Homemade Cashmere Long Johns. Really.

January 20, 2011March 17, 201843 Comments

Lupine is my summer girl. Born during the first snowfall four winters ago, she must have held the memory of those first blasts of cold against her fresh skin. I can still remember the way she would gasp as the cold air reached her lungs, an inhale that seemed to go on forever until wide-eyed, she ducked back into the warmth of my jacket.

At four she bucks winter and I think she would stay in the house until spring if we didn't have to venture out. She is perpetually cold when we are outside, and therefore miserable. She has polypropylene long underwear, but never seems to stay warm. The Waldorf tradition is to dress children in wool, so I got the idea of sewing up some woolies for her, similar to these, minus the $43 price tag.

And so we thrift again. We go sweater hunting.

A little moth nibbled, but a wicked bargain at $1.50 each, I found these 100% cashmere sweaters while thrifting with my sister last weekend. After washing and drying them on hot they were a little felted but still plenty thin for under clothes. And seriously. Cashmere. Long johns. How yummy does that sound? Warm, softer than soft, plus cheap, recycled, and mama-made? It doesn't get any better in my world.

I hand stitched the moth holes and turned them into long johns in under fifteen minutes using another pair as a pattern. And with the entire blue sweater and the remains of the green I'll have more than enough for a matching shirt.

When she put them on she made a gasp similar to her newborn gasp in the cold air, but with her eyes dreamily closed and a smile on her face. "Soft, soft, soft! Warm, warm, warm! Love-y."

I think I'm onto something. Now, can we go outside?

I'll post the top in the next few days!

Homemade, Kid-made Jammies.

December 17, 2010March 17, 20187 Comments

Lupine has grown crazy fast in the past few weeks. Her only warm PJ's are a full size too small so yesterday morning I quickly sewed her a pair of warm flannel pants (with this uber-simple ruffle pants pattern) using fabric she picked out when she was two. I added a matching pocket to a second hand tee and called it done. (I know, I know. Another project. It's lunacy I tell you.)

As I cleaned up from the first project I offered to teach Sage how to sew his own pants and he surprised me with his enthusiasm. He couldn't wait to get started. Lupine is still under the weather and so she took a nap leaving us with some precious "Mama-Sagie" time to laugh, learn, and sew together. It was a fabulous treat.

I taught him how to draft a pattern from a favorite pair of elastic-waist pants and then he set to work cutting, pressing, stitching – and goofing. We had a blast. And before Lupine woke from her nap he was wearing his new flannel trousers and dancing around the house. (Ironically the fabric Sage chose was from when he was two as well, picked out for quilt backing for a quilt that never happened.)

The look on his face when he was done was pretty priceless. Satisfaction meets pride meets… well, new pants. While Lupine loves her new jammies too, she was, um, a little harder to photograph. (When she finally got out of bed I snapped the first photo of her at the top of the post. She beamed a smile for perhaps the first time all day and then her face dropped as she announced, "All done smiley-schmiley. No more camera-schamera."

And so ended another crafty sick day.

More Babies. (Waldorf doll babies, that is.)

July 21, 2010March 17, 201821 Comments

Does this qualify as an obsession yet? I think we have enough dolls, and yet… they keep arriving. "The twins" came into our world while we were at the cabin. Lupine and I had planned the one with the green eyes, above, as our cabin project together. When I packed the sewing supplies I asked Sage if he wanted one. Um, no.

But then we made her and when Sage saw her he melted. And gushed. And was very much not this almost-eight-year-old boy that I know. He even begged. And I had of course brought extra doll skin and wool, just in case. So I made him one, too. He insisted that she have exactly the same hair and look just like Lupine's (but with blue eyes).

The second doll was born, with lots of sewing and tying up help from Sage.

For whatever reason – perhaps their small size – the kids adore them. And I adore making them. I really
wish we needed like fifty dolls. That would rock.

Do you have any idea how easy these are? So easy. I've made bunches of dolls before, but these each took me one evening. One evening. So for those new to doll making, double it. Or heck, quadruple it. It still isn't much time. And the finished product will melt hearts. Yours included. (Don't be mislead – I
really make them for me.)

Boy’s Sunhat Pattern and Tutorial.

July 13, 2010March 17, 201822 Comments

Welcome to Clean!

Don't limit yourself to just this one page.

There is loads of good stuff here, from sewing project to do with (or for) your kids to musing on motherhood to yogurt- and butter-making tutorials. Take a look around. I think you'll like it here.

Some favorite tutorials (if I had to choose) include my zip bag tutorial, birthday bunting, and wool felt crown. So make some tea and stay a while.

Rachel

Edited to add: I revised the pattern to make it easier to print the pieces to scale. The new version of the free sunhat pattern can be found here.

This is a little late in coming. I promised this pattern to you weeks ago! I didn't make the time to stitch up a second one and I didn't want to post it without photos, thus the delay. But summer is wearing on and I have this image in my head of many little boys out in the sun, squinting like mad.

So here it is – a sewing pattern without photos – but a pattern none-the-less. Go forth and sew hats, you brave, bold mamas.

(Note: the hat below seems a bit too tall to me, so the pattern trimmed off about an inch.)

Sage's Sunhat

Materials:

Pattern – three pieces (below). Print without scaling so that you get the proper size.

Outer fabric (I used linen)

Lining fabric (I lined with the same)

Timtex or other stiff interfacing for brim (afflink)

Matching thread

All sewing was done with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. This was sized for my 7 1/2 year old. Adjust as needed to fit a younger or older child.

Boy Sunhat Band (No pattern piece. Rectangle 21.5" x 4") – cut two (one lining, one outer fabric)

Boy Sunhat Top Pattern – cut two (one lining, one outer fabric)

Boy Sunhat Brim Pattern – cut three (two outer fabric, one interfacing.) Note: When you cut out your paper pattern fold and cut so you have the entire 1/2 moon. I only copied down 1/2 of the pattern to make it fit on a single sheet.

Brim

Cut interfacing brim down by 1/2 inch on all sides.

Sew outer curved edge of brim, right sides together.

Turn and press.

Insert interfacing and trim if needed to fit smoothly inside.

Top stitch outer curve through all layers to hold interfacing in place.

Crown

Fold hat band so that the short ends line up (right sides together), creating a flattened cylinder.

Sew.

Pin cylinder shape carefully to hat top (also right sides together).

Sew.

Turn right side out and press.

Repeat with lining.

Pin brim to hat, centered opposite of back seam with top side of brim flat against front of hat (it will look like someone flipped the brim up, 1980's grade school style).

Sew into place and flip down. It should be starting to look like a hat now!

Press under 1/2" on bottom edge of hat and hat lining.

Insert hat lining into outer fabric hat and top stitch together very close to the edge.

Your hat is done! Dance around a little and then call in your boy (or girl) and share your creation. Feel free to leave comments or send emails with your questions.

xo

Rachel

Upcycled Dress from Maternity Top

June 15, 2010March 17, 201814 Comments

A twenty-five cent rummage sale maternity top might now be our favorite summer dress. This project has been in the works (in my head anyway) for years. In all of five minutes I finally cut and stitched it together. Want to make one too? All you need is a second-hand maternity top with an elastic gathered bust, a sewing machine, and seriously – five minutes.

Here's how it works, lickety-split.

1. Select your maternity top. Put the shirt on your little one like a dress to eyeball the fit to be sure my measurements below work for your girl.

2. Cut off approximately six inches from each side along the seams at the top. (Adjust this as needed. My kids are slim and this top was a size M.). When I say six inches I mean with the elastic relaxed, cut off a three inch slice through both layers. This will equal six inches off of each side. Does this make sense?

After you have cut through the entire gathered section, angle your cut to flare out to the bottom edge. This will maintain the fullness of the skirt portion.

Your shirt should now look something like the photo below. (Or nicer if you bother with ironing, which I, obviously, did not.) If the front of your dress has significantly more fabric than the back (to accommodate round mama belly) trim off the excess so that the front and back are equally sized.

3. Seam from the top down on both sides leaving a 1/2" seam allowance and back-stitching at the beginning and end of seam.

4. If your shirt had removable straps, simply reattach to the buttons in the front and either tie at the neck (as I did) or shorten to appropriate length and reattach in back. If the straps were fixed on your shirt cut at the back, hem, and tie at the neck. How easy was that?

And yeah, darn cute if I do say so myself.

A Boyish New Sunhat.

May 26, 2010March 17, 201819 Comments

A friend of Sage and Lupine's was visiting a few days ago. As she look at one of Lupine's many mama-made treasures she asked, "Rachel, do you ever sew anything for Sage?"

Whoa.

What a great reminder for me to craft for both of my kids. When Sage was small I wasn't feeling very crafty. Overwhelmed? Yes. Crafty? No. I made him small projects here and there: shorts, bean bags, a hooded bath towel, a mouse Halloween costume, a doll. But that's pretty much the sum total of my sewing for this boy before Lulu arrived.

After she was born the crafty bug bit and the sewing machine hasn't stopped. I've sewn and knitted for them both, but she's smaller (and growing faster) and, well, she's a girl. Girlie stuff is easy for me. It's sweet. Its sparkly. It's fun. Boy stuff (in our house anyway) is more… neutral. Or it has handcuffs and pistols on it. And that's really not my gig.

But my boy needed a new sunhat and he hates
hats with full brims. So he and I sketched up a pattern for this hat based on
his likes. (When I make it again I'll shorten the crown by an inch or two. Otherwise I
think it turned out well.)

What does Sage think? He loves it. You see, the color and the shape… well, it's a little bit army to him. This gorgeous linen purchased by a pacifist. It's army.

Hmm. Army. Right.

And I think I'm okay with that. almost okay with that.

If you'd like a pattern let me know. I'd be happy to work up a tutorial if anyone is interested!

One final bit of news, we're draw the winner for the Continuum Family giveaway. Respectful Parents Respectful Kids goes to Michele who said:

This sounds like a great book to keep on hand.Keeping my fingers crossed!

Congratulations, Michele and thanks again to Continuum Family for sponsoring.

A Little Sewing with My Little People.

April 25, 2010March 17, 20183 Comments

The kids and I made time for sewing this morning. We stitched up some lavender sachets to hand beside their beds. Lupine had talked me into a charm pack (5 " squares of gorgeous fabric) a few weeks back, so we made quick work of the sachets by leaving the raw edges exposed.

The children were so focused as they stuffed the pouches with lavender flowers. Sweet dreams for all this night!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

As an aside, welcome to our new readers!

For those of you just discovering Clean, we've had an unusual couple of weeks. We hosted a Babywearing Celebration last week, and this week has been comprised of short posts and giveaway winners (not our normal scene).

Wander through the archives or check back later this week to see us what usually goes on around here. We're a homeschooly, crafty, organic-baking, whole-foods, laundry on the line and dishes in the sink sort of place.

See you soon!

Peace,
Rachel

A New Sewing Studio.

March 23, 2010March 17, 201810 Comments

As you know I had the pleasure of an entire day at home – alone – yesterday. Pete took the kids on an adventure and while I had planned to spend the day sewing I couldn't face my sewing corner of the family room. So cramped, so dark, so chaotic.

I evaluated the space and realized that the insanely messy and underutilized "homeschool room" (an extra bedroom) could be transformed before the kids came home. Don't be startled, but there's a before picture coming.

Behold the transformation!

(before)

(after)

That's the same view, people! I rocked it. (Coffee for breakfast and ice cream for lunch didn't hurt for high-speed working.)

I painted the closet to match the room and installed floor to ceiling shelves, using what we had at hand. With all of my fabric in the same place for the first time I feel incredibly inspired to create.

Now all I need is some art hung on the walls and we'll be set. The whole room was put together with things we already had. Sofa table we don't use anymore became sewing tables, extra dining room chairs became sewing chairs, old bookshelves became project and fabric storage.

I can't tell you how excited I am to start sewing here.

Making Wool Fingerpuppets.

March 11, 2010March 17, 20187 Comments

My kids love putting on puppet shows. Today they started plans for their spring puppet show. Lupine requested a sun ("With beams sticking out all over").

As I stitched if for her, Sage offered this idea: "When she rises the sun up I will take a white silk that is lying on the table and slowly, slowly pull it away as the snow melts in the spring." (Or as my heart melts when his creativity goes beyond new designs for machine guns.)

He got into the process of designing and sewing his own puppets and focused for long periods of time on the project. He worked through frustrations and design challenges to create this:

And his self-satisfaction was evident in the sparkle of his eyes upon finishing his first puppet. One of the blessings I find in homeschooling is seeing that sparkle throughout our days, happening right here.

Lupine was happy to dictate color, placement, and design and then sit in my lap as she put me to work.

There are still more puppets to make before the big show. Lupine is requesting the appearance of a "huge pink strawberry" so we're all trying to work that into the plot. There is also a child in a tree that is in Sage's version of the story. Standby for updates as the plot develops…

Tomorrow I'll have tips on how to get your kids making things. Every kid is a creative kid. We just need to nudge them in the right direction.

Upcycled Tee Shirt Dress.

March 10, 2010March 17, 20187 Comments

I love quick projects. This one was silly fast (after the thrifting was over anyway). It went something like this:

We were at a thrift store in Milwaukee. Lupine found a Darth Vader mask on the floor. She didn't know who Vader was but knew it was "freaky" and put it on to chase Sage around the store. As they rounded the rack of big girl clothes, Darth Vador stopped in his/her tracks. "Strawberries!", squealed Darth, in a voice of total bliss, pulling a size 10 shirt from the rack. "I love strawberries!"

She used some strange power (the force, perhaps?) that she has over me even without the mask and convinced me to buy her clothing that wouldn't fit her for most of a decade.

When I came to my senses (days after buying the shirt) we agreed to repurpose it into a dress that she could wear now. Nothing in her closet matched it well enough to be the top half of the dress so we headed out to the thrift store again. The store we visited has little old women working the register and ridiculous prices like $ 0.25 for shirts so we bought three with plans for more projects down the road.

While I was partial to pairing this with a green or red shirt Lu was set on lacy pink, so I conceded. It's her dress after all.

My friend D. has been making these all winter but I never did find
that tutorial she directed me to. So I just made it up myself. I cut off both shirts a couple of inches below the armpits. Then we pinned the top of the pink shirt to the bottom of the strawberries, gathering the excess skirt fabric as we went. I top stitched with a zig-zag stitch because of the placement of the lace trim but would have preferred a serged or zigged stitch inside for a neater finish.

In the end its a bit shorter than I intended, but still sweet. I will try the next one with an adult tee shirt for the skirt and see how the project transforms.

Do you have a great tee shirt dress tutorial to share?