Stashbusting Girl's Raglan Shirt

This summer my sewing & crafting output has taken a nosedive.  With so many personal and business demands on my time, making things for fun just hasn't been possible and, truthfully, my crafty mojo has kinda been on empty too.  Thankfully necessity stepped in and a bit of sewing finally happened!  It started with this girl's raglan top for my daughter's birthday this week.

Budget, time and uncertainty of how well store bought stuff would fit were all factors in making this top.  She's had a big growth spurt this summer & we're entering the challenging-to-please (and fit) tween zone.  Like shopping wasn't hard enough with 5 kids & Covid insanity?!?  I decided to just try to make something with what I had here.  Luckily I remembered how much she loves the wearing hand-me-down raglans I'd made for her brothers with McCalls 7379, so I knew the style & sizing would work for her.

I also lucked out with sifting through my fabric bins and re-discovered several beautiful knit prints that I'd been hoarding.  This pegasus mom & baby fabric by Znok seemed just perfect.  It's still sweet for my mommy's girl at heart, but it's a nice larger scale for older girls & the colors aren't babyish:

I only had a yard, so I needed to search my stash for a good color match for the sleeves and neckband.  I found a boucle fleece remnant left from making this dolman top for myself several years ago.  It looks a bit purple-y outdoors but it's actually more of a wine color.  

Side note: the pattern is by Seamingly Smitten.  I'm glad to not be pregnant again this fall so I can finally wear it
- I forgot how much l liked it until I saw this photo!

The color match was ideal and it was medium weight so it wasn't too heavy to pair with the lycra knit:

The only downside was the amount of stretch was a bit lacking for the neckband.  I usually use rib knit, which is ideal to fit the neck hole, but this fabric wasn't as cooperative so I had to cut a 1 inch extra piece to sew in to enlarge the band enough to fit.  It's a chunky textured fabric so you can't see the additional seams at the back and it should hide the neckband not laying as flat when it's worn.

  

I'm excited to give this and hope she like it.  Until 2 1/2 yrs ago she was my youngest, and the only girl and really liked being both those things.  Now with 2 more little ones, she's smack in the middle and entering that awkward, wanting to be like the older kids, but still wanting to be small sometimes phase.  Maybe a cozy shirt that reminds her she's still my special girl will help with this transitional time and make this age a more fun one for her ❤️    

Fave Raglan Shirt Patterns + Spooky Cats for Halloween & Beyond!

Halloween season is usually one of my craftiest times of the year, but there barely seems time to get it all up here on the blog before the big day has passed!  I'd planned to show lots of fun photos for today, but the weather had other ideas, so I've got to settle for the few snaps I took beforehand.

With my kids getting older it's sometimes harder to do holiday sewing.  A lot of prints are too babyish or are so gender specific that I can't use it for both my sons and daughter.  And realistically, I can't see spending loads on fabric that will be in-season for about a month and then be out of season and outgrown by next year.

For Halloween this year I was determined to find my perfect fit and I think I found it.  One of my favorite places for great knit fabric, Sahara Fabrics, released this awesome Spooky Black Cat Cotton Spandex and I knew I had to buy some and make some fun shirts for the kids:

It's got the Halloween vibe, but can still be worn long after the pumpkins get put away and the solid Lime knit I also bought was a perfect match to those green cat eyes. Most importantly, it's a print both my little 7yr old daughter and older 10 and 14yr old sons can wear and enjoy:

Custom print knit fabrics like this are typically more expensive than the stuff you can get at the chain stores or bigger fabric websites, but the quality is hands down better.  I'll admit I used to only buy the cheap stuff, but it was temperamental to sew with and the weight was always super flimsy or too heavy.  Lesson learned? If you want to make nice knit clothing, get the good stuff.  I bought 1.5 yds of this fabric and, by pairing it with some less expensive green solid for my daughter's and some basic black rib knit for my guys, I was able to make 3 shirts.  I even have about 1/4yd leftover I can use to make undies or doll clothes or some other small projects, so it made it pretty economical.  

To make things easy I turned to one of my new favorite shirt patterns, McCalls 7379, which is quick to sew and really versatile for the bigger kids.  I used it to make this Harry Potter print shirt a while back too:

Fun prints look so good with the style and the cut it makes it easy to match up the sides and seams of directional prints like this one.

I drafted my daughter's smaller shirt pattern myself, modifying my previous Raglan Cowl Dress:

I just shortened the length and switched to a neck binding instead of the cowl.  Next time I'll probably cut the binding a little shorter so it stretches more and lies flatter (neckbands that stick up drive me crazy) - I've notice that's needed when not using rib knit, like I did here:



Now we've got some fun shirts that look spooktacular and will still be fun to wear the rest of the cool weather season too:)



I was not compensated for this post.  Although Sahara Fabrics is an advertiser, I purchased this knit fabric myself and was not required to review or promote this fabric or their shop.  The opinions are completely my own, based on my experience. For my complete disclosure policy, click here. 

Making a Rainbow Raglan Cowl Neck Dress

This year I am all about sewing something good again and again when it comes to making clothing. I don't mean having closets full of the same exact thing, but to build on the designs in my stash to create new clothing.  Tweaking, changing up, making things look fresh without starting from zero.  Drafting one-time use patterns takes a lot of time - as does making muslins with new purchased patterns.  Free time is a premium for me these days, so I want to get to the making and enjoying faster this year. I'm starting with my Rainbow Raglan Cowl Neck Dress.

I used a pattern I already made 2 years ago to draft up a new design lickety split.   In fact, it's actually a double repurpose. Would you believe that this was the item I made the original pattern for?  A Cuddly Pumpkin Costume:

That I tweaked to make this Fluffy Chicken Costume:

And now it's been revamped again to make this little number:

The gorgeous chevron folded rainbow fabric (a custom print from Sahara Fabrics) is actually what inspired the outfit.  The 3-D look & colors on it really make it pop!  It's also  spandex knit, which means it's best for stretchy looks like leggings, swimsuits & workout wear.  Despite being a "slippery" fabric, the spandex knit is not difficult to sew.  It also has a medium weight so it's totally wearable in winter and summer.

Lucky for me, I had some aqua sweatshirt fleece leftover that was a perfect match to my print.  I was trying to come up with a way to really celebrate the amazing colors & the fluid hand of the fabric, without letting the busy-ness of the print take over, and realized a cute neck cowl dress would be perfect!

I started with my original costume pattern pieces.  Ironically they were created from rough tracings of a store-bought raglan dress and then re-shaped and sized a bit bigger.  How I did it is here. They'd been rounded for the plump pumpkin/chicken shape.  I using my design ruler to straighten the side seams. Since this would be a cowl neck (instead of a split opening with button at the back), I made the neck hole a bit higher and smaller too.  I did a bit of trimming and trying on to get it just right.  

I cut out my new front & back design and the original raglan sleeves. I also cut a few inches of the ends of the sleeves so I could add matching cuffs with my spandex knit print.

After stitching the sleeves to the front & back with a triple stitch (more on that stitch here) and a 1/2 inch seam allowance, it was time for the cowl bit.  I measured the neck opening (which was 19 inches) and then cut a piece of the spandex that was 21 inches wide by 17 inches high:

I folded it downward and then, using a ruler angled inward an inch, trimmed each side.  This slant will give the cowl the right slouchy-ness when done.

Then I opened the cowl up, folded it width-wise, and stitched down the side using my trusty triple stitch and a walking foot:

I opened it up again and folded with wrong sides together and then pinned the raw edges along the neck hole of the dress, with the seam at the back center and stitched.  

I topstitched all the way around so the seam allowance would stay down:

Then I stitched the sides together from cuff to hem.  Using the same technique as the cowl (but just a few inches high this time), I added my colorful cuffs:

Last was the kangaroo pocket.  

I fiddled around with trying to make one and couldn't get the size and shape as I envisioned.  Then I realized I had a kid's fleece hoodie pattern with one and used that to get it just right.  

I used paper backed fusible tape on the pocket edges on the wrong side:

Then peeled off the paper, folded them down and ironed to get them to sit perfectly.  This is my secret to make it easier to topstitch with a twin needle and not get any tunneling (aka the annoying bump between the stitch lines).  Then I eyeballed the placement of the pocket to be even with the sleeve cuffs and stitched it on the front of the dress.

I also used my fusible + twin needle to do the dress hem. Ahh, lovely twin needle perfection:

I made the matching pants using the legging pattern from Simplicity 1511 (which is a top, dress & bottoms set). 

My daughter loves the slouchy fun of the cowl:

I love how how I was able to turn a DIY pattern into even more fashions I can make:)

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I received poly spandex knit fabric from Sahara Fabrics to test sew and was not required to review or promote this fabric or their shop.  The opinions are completely my own, based on my experience. For my complete disclosure policy, click here.