Yeehaw!!

Here it is...the western shirt that has consumed all of my crafty time for the last week or two. Lately, we've been reading a book called The Home Ranch by Ralph Moody. I think at this point in time the series is probably pretty obscure, but it is so fun to read! In the series, Ralph (known as 'Little Britches') tells the tales of his childhood in the early 1900's, growing up ranching in Colorado. Little Britches had a knack for getting himself into a pinch, but also for getting himself back out (usually). Little Britches gained his moniker by doing trick riding at the Littleton Rodeo, at the age of 9 or 10. He could stop his horse on a dime, launching himself out of the saddle to flip through the air and land, on his feet, next to his horse. (He didn't enlighten his mother on this hobby of his until the actual rodeo.) Reading this book got me thinking that I could make my son a fancy Western shirt. After seeing the Once Upon A Thread series at No Big Dill (where you sew something themed on a children's book), I knew I had to make it, and make it NOW! I already had a pattern for it, which I had previously used for a vest. (Simplicity 5366) The fabric was a shirting fabric I found on fabric.com for less than two bucks a yard. It went together very nicely despite the fact that I lost the entire second page of instructions. My previous experience didn't quite cut it when it came to making the stand collar, so Google to the rescue! I embroidered the back yoke prior to cutting the piece out. For the design, I modified a clipart image for the horse and rider, and sketched out his name in lieu of a lasso. The buttons are pearl snaps, of course! I am really thrilled with how this project came out, if you can't tell. :) I have never made a dress shirt of the male persuasion and so I got to learn a few new things! And the best part? My son loves it. He even got right out of his warm, comfy jammies early this morning to get dressed up in his new shirt, jeans, cowboy boots and his favorite hat. That is success!

Necktie Onsies

I recently had someone request to buy some necktie onesies. I used scraps from several mens dress shirts for the appliques. I am increasingly enamored with the many uses of mens dress shirts. There is enough fabric in one large shirt to make a dress, a couple of newsboy caps, a boys shirt, or even a pair of child's pants. (Click here to see several examples) I am also working on making a few boy's bow ties made from a mens shirt. Oh, the possibilities! If only I could convince my husband to relinquish his two fabulous purple dress shirts. I could really have fun with those! :)

Shirt to Dress

Remember the shirt skirt? Here is what I did with the rest of Dad's shirt. I used a commercial pattern, and just treated the front button panel as one piece. The bottom band is the same gray suiting I used for the skirt. To add a little flair, I used lavender piping around the top and between the dress and the bottom band.

Wherein I Post Really Crummy Photos of a Really Cute Skirt

(Pardon the pictures: getting her to stand still sometimes is like trying to herd cats)

Dad donated a few shirts to the cause recently, and I was able to eek out both a jumper and a skirt out of one of them. For the skirt, I used the suiting fabric I mentioned in the previous post. The bottom band is cut on the bias, from the shirt, so that the stripes are situated diagonally.

(jumper pictures to come, if I ever figure out what to do in lieu of buttons)

Grandpa's Shirt

Here is a shirt I made using a shirt of Grandpa's. James now has a little piece of his Great Grandpa to wear. I cut apart the shirt at the seams and positioned the pattern pieces in such a way as to make myself a lot less work. I was able to use the existing plackets and button holes, the bottom and sleeve hems. It really made the shirt simple to make, because all I had to do was the shoulder and side seams, and the collar. I need to work out a nicer way to finish the placket edge since I didn't use the facing, but there's always a next time. Even with it being my first shirt like this, it took less than an hour, and if you have a mens shirt already, its a free project! I suppose you could do this just as easily with a womens shirt and a girl's shirt pattern.

A Hat Full of Memories

Our Grandpa passed away last month, and I took a few of his shirts hoping to make something special out of them. I thought about Grandpa and all the fun memories while I sewed this hat. I used one of Grandpa's flannel shirts, and this tutorial. I made sure to plan ahead, so that I have enough left to make a hat for my younger son as well. The lining is from an old pair of medium-weight cotton pants. The pattern is sized for a 6-8 year old boy, but I think it is on the smaller side. Good thing I cut it on the bias like she suggested or it would not have fit. Now, to figure out how to scale the pattern down for an 8 month old...