guess.  There was just a lot of little things to do to it that I never really gave much thought to.  But hey, those details are what make the apron so pretty and it turned out really well.

I'm not sure if it is acceptable to make the pockets run in a different direction than the main material.  However, I'm going to use my creative license card to get away with it.  I just like the contrast and personally I think it works just fine.  Did you see what I just did there?  I broke outside that little glass box that people like to stay safely tucked inside of!

So this apron is going to be a birthday gift for a friend of mine that I work with.  He is a cook at the restaurant that I work at so I figured an apron would be a fitting gift.  Not to mention, nothing says happy birthday like a hand-made gift.

The pattern was by McCall's (M9269) and comes in an adult and child size along with a pattern for oven mitts in both sizes.  I think I'm going to have some fun with these aprons.  Let's face it, there are an infinite number of ways to make these customizable with fabrics, iron-on designs, monographs, etc.  The fabric was from Wal-Mart, where you can easily find the pattern as well.

T-Shirts are Tough

So I just finished my first t-shirt and I have to be honest with you...I wanted to set it on fire so many times and just be done with it.  But I kept charging on, mistakes and all.  I only had two yards of this black jersey knit fabric, which means I only had one shot at this shirt.  There was no way I was going to quit and just waste this material.

I'm not going to lie...it did not come out very well.  Chalk this one up to a learning experience.  The next time I make this, it's going to rock out.  The pattern was not very hard to follow.  In fact, it was kind of super simple.  What was getting me was the dang fabric.  This stuff has a pretty good stretch to it and it LOVES to roll up at the edges, making sewing a seam an exercise in patience. 

At the base of the placket, you might notice that it puckers a little bit.  The collar is a little rough and my right shoulder...well, if you have a good eye, you can tell that the seam on my right shoulder is inside out.  That's right, I'll admit it...I sewed it on the wrong side.  This mostly happened because I was already frustrated with the darn thing and was just not paying attention.  So, this is going to be a shirt for me to wear, probably to the barn! 

I love this fabric though.  Jersey knit is so soft and comfortable.  I have some more jersey in a gray color.  I'm not really sure if I want to try and make another one of these t-shirts or make a tank top with it or another polo.  I can tell you this though, whatever I do next, you will see it right up on here.  Everything from the perfect sewing project to my Frankenstein t-shirts!