New Nighties

We used to always get new jammies at Christmastime so I wanted to carry that tradition on with my girls.  They are girly-girls at heart -- that means dresses chosen over pants and nighties over pjs.  Not many stores carry nighties, though, or if they do they are not nearly long enough or ruffly enough. 

This pattern runs big, really big.  I learned from last year and made a size 2 with size 3 length for my 3 year old and a size 3 with about 4 inches extra length for my 6 year old. 

The fabric is Folksy Flannel Coloring Garden in Berry and Fortune Sunset ordered from fabric.com for under $5 a yard.  The prints are a bit loud but the fabric is super soft.  And the best part is that the kids coordinate without being matchy-matchy.  (Although I may have went over the top with the pockets and the piping and bias trim I added to the 6 year old's.  The only reason I didn't do the same to the 3 years olds is that she is supremely picky and I was worried she would find the added bulk at the yoke uncomfortable.) 

It's a very easy pattern -- no closures so it comes together quickly.  I really like the neckline and think it would make a cute summer dress, too.  Mostly though, I'm just happy that they are happy with them.  My littlest would rather stay in her new nightie than get dressed to go out! 

Teacher gifts

Teachers work hard, especially at this time of year -- the kids are so squirrley, I'm glad they're in school this week!   Hopefully a little handmade gift will let these two teacher's know how much I appreciate what they do for our little ones every day. The fabric for both of these gifts is from my cloud 9 giveaway win.

First, I made a little tote bag using the poochie bag tutorial at Happy Zombie.  It's very cute and a great way to show off fat quarters.  I love the addition of the pockets to the outside, and it's a great size for a teacher to carry notebooks or papers. 

The other teacher received a fully lined zippered box pouch that I made from the tutorial over at It's a Pretty Modern Life.  I wanted to be all fancy and show off two fabrics on the outside but I didn't take into account how the fabric would go round the edges --  I had to make the corners deeper so the second fabric wouldn't carry over to the side.  It ended up being more squat than the tutorial as a result but still very functional, I think.  I added quilt batting to the back of the outside which helps keep the shape but still keeps it really soft and squishy.

O + S Cozy Winter Hood

This bear hat from Little Things to Sew was such a quick and satisfying project -- just what I needed to lift my spirits after I realized I didn't have time to make all the things for Christmas that I had on my list :). 

The outside is fleece coating (is that the right word??  It dosen't sound right) left over from the big hoodie I made last year. It's soft and holds it's shape well without being too thick.  The lining is from a terry towel sheet I bought a couple of years ago on clearance (my plan was to make beach robes but that never quite happened, lol). 

I'm never sure how things I make will be received by my littlest but this one was a hit.  She calls it her mouse hat and I agree, the colours definately make it more mouse than bear. 

I made medium but I think small would have been better.  (She's almost 4 and according to the book, medium fits size 4-6).  It took me under two hours to make so I may make another. 

I added a tab so that it could be buttoned up as that's a bit more practical than a bow for playing outside.  Miss Thing chose the button, which may have helped in the acceptance of the hat ;).  Although she loves it, it's been hard to get a decent picture of her in it: here she's shoveling the driveway.  She always has her tongue out when she's concentrating so obviously shoveling's tough work!

edited to add: I made a second in small and it fits much better.  Although I do think the ears are pretty cute on this one, I actually followed the directions on the second hat and they are even cuter.   Now to try to get a picture . . .

 Here's the smaller size, it's much better.