Stretchy Fleecy Hoody? Oh Goody.

February 4, 2013February 12, 201439 Comments

My first attempt at sewing with knits! This one is made from a stretch knit microfleece. I’m afraid I was completely unable to shake the joy of animal prints ingrained in me by Jungle January, so I lined the hood with blue leopard print fabric. Seemed the obvious choice. I may have an animal print addiction; therapy might be necessary.

I am currently taking the Sewing With Knits class through Craftsy and this is the first project. The pattern is from the class, except for the lining in the hood. I added the lining, by constructing another hood out of the leopard print fabric, a thin knit jersey, and sewing it to the hood.

Because I don’t have a serger / overlocker, I used the stretch stitch on my regular sewing machine (two stitches forward, one stitch back), it takes a long time and uses a lot of thread, but I think it looks better than a narrow zig-zag. I also used an overlock stitch on the exposed seams on the hood and lining and a twin needle for the sleeve and bottom hems.

Lions and Leopards and Camels, Oh My!! Trench Coat Jungle

January 25, 2013February 3, 201432 Comments

My first attempt at sewing a jacket / coat! I finished my trench style coat for Jungle January in animal print! It is based on the Christine Hayne’s pattern and the fabric talked about in this post. Now, you all thought I was going to put the leopard/lion print on the outside and the camel on the inside, right?? Admit it. And, BAM! Leopard/Lion print on the inside!

I altered the sleeves from the pattern quite a bit and made them longer, adding a cuff with button and also added a tie belt with belt loops.

Of course, NEVER to be outdone, Kitty also got his jungle on and styled a coordinating leopard print collar. Bias binding was attached to the raw front edges of the coat and around the collar. To learn more about how to attach bias binding, click here.

Pattern Layout

Bias Binding Attached to Front and Around Collar

Sleeping in Style (with Monkeys)

January 4, 2013February 12, 201419 Comments

So, this years Christmas gifts were….wait for it……sleepwear for everybody! YIPPEE!!

Father and Son Coordinating PJs

Pajama bottoms, a matching camisole and nightgowns.

Run Little Mister Monkeypants Run!!

Green Nightgown with Coordinating Fabric (and monkey fabric yo-yo on the front)

I did not make the jersey t-shirts (I’m still working on inserting sleeves as well as learning to sew with knits), so I bought T-shirts and just embellished them with monkey appliques and matching fabric appliqued on.

Little Mister Monkeypants

The green Jammies set were all based off of the Monkey fabric, so they all coordinated with camouflage patterns, shades of green and monkeys.

Pajamas and Nightgown in Coordinating Fabric

I also added coordinating fabric to the hems and waistbands of some of the pajama bottoms as well as to the chest pieces and straps of the nightgowns. And note the blue monkey slippers that match with the blue linen nightgown.