September Sewing- stockings, clothes, hats, Edward Tulane, Betty Dress
As early as it may seem, September is usually when I start making Christmas stockings! In fact, I always feel like I’m behind waiting until September! This last month I remade a lot of stocking designs from last year but I have also made a few new ones so far that I really like, plus I’ve already had a few custom orders.
I also have been trying to find better ways to store my stockings for awhile. This month I had my husband help me mount two racks with hinges to store my stockings vertically instead of flat, where they sometimes got wrinkles. It feels a bit like a dry cleaner’s now, but I like it!
I also made a few short sleeved shirts for my son because all of his were stained or short enough to show his tubby toddler belly!
My oldest decided to try out for cheerleading in her middle school. We were only required to provide shoes, socks, a white bodysuit, and shorts for under her uniform. I decided that with my daughter’s measurements, I wanted to try making her both. The fabric was less than $10 for each item, including shipping, and I also bought patterns, but I’ll use these again, so I don’t really count that in the cost. Mom sewing definitely wins! For my daughter, I had to blend between four sizes and shorten the top part while lengthening the bottom. The pattern was great and made blending very easy. I also bought the shorts pattern after liking the bodysuit pattern.
My youngest turned two this month and as is tradition in our family for age 2, I made him bedding. (All my kids move out of the crib before age 2). This is the first kid going from a crib to twin bed though, all the others have gone to toddler beds. He was thrilled both with his bed and the bedding! I bought a twin sheet set on Amazon and used the flat sheet to make a blanket, along with some minky from Joanns and some batting. It’s the perfect thickness, but for now he sleeps on top of it with his sleepsack.
I like using my sewing skills to do good. I have been occasionally making and donating hats to Delaware Head Huggers, which donates hats to cancer patients. It’s been several months, so I made a large batch (and also used up some fabric scraps, which always makes me happy!). It’s a cute pattern that starts as a rectangle, so very easy to cut out. I did alter it so that there’s no seam on the inside crown to irritate sensitive heads.
A friend has a daughter directing the play, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. She asked me if I would be able to make the rabbit doll for the play. It’s going to be a big endeavor (he is jointed and requires several changes of clothing), but I agreed. This was my first draft, which definitely will require changes, but I feel like it’s a great start! My 2 year old loves it.
My final project to share was actually finished in one day a couple weeks ago. I have been planning this project for several months since I bought this diamond fabric from Smoogie Fabrics. I bought it for New Year’s, but I also was going to wear it for my anniversary in August. We didn’t end up doing much for anniversary, so I decided to go ahead and just make it because I was excited about it. I love how it turned out! The pattern, the Betty from Sinclair Patterns, is super flattering, and I already had it cut out. I love how they have petite, regular, and tall versions of all their patterns! Cotton lycra made a great fabric for it. It’s more stable than other fabrics I’ve used. I will get lots of use out of it
