So, in this year of non-winter in warm North Carolina, I decided to make each of my sons a pair of double / lined wool mittens. You know, for throwing snowballs. I was intrigued by this Beth Brown-Reinsel design where the lining and outer mitten are knit as one piece, so there’s no sewing-up at the end. The mitten above is the first one, all done. Here is the second.

Immediately after finishing them, I put them on in the car. It wasn’t until I was trying to pull the second one on that I realized what I’d done. Do you see it? Don’t scroll down until you’ve thought it through.

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Yes, I absolutely did that. Ever heard of two left feet? Well, apparently I have two left thumbs. After laughing and maybe crying a bit, I decided to lop the thumbs off of the offending mitten and use my kitchener and grafting skills to mend the hole and make an appropriate new one. This pattern doesn’t have a thumb gusset, so it would definitely work, in theory. In my head, this post morphed into “how to easily fix a mitten thumb mistake.”

Fortunately, when I looked closely at the damage, it turned out that it was only the outside of the mitten that had the thumb in the wrong place, so there was only one thumb to move. Yes, it takes talent to knit the entire thing when your mistake is staring you in the face, but I managed.

Unfortunately, closing the hole with a kitchener stitch after removing the thumb looked messy, so I needed to rip the mitten back to the thumb.

Fortunately, I figured out that using the kitchener wouldn’t have worked anyway, as this version of the mitten has short rows worked across the knuckles. Moving the thumb as I needed to would have put it on the other side, making the mitten bend in an anatomically creative fashion.

Unfortunately, that meant more knitting.

Fortunately, I like to knit. And now, we have these. They are squooshy, and warm, and will fit me when my son grows out of them. Though, the fact that my husband can get his giant hands in there doesn’t bode well for J growing out of them any time soon.

I wish I had planned ahead and taken a photo when he first picked them up. His smile was amazing – it had settled a bit by the time I took this one. Both of my kids have knit-gift gratitude down pat.

Details:

Started:	25 Dec 2011
Finished:	8 Feb 2012
Pattern:	Yummy Mittens by Beth Brown-Reinsel. Link to pattern on Ravelry here. It was $6 US when I bought it.
Yarn:	Cascade Yarns 220 Wool, color 9555 white/black for the outside, 9409 blue/black for the inside. J picked the colors himself.
Needles:	US 5 / 3.75 mm for the cuff, US 6 / 4.0 mm for the liner, and US 7 / 4.5 mm for the outer shell.
Notes:	J had a palm circumference of 6.625″ / 16.8 cm. Cast on 36 stitches around. 12 rows between cuff and thumb. 8 rows between thumb waste yarn and beginning of short rows across the knuckles. 6.25″ / 16 cm from cuff to decreases on palm side. My Ravelry project page is here.

Happy New Year, everyone. I thought I’d share some quick photos of what I’ve been up to.

This keeps B’s earbuds from being a tangled mess, and also keeps him from appropriating his brothers’ as his own. This is basically a 4-stitch i-cord with a bit of circular knitting at the join. The idea and recipe are from Dorian Starr and can be found here. I used US 0 / 2.0 mm needles just because that was the set closest to me when I started; I’d go up a size or two next time. The yarn is some leftover Patons Kroy sock yarn in colorway 56603. Ravelry link.

I also plied up a big, fluffy skein of 2-ply oatmeal colored BFL that will be a sweater someday. It was hard for me to spin ‘big’ enough to get a worsted weight yarn. It’s quite squishy and pretty, though, so I’m happy. I was without a lazy kate for a long time, and so it took me forever to get from the spinning to the plying stage. My wheel got dusty, I’m ashamed to admit. I’ll have to show you the pop tart box I finally mangled to make a lazy kate sometime.

So, what are you all up to in the new year? I am spinning my Christmas roving now, and working on lined gloves that are much too warm for our mild North Carolina winters. My husband thinks I’m crazy (and he’s probably right), but I’m having fun.

Every once in a while, I get a hare-brained idea. Like, “Wouldn’t it be nice to sew jeans from scratch? For a growing boy? Solely on the treadle machines?! Cool! I’ll have it done by next weekend!” Yes, I thought that. I still stand by it, except for the ‘next weekend’ part. In September, as the weather was finally cooling off, I finished up B’s jeans. I started them a long time ago, but was savvy enough to put a bunch of extra length in them. This kid grows up far faster than he grows out.

Mostly, I wanted to see whether I could make “real” pants that didn’t look homemade. These pants represent my first yoke, half-elastic waistband, pockets, placket, inset zipper, belt loops, and back pockets. Whew. I’ve made pants before, but of the elastic pull-on variety with no pockets.

My favorite thing about these pants is that the front pockets are sewn down, which eliminates the annoying white bunch of lining that always seems to appear at the top of my boys’ jean pockets. Pushing down the lining when they put their pants on in the morning is not high on the boys’ priority list. B’s favorite thing about them is the gingham lining on the inside of the front pocket. It was a piece of fabric from Aunt Ellie’s stash, and he’s thrilled that it is now his. That, of course, charms me to no end.

I managed the whole shebang on my treadle machines, with the exception of the button hole. I *could* have done it on my Necchi, but I managed to mess up my timing on it, and so brought out my trusty old electric machine for the button hole just to have it all done. B was terribly patient, and claims these as his favorite pants. Consequently, I only have the photos that I snapped in a hurry when they were first complete.

The pattern is from Ottobre Design’s Autumn 2007 kids issue (#39: Boy’s slim-fit pants.) They fit B perfectly. Well, two days after I hemmed them, they were too short again, but that’s not the pattern’s fault. Luckily, I left enough fabric to let out the hem. I can be taught.

In other clothing news, I’ve been playing about with embroidery. Both of these patterns are from Urban Threads. I did them on soft plain T-shirts. I’m lucky that I have boys who want to wear the things I make. One of these days, I’ll get around embroidering something for myself. At least I won’t grow out of it!

Happy New Year, everyone. It looks like the new year here will be even busier than the old one. I’m feeling a mite discombobulated, so I’m not even going to attempt to string this last set of projects into any sort of meaningful theme. Let’s just call it a brain-purge of all the 2010 projects I never got around to showing you.

Another lizard shirt, this one in blue. This one is made the same way as the first one was.

Rice packets! I put these in my sugar jars and laundry detergent to keep them from getting hard if a little moisture makes it into the jar. They make a huge difference, especially in my sugar jars. Without these little guys, we have to chip the sugar out!

A set of 2×2 rib socks for me. Yarn: Zen String Loopy Legends in Laurie’s Carolina Morning (100% merino wool – 3-ply light fingering weight. Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) dpns

Notes:

Women’s US size 6: 2×2 Rib, Cuff down, 64 sts. 6â€� cuff Heel flap worked in heel stitch over 32 sts for 32 rows. Heel turn: 1 (RS): sl 1, k16, ssk, k1, turn. 2 (WS): sl 1, p3, p2 tog, p1, turn. Continue heel turn. Work foot to 7 1/4â€�. Work toe decrease every other round until 32 sts remain. Then, work decrease every round until 20 sts remain. Kitchener. Ravelry link

There’s another bat just like Glidey around here somewhere, but he was lost almost as soon as he was completed. Someday he’ll turn up and I’ll get a picture.

Also, imagine a pile of this yarn. I finished up the fiber, but have no photos yet.

May your new year be happy and bright!

-Stacy

I’m operating under the code of ‘better late than never.’ This was the upshot of Halloween sewing this year.

The ghost was an adult-sized costume that I pared down using J’s measurements. Considering I did it on the fly, it came out pretty well. The hood and shoulder area could have used a little more attention, but it worked for the Halloween party and trick-or-treating. It was excellent practice in working with slippery stuff, and I got to use the narrow hemmer on my serger for the first time. He’s wearing his brother’s skeleton costume from last year underneath to look as scary as possible, though the big grin on his face ruins that effect.

Next to the ghost, Mr. Wizard was dead easy (pardon the pun.) The cape went together in a day, and the robe was almost as fast. You can’t see it in this photo, but I also threw together a felt scabbard for his wand, so that he’d have his hands free to play party games and beg treats. The cape fabric did all the work for this costume; I’m glad we found it.

I was silly again this year, and made the costumes in the week before Halloween. Details below:

Ghost

Started:	21 Oct 2010
Finished:	29 Oct 2010
Pattern:	Simplicity 2486
Fabric:	Platinum / gray organza from Jo Ann’s.
Notes:	Serged the edges; the rest was sewn on my treadle sewing machine.

Wizard

Started:	21 Oct 2010
Finished:	29 Oct 2010
Pattern:	McCall’s 2854, size 8
Fabric:	Black polyester shantung for the robe, gold mesh spiderweb for the cape. Velvet ribbon, gold rope (belt).
Notes:	Sewn on the treadle, with the exception of the robe seams, which I serged.

Last month, in need of a quick-project-fix, I cast on for two of these little fellows. Nothing says Happy Halloween like a friendly little bat. B picked his colors and button, and named him ‘Glidey’ even before the last stitches were complete. Glidey has already been to the store, the eye doctor, and on a bike ride to the local park. A well-traveled friend, indeed.

The pattern was lovely, and went together quickly. The making up was a little fiddly, as toys are apt to be, but following the mattress stitch toy directions on Mochimochi Land helped quite a bit.

The boys both love that the wings button shut, and that they can hang the bats from fingers and pencils. There’s a notion of hanging them from carabiners, but luckily for the bats, the boys can’t find their clips.

You can click any of these pictures to make them larger

In ‘Kids Clothes Week Challenge’ news, I still don’t have a pair of jeans finished for the boy. I did spend an hour every day that week working on it, so I’m rather glad about that. Then, I took a break and knit instead. I’ll be back to work on the jeans tonight and will be sure to show them to you all when they’re done. Fall weather has arrived here, so I need to get cracking!

Bat details:

Started:	15 Sep 2010
Finished:	5 Oct 2010
Pattern:	Boo the Bat by Anna Hrachovec. Link to pattern on Mochimochi Land here. Link to pattern on Ravelry here. It was $5 US when I bought it.
Yarn:	Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in Blue (812) and Black (815). I used in the neighborhood of 8g of blue yarn and 7g of black yarn.
Needles:	US 6 / 4.25 mm bamboo dpns from Clover
Notes:	9 mm safety eyes (found them at Jo Ann’s.) The button is around 1/2″ and also found at Jo Ann’s. My Ravelry project page for Glidey is here.

Today is day one of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. I’m diving in, because it’s at this time every year that I find myself without clothes for the kids. They sprout up all summer long, but I don’t really notice because they’re in shorts. Then, the dreaded fall weather arrives, and suddenly we have wrists and ankles poking out from clothes everywhere.

B, in particular, is a skinny kid. Every once in a while we’ll find a slim fit pair of pants to fit him, but it’s not too common. So, I’m going to find out how far I can get on a pair of pants for him this week. The challenge stipulates working an hour a day, but I imagine I’ll end up doing a bit more than that just to get somewhere.

Of course, I made it a bit more challenging for myself by making this the first pair of pants I’ve ever made with a yoke in the back. And pockets. And a zipper. Oh, and I’m making it my first pattern from Ottobre, too. Yes, I might be in a bit over my head, but I’m sure to learn something along the way.

Day 1:

• Got B’s new measurements (he’s 10, so it seems like they change hourly.) Checked them against the Ottobre slim fit pattern measurements, and they are the closest fit height- and waist-wise that I’ve ever seen for him.
• Dug out denim from the stash that I bought years ago. Determined that it’s definitely not 10-year-old-boy-pants denim. It’s thin and soft, and he’d have a hole in it within five minutes. Two, if he was outside.
• Ran to the store, found heavy brown denim on sale. B loves it (whew.)
• Found correct pattern sheet (see photo, above.) After recovering from the initial shock, found out via Google that I’ll be adding my own seam allowances. Cool, except for I don’t know which parts actually need them, or what that interesting flap thing is on one of the patterns. Must be the fly that covers the zipper. Hrmm.
• Found pattern tracing paper in the closet, gathered everything together, and called it a night.

So, does anyone out there have any advice about sewing for kids? I’m all ears.

B now has a new pair of pajamas, sewn in 20 minute stretches over the past several weeks. Or months, but who’s keeping track? I love this pattern; I think it’s because they remind me of baseball uniforms. Seriously cute, without me having to mess with setting in a collar. The pattern is New Look 6131, and I picked up the fabric some time ago at my local Jo-Ann Fabrics store.

This boy grow up much faster than he does out, so I’ve gotten crafty with the bottoms. I added three inches when I cut them out, and made cuffs at the bottom of his pant legs. So, the first time he grows out of them, I’ll simply let the cuff down (they’re simply tacked up at the seams.). That will leave a deep hem, which I can let down for the second growth spurt. I think I’ll be rather lucky if the pants make it that long without getting worn out in the knees. But, he loves them, so I want to make them last as long as we can. Now his brother is asking for a cuffed pair of PJ bottoms, as well.

I have been knitting and spinning a little, and working on a quilt for charity. I’ll have some picture to show you all soon!

Yes, I am still knitting, but it is all socks, and nothing much to show for it. So, I’ll show you a bit of embroidery instead. My kids are knee-walkers and sliders, so I am happy if I can keep one pair of jeans unpatched. I was feeling all spring-like and embroidered a lucky little clover for this one. Unfortunately, after a time through the washer and dryer, the blanket stitch around the outside was trying to shrink like crazy. Maybe I should use doubled sewing thread for around the outside instead of embroidery floss?

Up next is this little guy. When I was on my forced knitting break due to my damaged nerve, I found that I could still hold a sewing needle. I found a clip art owl to trace and embroider. My original intention was to make a small trinket bag out of him, but I’m really not sure what he’s going to be now.

I had quite a hard time trying to find any marking pencil that would show up well on jeans. I finally asked a friend who does this sort of thing what she used, and she recommended washable markers (yes, the kind kids use.) It worked swimmingly, until I tried to wash the owl. In most of the areas, everything went well, but the marker really soaked into the floss in the eye area. All that satin stitching just sucked the ink right up.

I spent a lot of time with paper towels, trying to get all of the ink out. You can still see some in the eyes if you look. If anyone has suggestions for marking on jeans, or for what to do with this little owl, give me a shout. He stands between 5 and 6 inches tall.

In fibery news, a new local yarn shop opened up. I need another project like I need a new hole in the head, but I had to go over and see the new place! It’s a lovely shop (Downtown Knits in Apex, NC) and I walked out with this pretty gradient sock yarn from the Unique Sheep.

If you are going to be near Raleigh next weekend, stop by our 2nd annual Carolina Fiberfest! I’ll be around on Friday and Sunday afternoon, if you want to say ‘hi’. A lot of fun demos and neat vendors are all lined up to go. I can’t wait!

Book covers are another quick gift idea for kids or adults. I just realized that I never shared my first two book covers with you; they were paperback covers for my boys. This particular cover is for a composition book. I hope it will make a nice place for the hopes, doodles, and lofty plans of its new owner, who wants to build and fly airplanes someday.

I used the same basic design as I did for the paperback cover. My brilliant mother-in-law used to sell them in craft shows way back in the 80′s, and she taught me this method. Each cover has a ribbon bookmark sewn in at the top for ease of use.

Since composition books aren’t variable in size, I didn’t have to worry about an adjustable back flap. I sewed pockets on both sides for the cover to slip into.

I decided to go for a magnetic closure for the ‘wow, spiffy’ factor. It really added to the cost of the cover (the closure was about $5.50 at my local fabric store.) My boys each want a cover, but I think I’ll try to find a regular magnet and piece of steel for the next ones. This particular closure has little pointy bits on it, and I’m afraid they will wear through the fabric eventually. If, like me, you are sewing on a metal-bedded sewing machine, please make sure your sense of humor is in place before sewing anything containing a magnet. It helps. Also, if anyone has advice on other ideas for a magnetic closure, or a good source of small, strong magnets, please let me know.

Here’s a quick shot of the inside of the cover. I didn’t bother with a lining fabric, as you don’t see the white of the interfacing when the composition book is in place. I was hoping to put a pen pocket along the spine, but I ran out of time. Birthday presents are like that, sometimes. Hopefully I’ll get it worked out for version 2.0.