How to Alter a Pattern: Toddler Jacket

September 20, 2015 · 6 Comments

Now that the days are starting to become a little chillier, I was facing a bit of a problem whenever I leave the house.

Boy 4 has outgrown his cute little fleece jacket that he wore last autumn, but it is not yet cold enough for his big coat.

I had a pattern for a little jacket, but it had a zip when I actually wanted a jacket with buttons so that he could do it up himself.

I also had some fleece fabric that I had bought last year.

So I decided that, instead of buying another pattern, I would alter the pattern I had to make a little toddler jacket that it had buttons rather than a zip!

(I also wanted to give it raglan sleeves, but unfortunately I only remembered after I had cut it out!)

Making the Alteration

This is the pattern I used (affiliate link)
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It was not actually that difficult to change the jacket from a zip fastening to buttons.

The issue was that buttons would require the front sections to overlap, whereas a zip fastening does not.

So all I did was to add an extra 5 cm to the front of the front when I was cutting out.

A seam allowance would already have been included for the zip, so I didn’t need to worry about that.

The sewing instructions that come with commercial patterns can be confusing so I just went about it in the way that I thought best!

So here is how to sew the little jacket together once you have made your alterations to the pattern, along with some (hopefully) useful tips!

Sewing With Fleece

Fleece can be a nightmare to work with. It is both thick and stretchy. My old sewing machine did not like it at all!

With it being so thick, you might need to use a different needle.

When you start sewing the seams, line the edge up with the lines on the foot plate, then start sewing. What will happen is the edge will end up lined up with a different line as the bulk of the fabric causes the edge to be in a different place when it is being sewn.

As with any stretchy fabric, try to avoid pulling on it while sewing. If it is a total nightmare, then either use a stitch for knits (if your sewing machine has one) or zigzags.

Trim the seams right down to reduce bulk. I found that by doing this I did not need to clip the curved seams.

Sewing the Shoulder Seams

It is necessary to sew the shoulder seams first as it usually difficult to do anything else until they have been sewn, trimmed and pressed!

The Hood

Making the hood was actually not complicated! Yet again I thought something would be difficult that actually turned out to be easy!

The hood is made from two pieces, with darts in the middle of each piece.

Sew the darts, then pin then sew the 2 pieces together.

Pin the hood to the main part of the jacket, matching the darts up with the shoulder seams. Sew, then trim the seams.

Something that was a little bit of an issue here was where the hood met the front of the jacket. On the original pattern, the front of the hood lined up with the front of the jacket. However, because I added an extra 5 cm to allow for buttons instead of a zip, there was jacket left over!

So when I trimmed the hood seam, I just made sure that I left the bits on the front of the jacket.

The Sleeves

Sleeves are one of those things where you can either do them the proper way or the easy way!

The Proper Way

This involves sewing up the side seams so that you are left with the armhole. Then sew a few long stitches along the top edge of the sleeve. Sew together the long edges of the sleeve. You will have a sleeve and an armhole. Pin the sleeve to the armhole. Use the stitches you made along the top to “ease” the sleeve into the armhole.

I have no pictures for this, because I opted for the easy way!

The Easy Way

Don’t sew up the side seams just yet! Pin the sleeve to the open arm hole and sew. Pin the side seam and the sleeve seam, ensuring that the seams match at the armpit. Sew from the bottom of the jacket to the wrist of the sleeve. If you want to be sure of the seams matching, you could start at the armpit and sew the jacket sides, then return to the armpit and sew the sleeve seam.

The Lining

To make a lining, all you do is make a second jacket! I used micro fleece so that it would still be warm but not as bulky as ordinary fleece.

With the right sides together, pin the 2 jackets at the hood, the front sections and along the bottom. Sew right the way round, leaving an opening at the bottom.

Trim the seams, the turn it out.

Pin the opening at the bottom and top stitch right the way round (you could skip this if you wanted to and just slip stitch the opening).

Fold the raw edges of the sleeves under. Pin, then sew.

Finishing Off

Decide where the buttons need to be. Make the button holes. As I used such big buttons I had to make bound button holes because my button hole foot didn’t make button holes big enough!

You can find a detailed tutorial for making button holes here.

Sew on the buttons. Trim the threads and you’re all set!
So if you want to make something and you have fabric and you have a pattern, but the pattern isn’t quite right, it is quite possible to adapt the pattern pieces to make it how you want it.

And if the instructions are confusing, if you know what you are doing (or if you know a friendly blogger who usually knows what she’s doing!), just go about it in the way that you find suits you best!

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Toddler Trousers Without a Pattern

July 19, 2015 · 13 Comments

As Boy 4 has been insisting, “Make mine trackies. Make them now,” I’ve had the perfect excuse to do some sewing during the daytime when I am supposed to be playing with him or doing domestic stuff!

I made him some dungarees a few weeks ago (you can read that post here!). He chose the fabric himself and he had also chosen some more to make him some little trousers. I do have a pattern for trousers but I used that to make him these almost a year ago and they are now on the small side and far to short in the leg.

So instead I used a pair of his existing trousers as a template.

Trousers are usually simple in construction, for tiny people at least. So all I needed to do was cut 4 of the basic trouser piece shape and sew them up. Here’s how to do it!

How to Make Toddler Trousers When You Don’t Have a Pattern

1. Find an existing pair of trousers that fit your child well. Draw around them on a piece of paper. Remember to include a generous seam allowance. Stretch out the waist band so that you get some idea of where the centre seam will be. Make sure that you have allowed plenty of extra fabric at the top for casing for elastic.

Your pattern piece should look vaguely like this. If you are having difficulty, it is worth remembering that the side seams are usually vertical and run along the grain and the inside leg should taper towards the ankle a little bit.

2. You will need to cut out 4 of these. Remember to check if you are using a directional print or fabric with a nap. The outside edge of the trouser piece should run parallel with the selvedge.

Because Boy 4 was “helping,” he insisted that I used a 2 pairs of trousers, both of which were too small. This was something else to take that into consideration when I was making the template. The trousers were just about ok in the seat, just too short in the leg.

3. Take 2 of the trouser pieces. With the wrong sides together, pin along the longest edge and sew. Trim the seams and press. Or if you are feeling fancy, you might like to practise french seams. Instruction are here! Repeat for the other two pieces.

4. Take both the sections you have just joined and pin together along the other, shorter vertical edges. These will be the centre seams of the trousers. Trim the seams and press.

5. Starting at the middle seam, pin the inside leg, then sew it up. I usually start to sew at the middle as this ensures that the seams match! If you have used french seams in the previous steps, you will need to just do plain seams here because french seams don’t work when there is a curve!

Trim the seams and clip the curves.

6. To make the casing for the elastic, fold the raw edge at the top over by about 1 cm, then fold it over again and pin. Check with your elastic and make sure the casing will be wide enough! Sew, keeping close to the lower edge.

7. Cut your elastic. The easiest way to do this is by putting it around your child’s waist and cutting accordingly. You might have to wait until they are asleep though! Using a safety pin, thread the elastic through the casing.

8. Wrestle your toddler into the trousers and mark where you need to hem at the ankles. Alternatively you could measure the trousers against them while they are asleep. Hem the trousers by folding the raw edge under, then folding again.

Here is Boy 4 wearing the finished trousers. They are a little clown like in the bum area and also longer in the leg than I thought they would be. I’m going to call it growing room!

Having looked at trousers and trouser patterns again, I think I could make them better by adding a bit of a curve to the centre seam. For the moment though, Boy 4 is happy enough with his new trousers!

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Upcycled Toddler Trousers

August 10, 2014 · Leave a Comment

I found myself in a v good situation the other day. One of Husband’s shirts had a tear in it and Boy 4 needed new trousers. Crank up the sewing machine, it’s a chance to make stuff. Hooray!

There’s a lot of fabric in a man’s shirt, especially if it’s a shirt belonging to a large man. More than enough to make a pair of trousers. Happily, it was a nice shirt, cotton not polyester, and in a fairly practical colour. I just knew the stripes would look very cute as a pair of trousers! I’m also getting warm fuzzies knowing that a) the trousers were free and b) the shirt has not ended up clogging up landfill but has been given a second lease of life.

Here’s how to make a pair of upcycled toddler trousers.

1. Find some fabric. Men’s shirts are great. Depending on the prints, there might be enough fabric in an old pillowcase. A skirt or a pair of trousers might provide suitable fabric too.

2. Find or make a pattern. I had a pattern already. These are actually the third pair of trousers I have made from this pattern, and I have also made the dungarees and the top that came with the pattern. If you do not have a pattern, that’s not a problem. Trousers are basically made up of 4 pieces, so choose a pair of your child’s trousers, turn them inside out and draw around one leg, the whole leg round to the middle seam.

3. Cut out the pieces. Remember to turn your pattern piece over for two pieces. I cut one piece out of each of the shirt fronts and 2 pieces out of the back.

4. Take the two front pieces and, with the right sides together, sew the middle seam. Trim and press. Repeat for the back.

Ironing the shirt first is probably a good idea. As you can see, I did not do this.

5. Put the front and the back together with the right sides together. Sew up the side seams. Trim the seams.

6. Sew up the inside leg seam. Trim the seam and snip the curves.

7. I made a lining for Boy 4’s trousers to make them a little bit thicker. If you are making trousers for summer they will probably be alright without a lining. For trousers for colder months you might wish to line them, in which case repeat steps 3 to 6. This might be a good way to use up pale coloured shirts!

8. Pop the lining trousers inside the outer trousers so that the right sides are together. Sew around the top, trim the seam and turn the right way out. Put the lining back inside the trousers so that the wrong sides are together. Top stitch around the top of the trousers.

9. To make the casing for the elastic, fold the top down 1.5 cm, pin, then sew in place, leaving a small gap at the back for threading the elastic.

10. Fold up the raw edge at the bottom of the outer leg. Pin. Repeat for the lining so that the folded raw edges are together and the lining leg is a couple of mm shorter. Pin together. Sew around the bottom of the leg. Repeat for the other leg.

11. Cut a piece of elastic as long as the distance around your child’s waist plus a couple of cm extra. Using a safety pin, thread the elastic through the casing and tie in a knot.

This what is left of the shirt now.

Husband won’t be wearing that again unless they have a Raggedy Pirates’ Day at work. There’s still fabric in the sleeves though, not to mention the buttons, so enough for another small project or two!

Buggy Board Cushion

August 24, 2012 · 4 Comments

Boy 2 on his buggy board with cushion

I’ve finally done it!! Somebody has actually bought something I’ve made! I listed a buggy board cushion on ebay and a lovely person in Leicestershire has bought it 🙂 I’m so encouraged I’ve got five more cut out and ready to sew up. 🙂

The idea for the buggy board cushion came about one day when Boy 2 was complaining that his buggy board was not comfortable enough and the bumpy country lanes hurt his little botty. Because of the times of the buses in our little corner of Norfolk, we would take Boy 1 to school and then walk the 2 miles back.

My little pushchair objected to the potholes and grass verges, so I bought a lovely three wheeler for Boy 3, but I hadn’t considered that Boy 2 might need something else too.

Anyway, I thought a little cushion would probably do the trick, so, using the shape of the buggy board, I made a pattern from greaseproof paper. I had some rainbow fleece left over from when I made a cosytoes (I accidentally bought too much!) and some polyester filling, so that would make a snuggly, warm little cushion. I needed it to stay attached to the buggy board, so I added two loops of elastic and a couple of buttons.

I was pleased with the results and Boy 2 liked it. That would have been the end of it, except that Husband, when he saw it suggested that I made some more and tried to sell them. I made one up and put it on Etsy but it didn’t sell and it looked completely out of place in my little shop.

It occured to me a few weeks that Ebay might be the way to go, as there are often similar buggy boards on there.

So I listed it and here we are! Somebody bought it!! I’m slightly closer to buying an expensive pushchair for the baby!

I would always encourage people to have a go at making things, but for anyone who would like to buy a buggy board cushion for a Litaf Seat 2 Go, send me a message and I can let you have one for £8 😉

Dino Hat Tutorial

February 1, 2012 · 1 Comment

Boy 3 wearing his dino hat

Whenever the boys and I are out, people always remark on the dinosaur hats and are almost always stunned when I tell them that I made them myself. 🙂 Yet they are suprisingly easy to make. Although there are people out there who are very skilled at designing things and making patterns, I am not one of those people. The extent of my training was my mum teaching me how to use a sewing machine when I was ten. 🙂 What I have discovered though (and what I’m going to share with you now) is that it is actually possible to make all sorts of things either without a pattern or with a very simple pattern that you can make yourself, even if, like me, you can’t really draw. 🙂

Anyway, I’d decided that I wanted to make dino hats for the boys and my nephew, but I didn’t want it to look like they had killed some dinosaurs and turned the heads into hats. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I came up with this.

This is what you will need:

Some large sheets of paper. I like to use greaseproof paper, but newspaper or A3 copier paper will do.
A pencil and eraser
Some tin foil
Fleece fabric in 2 contrasting colours
Basic sewing equipment

1. Find the head that you are making

The hat will fit and Boy 1’s little brain will be safe from aliens 🙂

the hat for and wrap it in tin foil.

2. Carefully remove the tin foil hat from

Squashed hat

the head and squash it flat (the hat not the head 🙂 ). Try to squash it in such a way that the squashed hat is the sideways profile of the head, with the front on the left and the back on the right.

3. Now draw round the squashed foil hat

Basic hat shape with extra cm all the way around

onto the large piece of paper. Now you can be sure that the hat will fit! Draw round it again, this time allowing an extra centimetre all the way round. This is to allow for seams.

4. Now draw simply a dinosaur head on one

It’s starting to look dinosaury!

side and a tail on the other. If it looks wrong, rub it out and have another go. When you have something you are happy with, draw round it again allowing an extra cm. Don’t worry if it is not perfect, quirkiness is part of the appeal of handmade.

5. Now draw some spines. How many will

The spines are all just triangles

depend on the size of the head the hat is for. I gave my dinosaur 9 spines, 6 larger ones along the body and three smaller ones along the tail.

6. Now you need to make the pattern for

2 triangles for the spines

the triangles, so draw 2, one a similar size as the larger ones and the other similar in size to the smaller ones. Don’t forget to draw round them again with an extra cm!

7. The pattern’s almost done now. The last

Use the thread to measure between the xs

part to draw is the little pointy pear shap that will give the dinosaur’s head a 3D shape. To make this part, draw an x on the dinosaur’s nose and another x on the back of its head. Using some thread or string, measure the distance between the two xs and cut or mark the thread.

8. Now draw a straight line the same

This little piece will give the dinosaur a nice, chunky little head

length as the piece of thread. Then draw a sort of teardrop shape, pointed at both ends. To get each half the same, draw one half, then fold the paper in half along the line and trace it. If you are using newspaper, cut around it roughly, fold in half and then cut it out properly, like you would make a chain of paper people 🙂

8. Now cut out the pattern pieces, pin them to the fabric and cut them out. For the main part of the hat, the stretch will need to go from left to right rather than up and down, so stretch the fabric before you pin the pattern pieces on. You will need to cut 2 of the main hat shapes and the little extra head part from the main colour, and from the contrasting fabric, 2 triangles for each spine. For my 9 spines, I cut 12 larger triangles and 6 smaller triangles.

9. Now we can get sewing! First of all the

Trim the seams but don’t cut the stitches!

spines. Pair the triangles up and sew them along 2 sides. Then trim the seams to avoid bulging and cut the top flat. Then turn right side out.

10. On both the main hat pieces embroider

Embroider legs on both pieces

some legs.

11. With the wrong sides together, pin the

Pin the little head piece to one of the main hat pieces

little head piece to one of the main hat pieces. The fat end needs to be at the front of the dinosaur’s head. Then sew it.

12. Now take the triangles that you have sewn

Arrange the spines with the largest ones in the middle

together and arrange them in a way that you like.

13. Now we’re going to make a little sandwich.

The spines are pinned in place

Take the main dinosaur shape that you have sewn the little head piece to and arrange the spines in the order you have decided, upside down, on the right side. The open ends of the spines will need to be lined up with the dinosaur’s back. Pin in place.

Now take the other dinosaur piece and put

Nearly ready to sew up

it on top of the bit with the spines on, the right side of the fabric facing inwards. Match the edges up as well as you can.

Pin it together. Remember you have the

Constructing the head is a little bit fiddly

extra bit for the head. When you get to the head, pin the main piece to the little head piece like you did earlier.

Here’s a little tip: before you sew it up, make sure that the ends of the spines are poking out of the edge of the sandwich, otherwise you might find that you’ve missed a bit and you’ll have to do a repair job with a needle and thread.

14. Now sew it up. You won’t be able to sew it in one go because of the dinosaur’s head. Take your time and do it carefully to minimise the chances of holes in the seams. I’ve been there. It’s v. annoying.

15. Once it’s all sewn up, turn it out the right way. Removing as many pins as you can first will reduce the likelhood of stabbing yourself in the finger.

16. If you’ve got this far, well done!! The last

Finished!!!

thing left to do is hem the bottom of the hat.

So there you go. One hat made from a do-it-yourself pattern. If you make a dino hat, please leave a comment and a link to a photo. I’d love to see them. Just have a go, don’t be scared!! What other kinds of hats can you make using the same basic principles? Hmm, butterflies, cats, a whole menagerie of hats!!