Fitting woes draining my sewing mojo!

So the cardigan Simon and I are sewing for me is way too wide in the shoulders (New Look 6164) and the Buzz Shirt for Sam is too small, it won't fit over his head.

 I really wanted to make this cardigan for a long time. Simon found some fabric he fell in love with and promised he would make it. I should have measured and corrected the shoulders but I didn't.

I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming of the correction. Simon said he knew what to do. I need this finished today to restore my sewing mojo.

I decided to clear one difficult or challenging road block that lay on my to do pile. The V neck I mastered. To what end? Now I have to rip it apart, take it apart and redo the neck opening so that it will fit him. Le Sigh!

I need to do this today to restore my sewing mojo balance.

To Infinity and Beyond!

We bought some cotton fabric from Tonitex. Simon chose this Buzz Lightyear to make a top and bottom. I used Jalie 2918 for the top in a V neck and my Singer Couture pattern that I used for his Elmo pants for the bottom. I used a size 2 for both patterns. 

It had been a while (1 year) since I made a V neck and I was hesitant making the collar. I put it aside and I was waiting for Simon to help, as he is the expert in V necks. This afternoon I decided to stop putting projects aside when they get hard. And what’s the worst that could happen? It looks bad and my 3 year old refuses the wear it? Doubtful he would care!

 

I am impressed with my results! I am glad that I forged ahead and finished this project. That means I can start another project.

Elmo pants

 I was given an old pattern a few years ago. I decided that I would give it a try. The pattern dates 1995 and it was a free pattern when you bought Singer 39 L'Atelier de Couture Singer. The instructions in the packaging are pages from a book. High gloss and FULL of details, you just have to know how to speak French!







For Tyler I used size 6, which is a medium, and Sam has a size 2 which is a TP(very small). I did not sew any pockets. These are PJ's and Sam does not need pockets to hide toys in.







We had bought some fleece fabric last year from Tonitex but never got around to using it. It has little Elmo heads and a big Elmo on the other half. The pattern was either messed up or is intended for a shirt with an opening down the middle as it is duplicated. We got it a discount at any rate. We looked all through the store and this was the only favric that had Elmo on it. I have A LOT left!

I chose the Elmo faces for the front of the pants

The Elmo goes in the back on one leg and the "Play with me" is in the back on the other leg. The words are hidden right now.





There are some Elmo faces left over and I plan to put some backing on them and sew them as appliques on the new sweat pants I made. 

I got my sewing mojo back, and a new sewing table!

 So I have the most amazing husband ever! Yes, I do! Take a look at what he made us. I say us because he sews with me. He is as much invested in this as I am. This table cost us $35 for the wheels. We just need to add a small magnet to keep the bottom drawer closed as it is not leveled 100% due to the wheels. This replaces the old table we used with the risers. This looks much more professional, organized and clean. If we were to buy a table for organizing and sewing it would cost a fortune. This was FREE!

 Simon got from his work some old cabinets. He screwed the 3 cabinets together and put wheels on them. They are the perfect height for working on patterns or material! NO bending over. Seeing as this room serves multiple functions I wanted to be able to move it out of the way temporarily. We used swivel wheels so it is easy to move anywhere.







The bottom 3 drawers are file folder drawers. I am using the middle one for all my patterns. They are so deep the one drawer holds all my patterns, including the Jalie patters which are huge. I need to organize a little more, but with 2 active kids bouncing around us, this is the best we can get for this weekend!

 The left storage and the right storage bin has to be organized better. I need to roll my fabric or something. I am Googling ways to store fabric to find the best one for us. Here's a thought, sew up everything and stop buying more fabric. DUH!

 The middle cubicle we put our 2 storage organizers that holds all our scissors, elastics, etc...

The drawer on top of this holds my utensils, pencils, tracing paper, etc...

So I got my sewing mojo back. I modified the PJ pattern and lengthened the pants for Tyler. He now has a new pair of sweat pants. I will probably make him another pair today. And I told Simon that I want another Christmas dress from the sparkly fabric we bought last year. We have the pattern already made, so it is a matter of cutting it up and doing it! 

Simon finished the Lego star wars pants for Tyler. We used the Medium when he was still a small, but with length added. He reduced and reduced and reduced.

It feels really good to get back into it! Happy sewing! Let me know what types of creative ways you have used to create your own sewing spaces!

**Update **
I have a great way to roll up my fabric and keep it in place. I roll up the fabric and store them in transparent bins. I can see the fabric in the bin, and I can open it up and see more. I have 3 of these, but the 3rd one is too wide to fit beside the 2 other ones. Not bad for 1 day and 0$ investments.

I have since made 2 3 pairs of sweat pants for the boys, woo hoo! And I used a new pattern as well! It is not quite new, it is from the 80's. A pattern that was given to me. A singer couture pattern.