The Dynamic Duo Get New Suits

Every little superhero needs a new suit eventually, so one of the things on my to do list was make a set.  Our preschool has a "Superhero Day" each spring, and last year when Little Man had his, I made a Green Lantern outfit.  I couldn't leave baby boy out of the fun, so he got a Flash outfit.  They loved their outfits and they are still in regular rotation as their alter ego pjs to this day.

Green Lantern and The Flash  - 2014

Earlier in the spring, Baby Boy started thinking about Superhero Day and wanted a new outfit to wear.  Batman and Robin were chosen, which I thought quite apt for our little dynamic duo.  Of course thinking that last year's superhero day was at the end of May and this year's would likely be the same I procrastinated heartily... and then I got the calendar for April and oh dear me.  Superhero Day was on the 16th.  By the time I gathered fabric (Hello, Walmart men's t-shirts!) and made a plan (and procrastinated some more) I left myself with about four days to come up with the new outfits.  WHY do I do that?  WHY?  All's well that end's well, but I was pushing it just a bit I felt.

I used a mash up of a couple different patterns to make this year's superhero outfits. Batman encorporated : See Kate Sew's Surfer Slacks, Kwik Sew 2092 (out of print but apparently still available through places such as Ebay) as well as my self designed freezer stencil appliqué.  Robin's used : Kwik Sew 2092 and vintage Simplicity 6427 (my go to pj pattern for Little Man - I'm so excited that Baby Boy is about ready to grow into it!) and of course a self drafted appliqué.  The utility belts were also self drafted with bellows style pockets.  Masks were adapted from the felt mask templates I used for Little Man's party favours last summer. I never did get capes made, but luckily enough their little capes I made a couple years ago still fit and were happily traded around to suit their outfits.

Despite the rush I really did have fun making them and every minute spent at my sewing machine over those few days was time well spent to see those happy little faces!

I also made them some much needed pj's a few weeks ago and had worried that I'd left it a little late in the season to make winter sets for them, but alas, Mother Nature keeps teasing us with spring and then slamming us once again with winter (Case in point :  Saturday was a glorious +22C.  Today it is below freezing, the ground is covered in snow and I played a rousing game of "let's try to keep the truck on the highway" this morning as I navigated the ridiculously icy roads)  So - once again a mash up of patterns - this time Fishstick Design's Pajama Party, Charlie Tee and once again the old tried and true Kwik Sew 2092.  It's about time I sewed these up.  When I bought the fabric it was to match their little Waldorf style gnome babies I made them... about two years ago.

 Last but not least I made them some super fun pillow cases on Sunday when I needed a wee break from my current test project.  Using a really simple and rather ingenious method that I found online they took me about half an hour to whip up (well - as long as we don't count the time it took me ripping out my inside out french seams - some days...) and the boys love them!  Baby Boy had picked out the Transformers fabric on a previous trip to the fabric store - I think I mentioned in my fabric post how the fabric was CRAZY expensive even at half off, so I only got a smidge of it (luckily the lady cutting it was on the generous side of cutting so I ended up with just enough) - and then both boys picked out the solid and contrast to go with it.  I think I'll definitely make them a few more (less expensive) pillow cases in the future!

So, as you can see, I've been slowly working through the list I made - although not necessarily in order.  Since we've had some inclement weather over the last few days my sewing room, which is also currently a playroom is a bit of a disaster with the boys spending more time down there instead of outside, so I think my next mission today is to clean that up a bit and then get back to working through the next few items on the list starting with my stitch ripper and I having a hot date while I do some fitting type mods to the test project.  (Note to self - fit first, do the finishing last)