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)

Super Heroes Need Pyjamas Too

I've been doing some sewing lately for the the little boys. Spring always means new pyjama time for them and this year it seemed especially important to get going on it when Little Man tried on his spring jammies and they were very much capris length instead of long pants.

I had made Baby Boy a couple pairs of bottoms from Fishsticks Design's Pajama Party pattern back in the winter, but hadn't got around to making tops for them. The one pair I had already decided to do the matching top, but the other pair I wasn't sure. I'd picked up the Richard Scary Busytown remnant during a buy 1 get 2 free sale before Christmas and knew there wasn't much left after the pants for any sort of top. I did entertain the notion of a tee in a matching colour, but a matching colour seemed to elusive in both fabric or store bought tee. After far too many weeks months of deliberation I finally settled on a simple collarless button down top (similar in style to the one Little Man is wearing in the photo) in the green that I used as contrast cuffs for the pants and used the remaining scraps of Busytown for the contrast on the top. I then had a problem choosing button colour, so went with one of each for a fun change from the usual, or as Baby Boy would say the "usable" way. (he has a few words he still says a bit muddled up).

Little Man's pjs presented a whole other issue in that a) my Fishstick's pattern only goes up to size five (and a tiny size five it seems to be or at least for my giant boys) and b) when I bought the fabric last fall, I bought 1 1/2 yards online figuring that would be plenty for him. Oooops! He's had a bit of a growth spurt in height obviously and I was hard pressed to squeeze a size six onto the fabric. Directional prints are my nemesis! Size six was not going to be nearly long enough either so hello wide cuffs! His pattern is a 1970's Simplicity pattern that has been my go to for the last twenty years or so for boys size 6-8.

Stylin' in their new PJs

Tired and not feeling like posing -
the front is similar to Little Man's digger jammies
and has one red, one yellow and one blue button.

The boys were pretty darn pleased with having new jammies for spring, but little did they know they were in for a HUGE surprise in the pyjama department! My little men are super hero obsessed. Little Man can pretty much tell you anything you want to know about any given Justice League member and then some. They both regularly, (as in 99% of the time), wear capes as a part of their normal day to day attire. Little Man often even wears his batman mask or sunglasses to preschool. Luckily he has understanding teachers that don't mind a pint sized superhero in their midst.

I had noticed on the calendar that preschool was going to be having "Super Hero Day" on the last
Wednesday in May, so I set to work. Plotting and planning all in secret. I had planned to make pyjamas that could be worn as costumes for both boys. I couldn't, after all, just make Little Man a set and leave out Baby Boy. Finding fabric proved to be challenging as it always seems to be when I have something specific in mind.  Baby Boy's red and Little Man's dark green jersey came from a sale bin at Fabricland in the city, and the light green was procured via two 5xl muscle shirts from the men's section of Walmart as was the yellow (except they only had that in a 2xl - which luckily provided plenty of fabric for Baby Boy).

As an aside, I often look to the men's department when I'm in need of knit fabrics for the boys! You can get a whole lot of fabric in a 5xl! Next time you wander through a department store take a look. You never know what you'll find on the clearance table that could become your next sewing project! I recently snagged two long sleeved 5xl shirts for a grand total of $6!! Men's, by the way, are almost always quite a bit cheaper than ladies.

Anyways, back to super heroes! Covert operations went into full swing last week, the moment the boys went to bed for the night. By Tuesday night as I put the finishing touches on their costumes/pyjamas I was so excited I wasn't sure I'd be able to get to sleep. I think drawing out the symbols possibly took longer than actually sewing or stencilling them on, but it was well worth every minute I put into it. The boys were thrilled with the end result and so surprised! They wore them all day Wednesday and then I had to wash them so they could wear them to bed last night. I think their masks have come off only when they've been sleeping. I couldn't be happier!

Green Lantern and The Flash all set for "Super Hero Day"

Sometimes a super hero just needs to a break from saving the world
and have a little cuddle with his kitten

… or gather dandelions
(ha! I just noticed the furry little kitten paw at the bottom of the photo)

… or play at the park

I probably need to sew them a few more pairs each to have them set for the hot summer nights, but for now these will do while I take a break and do a bit of sewing for myself. I have a few Sis Boom patterns in the works at the moment and also want to get a few tees and skirts made for myself.