Baby Boy Sewing: Kwik Sew 3730 Airplane Button Down

My nephew is about to turn one, and I can hardly believe it! He's the sweetest, happiest little thing, and we all love him so dearly. For his upcoming birthday, I decided to sew another version of Kwik Sew 3730, this time as a button-down. He loves to spin the propellers on a little Murray Airplane Kiddie Kar from Grampy's collection, so I knew this retro airplane fabric would make him smile!

This pattern is so great for little boys, and I highly recommend it. It's got 1/4" seam allowances, which makes it very easy to whip through the serger quickly. I love sewing for Lukas, but I also know he won't be able to wear it for very long, and it will get very dirty, so cute clothes that I can make in an afternoon are ideal. 

Speaking of that Murray Airplane, looks like it's got a pilot test driving Lukas' new shirt! 

I loved this fabric so much, I ended up buying extra yardage to make another button-down for me! I'm going to try a new vintage pattern, Advance 6426. I've got a muslin done, and it's looking really good so far. So Big L and Little L will soon have matching shirts!

Vintage Baby Boy Sewing: Simplicity 1483

As I'm sure you can imagine, when I found out I was going to have a nephew, I immediately took to the internet to hunt down some vintage baby boy patterns. I knew I wanted to sew him a playsuit, and I managed to find an almost perfect match to a playsuit my grandma had made my uncle as a little boy. This is Simplicity 1483, a 1955 pattern.

Source

I started sewing clothes Lukas will need in a year or two because my brother and sister-in-law already have so much infant stuff. So sadly no pictures of the little one in these yet! 

I love the wooden buttons! I was also determined to match up the gingham. No nephew of mine will be seen with unmatched patterns. It turned out matching gingham was easier than any plaid I've matched before (it's so even!), so I'm feeling a little less daunted about some dresses I want to sew this summer in gingham.

I can't wait to see him in it! He's such a happy little baby, and I am adoring being an aunt and getting to sew for this little munchkin. 

In unrelated news, I recently did a couple of interviews that have published! So if you'd like to learn a bit more about me, what I do for a living, and how I learned to sew, take a gander. 

• Member in Focus on Pattern Review
• Sewing Superstar on Cut Out + Keep - I'm also posting up a tutorial a day on garment construction on Cut Out + Keep, so check back as the week goes on. 

Many thanks to both Pattern Review and Cut Out + Keep for contacting me! 

Baby Boy Sewing: Kwik Sew 3730 Elephant Romper

If you've been following my blog for a little while, you know I became an Aunt last October! This elephant romper is from Kwik Sew 3730 for my darling nephew. Elephants are my sister-in-law's favorite animal, and I knew she'd adore this print. Lukas is only five months, so he can't quite fit into this yet. So you'll have to be content seeing it on tiny clothes pins!

I had never sewn for children before little L came along, and I gotta say, it's fantastic. Lukas won't care if it's not perfect, and will likely spit up on it, so it's completely stress free sewing. This pattern was also so fast to sew up. It calls for 1/4" seam allowances, and can easily be done on the serger. 

The pattern calls for snaps at the bottom, which is nice and easy for all those diaper changes. 

I love the detail of the little pockets! Isn't it just adorable?! This romper was just too cute, so I had to squeeze in one more post before I head to Beacon, NY for Gertie's Sewing Retreat. If you're on instagram, you can follow along with our fun with the hashtag #gertieretreat. 

Liberty and Wool Teddy Bear

I have very exciting tidings - my nephew was born!! Lukas is absolutely perfect, and I am over the moon at being an auntie. If you follow me on Instagram, you got a peek of the little munchkin as we were relaxing after supper one evening.

I've sewn all sorts of odds and ends for Lukas as we prepared for his arrival, like the bunting above. Today I thought I'd share with you Lukas' teddy! I made him with a kit and instructions from Purl Bee.

Isn't he just darling? I've only sewn small 3d objects before, so this was a bit of an undertaking. It's made with a mixture of hand and machine stitches. The instructions from Purl Bee are very clear, which helped a lot. He's just waiting for Lukas to hug him tight!

Before I leave you, I have to share a picture of Lukas' room. My brother and sister-in-law decided to go with a book theme and each selected some of their favorite childhood stories. The Peter Pan wall is by far my favorite.

The text says, "Second star to the right and straight on till morning." I helped to paint the stripes and lay the groundwork, and a dear friend of their's did the artwork using a projector. It's just magical!