Hey, hey, it’s a monkey!

Happy Halloween!

While many of you still have festivities to come tonight, we have already gone trick-or-treating, and we have the loot to prove it [that is, the candy that hasn't already made it into my belly.... mmmm]

There are my three costume-clad cuties!

[iPod tutorial blogged here]

Months ago, when I asked my four-year-old what he wanted to be for Halloween, he told me a monkey.  I waited for awhile to see if he changed his mind, but every time I asked, he said he needed a monkey costume – and he was insistent that I make it.

So in true Jess fashion, I did another up cycle.  In the same way as last year’s Super Why Costume, I refashioned a men’s sweatshirt that I had on hand to make his pants [from the sleeves of the sweatshirt] and the main portion of his monkey top. The fuzzy material is one I’ve had for a long time, purchased from JoAnn’s, making for a free costume!  I love things that are free.

This is the only picture where you can see his tail peeking out.  It’s made from that fuzzy material, stuffed with polyfil, and sewn onto a circle of elastic.  That way it wouldn’t get in the way of sitting in the car seat and could be easily taken off – or worn without the rest of the monkey costume [which has already happened!]  The costume could easily be a bear, too, without the tail or the quickly made banana [out of a yellow microfiber towel, like the ones I used for the prefold diapers]

This little man did not have a homemade costume.  The pea pod was found at Joann’s on clearance last year [and no, I wasn't even pregnant then, just hopeful!]  I’m glad I didn’t spend the time making a costume that he wore for about two hours… but he was awfully cute!

Have a safe and fun Halloween, to those of you who are celebrating tonight!  Now excuse me while I go eat yet another piece of candy…

Almost done…

Two of my littles napped for an hour at the same time today. Oh how lovely it was! So I got my sew on [while my 4yo peppered comments like "is it done yet? Is that my costume? Can I wear it yet?" - very motivating]

Here’s a sneak peek. Any guesses?

Halloween Flashback

So I am halfway finished with my four-year-old’s costume… if halfway means having cut all the fabric, but not having sewn anything together.  Hmm.

But in case you weren’t around my bloggy blog last year, I thought I’d share the littles’ costumes from Halloween 2010.

My little super reader to the rescue… Super Why!

*costume upcycled from a men’s sweatshirt and a men’s dress shirt*

And Mr. Cutie Patootie Traffic Light

*costume: black fleece pants/sweatshirt made by me [the night before I think... I'm sensing a pattern here], circles of felt*

You can find the original post here.

iPod costume: a tutorial

Um, who else just realized that it’s almost Halloween?  And the homemade costume you planned on making isn’t quite finished started?  But it’s not too late to whip up a quick Halloween costume for you or your little one!  You may have seen me post how to make an iPod (or iPhone… or iPad) costume over on The Train to Crazy, as part of her Handmade Dress up Series [which you need to check out if you haven't yet!] but just in case you missed it, here’s the full tutorial.

If any of you have kids like mine, they love technology.  My one-year-old absolutely loves to take my iPod [he could even say iPod before he could say his big brother’s name!] so I thought it would be so much fun to make him an iPod costume!  This tutorial is super easy and could even be completely no sew.  I made the costume so that it’s easy to get on and off, and could also be put over a winter coat if necessary… because in Wisconsin, you just never know!

Supplies:

• Black fabric – I suggest using jersey knit, felt, or fleece so that you don’t have to finish the edges.  I love to upcycle, so I used the back of a men’s T-Shirt. [If you want to make this a no-sew project, just use a black T-Shirt that your child will wear instead.]
• Sewing machine/thread
• Fabric Glue [I like Liquid Stitch]
• White and grey felt/knit/fleece for making the “screen”
• Velcro
• Fabric Marker – I suggest white/silver/grey – I used one with glitter!

1. Cut a rectangle of black fabric, and round the corners. The length will depend on how tall your child is.

2. Cut  a strip of the same fabric a couple inches wide and long enough to drape over your child’s neck – mine was about 11in.  Fold it in half and zig zag along the long side to sew it into a long tube.  Turn the tube right side out, like in the picture.

3. Attach one end of the tube to the top of the main piece of fabric with a zig zag stitch – near the corner.  This will be the strap to go around your child’s neck.

4. Attach velcro to the other end of the strap (you can sew it on or use fabric glue).  Hold it up to your child to see where the strap will fit comfortably around your child’s neck before attaching the other Velcro piece to the main piece of fabric.  When it’s done, it should look like the picture above.

**For safety purposes, I recommend using Velcro, not sewing on both ends of the strap. This will prevent the risk of choking.

5. Cut felt/knit/fleece pieces to make the screen of the iPod.  Sew them on or use fabric glue to attach.

6. I used silver glittery fabric paint to write the words.  You could also cut these out, but I don’t have many chances to get away with using some glitter on my boys’ clothes, so I went for it. ;)

This is one costume that I could probably even convince my hubby to wear!  Hmm… ;)

Now to get moving on costume number two…. can I add a few more hours to my day, please?

the pants that took over KCWC

Every Kids’ Clothing Week Challenge I am overly ambitious.  My to-sew list is always much longer than I could realistically accomplish.  And this year was no exception.

These pants were a labor of love.  I usually crank pants out pretty quickly [once you get the hang of them, they really don't take that long to make], but I took my time on these.

They’re made from some soft corduroy from Joann’s, and I used the same pattern that I drafted for these pants.

This year I added some pockets, based on Dana’s tutorial here.

Eli is pretty much obsessed with pockets right now, so adding these made the pants super fun for him.

The pockets added a little more time, as did the red topstitching I did on the seams.  It’s just there for fun, to add a  little bit more color to the pants.  If I had a double needle [which leaves me asking, why don't I?!], I would have used that along the seams.

Hello, red stitching!  I think I love you.

I spent a little extra time on some details with these pants, but I think it was worth it.  The pass the toddler comfort test, and now I want to make them in my size.  Mother-son matching pants?  Maybe not. ;)

KCWC – day 1

Yesterday was one of those days as a parent.  One of those leave after dinner, get a milkshake, and go shopping for fabric kind of days [all while my fabulous hubby gets the kids to bed, I might add]. Yes, one of those days.

But at one point during all the madness, I was able to bust out a quick sew project.

Easy fleece pants… in stop traffic red fabric, which was so proudly selected by this sweet boy, that I just couldn’t say no.

Nothing fancy, but let’s be honest, we’re really not all that fancy around here.

And when a boy puts on his fleece jammie pants in the middle of the day and refuses to take them off [even though it's too warm to wear them]… that’s better than fancy.

that time of year again…

Oh, yes.  It’s time.

Time for the Kids Clothing Week Challenge!

Each fall and spring, Meg from the elsie marley blog hosts a Kids’ Clothing Week Challenge.  The challenge is to spend one hour a day [for the whole week] sewing for your kids.  It’s been a great motivator for me to get some things checked off my to-do list.  And it’s so encouraging to know that there are hundreds of other people doing the same thing.

Here are some of my previous KCWC projects:

Upcycled PJ pants

IKEA striped pants

Upcycled Lined SweatshirtUpcycled Flat-front Plaid Shorts

Lots of upcycled goodness… :)  This year I have some super fun fabric that I’m hoping to break out, as well as some more upcycled fabulousness.  On my to-sew list are pants for all the boys, maybe some shirts, and a sweatshirt for my oldest if I’m ambitious … or if the littles cooperate and let me do it all.  But as things go with littles, we’ll see how much I actually get done.

Are you joining in this year??  What’s on your to-sew list?