An Abundance of Jammies

P's warm aqua jammies

I've been delving into the world of knits sewing recently. I put it out into the universe that I'd like a serger and - ta da! - my mother's friend just happened to have a serger sitting (mostly) unused in her basement that I could borrow for as long as I liked! Yay! I brought that sucker home, read through the manual and fired it up. I'm not sure I truly understand exactly what I'm doing, but it seems to be working. I've gone a little crazy.  In fact, I've enjoyed myself so much, I asked for (and received already!) the exact same Brother 1034D serger for my birthday. :)

This week, both kids needed new jammies. Penny's most recent hand-me-down box didn't have any pajamas in it and Owen only has 5 sets - not enough for the the way I do laundry. I wanted some warm fleecy footed pajamas and was having a tough time finding them in the store without stupid things all over them or for a ridiculous price. I started doing a little searching and came across Kwik Sew 3527, a toddler sleeper pattern that was just exactly what I was looking for. I was so excited to buy that pattern and sew some fleece jammies!

I actually bought the downloadable version of the pattern since I couldn't find it in the couple of places I checked locally. Bummer. The instant gratification was nice, but I'd really rather have my pattern piece on one nice, smooth piece of paper instead of all jenky and taped together. Oh well. The download is cheaper than the hard copy anyway. I only wish I could save an electronic version on my computer rather than have to print it out and then save all those taped together pieces of printer paper.

The pattern itself was easy - I can't believe more people don't sew their own footed jammies! There aren't very many pieces, only the main body, a crotch piece, the feet bottoms, cuffs, collar and snap tab. I think it took me a total of 3 hours to sew one set together.  I had a tiny bit of trouble getting the feet sewn on with no missed pieces of fabric, and I kept messing up the part where the collar and zipper get finished. I think I finally got that part right on my fifth try.
Otherwise, I'm so pleased with these projects. I especially liked using the gripper fabric on the feet. What an awesome touch! The antipill fleece from Joann's is extra-super warm, perfect for our late fall camping trips. The microfleece from Joann's is really soft and is a great weight for kids' pajamas. 

P & O all snuggly warm

I've made five pair of these so far. I think I'm stopping for the year. After all, how many pairs of uber-warm jammies do two kids really need? I just enjoy the idea of my kids nestled down in blanket sleepers that I made, wrapping themselves all night long in their Mommy's love. Plus, seriously, what's cuter than a toddler in footed jammies? Fortunately, kids don't stop growing, so I'll have to make some more next fall. I will also definitely have to purchase the infant version of this pattern, Kwik Sew 2919, to make for our February baby to be. And then, my nieces probably need warm sleepers....

Christmas on My Mind

It's October, so of course I'm thinking Christmas. I've actually been thinking about it since July when I bought my daughter a dollhouse on Ebay. I have quite a few projects that have been stewing around in my mind for a while. I want to make an ornament wreath like the ones I saw filling up Pinterest last year. I think my oldest is old enough now for an advent calendar. Oh, and we need stockings.

I knitted stockings for my husband and myself a few years ago, but I am unhappy with them. I used Lopi yarn and they are scratchy. Also, they're too big, and I don't like the colors. Plus, with two kids and a baby on the way, I certainly don't want to spend all my knitting time making three more dissatisfying stockings just so they all match. I thought about coming up with something knitted that I DO like, but, eh, knitting takes a lot of time and I'd need five stockings. I think I'd rather spend knitting time on something else.

The stockings I grew up with were just about perfect, in my opinion. They were big enough, but not enormous. My mom made cross stitch cuffs with everyone's name on them. She's been working on those cuffs for the past 20 years, though! I think she made cuffs for my sister, brother, myself and herself in pretty quick succession, but then stalled out on my dad's. She finally finished his (after something like 10 years) but then my sister and I got married and pretty quickly started adding grandkids. Cross stitching takes as much time as knitting, if not more, so I'm not going to cross stitch name cuffs. I'm just going to get the cuffs embroidered.

I also think I'm going to be using her stocking pattern as my template. Unfortunately, the pattern piece didn't include seam allowances. Not too long ago, armed only with the template and no directions, I blithely cut out ten pieces of quilt batting and 10 stocking fronts and backs, only to discover the final product was just that bit too small. I'm stalled. I want to get these darn things done, and I know it won't take me very long to put them all together. I just have to decide if I want to cut new stockings with correct seam allowances or if I can live with stockings that are (in my opinion) a half inch too small in all directions. Grrrr.....